An aid worker from Hong Kong was in a stable condition last night after being shot whilst working in Indonesia's tsunami-stricken Aceh Province on Wednesday night.
Eva Yeung, 28, from the Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC), was wounded in the neck as she was traveling with another Red Cross worker in a car north of Lam No, a town 80 kilometers south of the provincial capital Banda Aceh.
HKRC spokesperson Almen Chui said Yeung was airlifted to Singapore yesterday to get further treatment and to be with her mother, younger brother and a friend who traveled to be at her bedside.
Yeung is the first reported foreign aid worker to be shot while helping local tsunami survivors. She had been in Indonesia since February as a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from Hong Kong.
The incident has prompted concern in Hong Kong that aid workers in hot spots are not receiving sufficient protection.
Although the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement rebels have been holding peace talks in Helsinki, Finland in efforts to end the three-decade-old insurgency, armed clashes are still common in the province.
Choy So-yuk of the Legislative Council security panel said the shooting was "immoral" and insisted that Hong Kong take up the case with local authorities in Aceh.
"They must investigate the incident. The Hong Kong government must act immediately to render help to the victim. I'm concerned that incidents such as this may hamper future aid efforts," Choy said.
Another security panel member, Lau Kong-wah, called on the HKRC to review the safety of its workers. The incident should not affect future aid efforts, as "relief services are a meaningful task," he said.
Aceh police spokesperson Djoko Turochman said Yeung was shot from a distance of about 100 meters and suspected separatist rebels of the attack. At least two shots were fired, but it is unclear how many hit Yeung.
According to the HKRC, Yeung was initially treated at a local hospital before being taken to Medan for transit to Singapore where more advanced medical facilities were available.
Following the shooting, Turochman promised to increase security for foreigners working in Aceh to prevent a similar incident.
Relief organizations active in the province are taking their own precautions and road travel around Lam No has been stopped. Acting area security coordinator for the UN in Aceh, Michele Lipner, said this was done as a precaution until they got more information about the incident.
Meanwhile, the HKRC has suspended road travel for its workers from Banda Aceh all the way to the city of Meulaboh, about 250 kilometers to the south.
In a separate development, another Hong Kong resident was confirmed to have died in the earthquake-triggered tsunami on December 26, taking the special administrative region's death toll to 30.
Ten other residents last reported in Thailand are still classified as missing.
(China Daily June 24, 2005)
