FORMER GAM MEMBER KILLED IN ACEH SHOOTING

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 008389 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2016 TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL PHUM MARR ID SUBJECT: FORMER GAM MEMBER KILLED IN ACEH SHOOTING Classified By: Political Officer Eric W. Kneedler, reason: 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) A former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel was reportedly shot and killed by members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) during the course of an apparent dispute over a traffic violation in Northern Aceh. According to Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) head Peter Feith, AMM personnel were present at the time of the shooting, but no one from AMM was injured. Feith and police officials announced plans to investigate. Vice-President Kalla told the Ambassador July 5 that the incident is "manageable" and noted that the new Aceh Law had been approved in a special DPR committee that day. Although the specific details of the shooting vary widely, it appears to have been an isolated incident that will be contained if handled properly. End Summary. -------------- --- TWO VERY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE SAME INCIDENT -------------- --- ¶2. (C) AFP reporting quotes a local police spokesperson as saying the shooting took place while AMM members and soldiers were investigating the detention of a civilian by local military personnel in Keude Paya Bakong village. (Note: the village is in the Lokseumawe area, several hours from Banda Aceh, on the road to Medan. End Note) The civilian reportedly had been arrested in front of a military post for speeding on a motorcycle and, according to AFP,s account, for allegedly carrying marijuana. According to this version of the story, AMM officials, military officers and several former GAM members were being briefed on the arrest along with a group of civilians when gunmen opened fire. Soldiers manning the post reportedly retaliated by shooting towards the gunmen, and an ex-GAM member was killed in the process; a policeman who was escorting the AMM officials and a civilian in the group were also wounded. ¶3. (C) According to the Jakarta Post, ex-GAM officials on the scene in their capacity as Aceh Transition Committee (KPA) members, as well as local civilians, related a contrasting version of the incident. The Jakarta Post reports local residents claimed the KPA members arrived at the scene to assist a civilian that was being beaten by soldiers after he was detained for speeding on his motorcycle. The KPA,s official spokesperson, Sofyan Dawood, confirmed two KPA members were present at the time of the incident, but denied they were responsible for initiating the shooting. ¶4. (C) The Ambassador raised the incident with Vice-President Kalla during a July 5 meeting. Kalla replied that such problems arise because some former GAM personnel forget that they are no longer "heroes" while TNI personnel at times forget that their powers are not what they were before implementation of the peace agreement. Kalla said that military police and the AMM would conduct an investigation and that they would await those results. He judged the incident as manageable. Kalla noted that the Special Committee in Parliament dealing with the new Aceh law had come to agreement that afternoon, and that he expects the draft to pass in plenary without a problem. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) Our contacts in TNI and the NGO community have not been able to flesh out the exact details of the shooting, so there is still much that is not yet known about what exactly took place. While the incident is a serious one, it does not appear to jeopardize the positive momentum of the peace process. PASCOE