VZCZCXYZ0006
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAE #1015/01 3341240
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 301240Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY ASMARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8573
INFO RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 6028
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 2907
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1044
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0193
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1263
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 4677
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1442
RUEPADJ/CJTF-HOA J2X CAMP LEMONIER DJ
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 001015 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS, 
USAID/DCHA FOR WGARVELINK, LROGERS 
DCHA/OFDA FOR GGOTTLIEB, MMARX, IMACNAIRN, KCHANNEL 
DCHA/FFP FOR JDWORKEN, TANDERSON, PMOHAN, PBERTOLIN, 
JMAJERNIK 
USAID/AFR/AA AND AFR/EA FOR JBORNS, SMCLURE 
NAIROBI FOR OFDA JMYER, GPLATT; REDSO/FFP NESTES 
KAMPALA FOR USAID DSUTHER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2016 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV EAID ER SU
SUBJECT: SAMARITAN'S PURSE,S DRIVERS ARRESTED AND VEHICLES 
IMPOUNDED 
 
REF: ASMARA 958 
 
Classified By: AMB. Scott H. DeLisi for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  On November 20, Samaritan's Purse (SP) 
attempted to transfer eight vehicles, including two trucks, 
to the Beja Relief Organization (BRO) in Telkuk in Eastern 
Sudan.  During the transport, the police forced the drivers 
to return to Asmara.  In Asmara, the drivers and the local 
supervisor of the car rental agency were arrested.  SP is 
trying to work the issue quietly and has requested the 
Embassy not provide any assistance at this time.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) On November 20, nine drivers for Samaritan's Purse, 
five employed directly by SP and four hired through a local 
car rental agency, left Asmara and arrived in Keren at 1930. 
They had planned to overnight in Keren and leave early the 
next morning to drive to Telkuk.  Around 2300, the acting SP 
Country Director was called by one of the drivers who told 
him that the police had come to the hotel and told them to 
turn over the vehicles.  The drivers refused, spent the night 
in Keren and after a series of phone calls between the MLHW 
and the police in Keren the next morning, the drivers and the 
vehicles were provided a police escort to return to Asmara. 
In Asmara, the GSE impounded the vehicles and arrested the 
nine drivers along with the local supervisor of the car 
rental agency.  To date, no official charges against the 
drivers have been filed. (Comment: The GSE rarely informs 
individuals of charges or reasons for detention. End Comment.) 
 
¶3.  (C) Acting SP Country Director told poloff on November 27 
that the Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare (MLHW) had given 
oral approval to transfer program equipment to BRO.  Despite 
the oral approval, SP had nothing in writing and had 
initiated the transfer without obtaining the GSE travel 
permits usually required by NGOs for travel outside of 
Asmara.  Based on SP's past history with the GSE, the acting 
Country Director said he felt they "had the green light" to 
go forward with the transfer of vehicles.  They had been told 
by BRO that everything was in order in Sudan and felt they 
had the consent of the MOD.  SP, who has operated under what 
they have termed a "special relationship with the Ministry of 
Defense(MOD)," had followed their previous procedures of 
notifying the MOD of their plans to travel and proceeded 
without official permits from the GSE. (Note: Over the past 
four years, SP has been running cross-border operations to 
Eastern Sudan with few problems based largely on oral 
agreements coordinated directly with the regional MOD 
commander, General Tekle, and outside of the general MLHW 
procedures required by the GSE for NGOs.  While other NGOs 
have encountered difficulties with travel permits, SP had 
been permitted to travel through Eritrea to Eastern Sudan 
without them. End Note.) 
 
¶4. (C) Presently, SP is providing support for the families of 
the detained individuals and attempting to resolve the 
situation on their own.  At this time, SP has not asked for 
any assistance from the Embassy.  In fact, the acting Country 
Director specifically said to poloff, "the reason I didn,t 
let you know earlier was because we don't want the situation 
to become politicized." 
 
¶5.  (C) The acting Country Director mentioned that General 
Tekle had told him in a conversation several weeks earlier 
that SP should give the equipment directly to him and he 
would arrange the transfer, because the Beja were not "smart 
enough" to know what to do with the vehicles.  Despite these 
statements, SP does not believe this incident was an attempt 
by the GSE, or more specifically the MOD, to obtain the 
 
vehicles since they could have been seized at any time.  SP 
suspects that a local Eritrean SP staff may have tipped off 
the police or the GSE security personnel about the transport 
and the absence of travel permits in an attempt to build 
credibility with the GSE.  SP's acting Country Director 
believes he can resolve the transfer and detention issues on 
his own. 
 
¶6.  (C) Comment.  The Embassy will remain engaged with 
Samaritan's Purse and offer what support it can.  As noted 
reftel, the Ambassador had raised the issue of SP assets 
earlier with the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare who 
said her ministry had no problem with the transfer.  We 
suspect that tension over areas of responsibilities between 
General Tekle and the MLHW, or even General Tekle's own 
agenda, contributed to this incident and that it was not the 
result of the on-going issues between the GSE and NGOs.  End 
comment. 
DELISI