GERMAN RED CROSS REP SHOT IN DRIVEBY ATTACK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001843 SENSITIVE SIPDIS AIDAC DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS, DS/IP/EAP, DS/DSS, INR/EAP and INL DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS AID USAID FOR ANE/EAA, MARGOT ELLIS DAA ASIA BUREAU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC CASC SOCI ID SUBJECT: GERMAN RED CROSS REP SHOT IN DRIVEBY ATTACK REF: Jakarta 08 1828 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. German national Dr. Erhard Bauer, head of the German Red Cross in Indonesia, was shot in a drive-by shooting on the early evening of November 5. Dr. Bauer was riding in the front passenger seat of a clearly marked German Red Cross vehicle. The assailant fired from the back of a motorbike and sped away after firing three shots. While the motive for the shooting remains unclear, there is no indication at this point that the shooting is anything but an isolated incident or that there is any increased threat to foreigners in Aceh. This shooting represents the most serious security incident involving foreign nationals working for international organizations in Aceh since the kidnapping of World Bank advisor Adrien Morrell in September, 2008 (reftel) and the only shooting incident involving a foreign national working for the international community since 2005 tsunami relief and reconstruction efforts began. End Summary. Chronology -------------- ¶2. (U) Shortly after 1700 local time on November 5 Dr. Bauer and several Indonesian members of the German Red Cross in Aceh were traveling in a German Red Cross Toyota Landcruiser along a road in Greater Aceh District, the regency surrounding the provincial capital of Banda Aceh. According to German Red Cross local staff contacted by Medan on November 6 Dr. Bauer was on a working visit from Jakarta visiting Aceh from November 4 to 6. Media reports confirmed by initial police accounts stated a motorbike with driver and passenger pulled up alongside the vehicle on the passenger side and a total of three shots were fired by the passenger of the motorbike into the vehicle, all concentrated on the front passenger side of the car where Dr. Bauer was seated. ¶3. (U) Dr. Bauer sustained injuries to one of his arms and hand and suffered a gunshot wound to his ribcage. Neither the Indonesian driver nor the other passengers (Indonesian local staff of the German Red Cross) riding in the vehicle at the time of the shooting were injured. Dr. Bauer was taken to a local hospital for treatment where Governor Irwandi Yusuf and Police Chief Adityawarman visited him. Media photos show him conscious and sitting up on his gurney at the hospital. In the early morning of November 6 Dr. Bauer was medically evacuated to Singapore for further treatment. ¶4. (SBU) APP Medan Principal Officer spoke to Police leading the investigation on November 6, who stated they are trying to recover bullet fragments and following up leads in the case but have no suspects or motive identified at this early stage. Medan PO also expressed concern for the safety of Americans and other foreigners working in Aceh and asked police to keep USG apprised of their efforts to find those responsible. Reaction -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The shooting marks the first time that a foreign national working for the international community in Aceh has been the victim of this type of attack. Officials at the Germany Embassy, contacted on November 6 by Medan, expressed concern that a clearly marked Red Cross vehicle would be the target of a shooting, and added their disbelief that Dr. Bauer would have been targeted personally. In a conversation with the resident European Commission representative in Banda Aceh on November 6, John Penny, stated that the EC had asked him to "lay low" pending results of the initial police investigation, but that no NGOs had curtailed operations at this point, although all were more vigilant in the wake of the attack. ¶6. (SBU) In a detailed written brief on the incident to the international NGO community on November 6, respected resident security analyst Stephen Almsteier cautioned against viewing a single incident as a trend. While acknowledging the seriousness of the attack, he added that there is no information indicating that this attack is part of a larger trend of targeting foreigners in Aceh or that there is any increased risk to foreigners visiting or working in Aceh. Nevertheless, given the seriousness of the incident there are likely to be further discussions among the international agencies working in Aceh over the coming days regarding repercussions for the operational safety of Aceh-based staff. JAKARTA 00001843 002 OF 002 HUME