1997 Georgetown motorcade plot

1997 Georgetown motorcade plot

Date	1997
Location	Georgetown, Tanoa
Type	Assassination attempt
Target	Eef Paap
Perpetrator	Tanoan resistance
Outcome	Explosive discovered before Eef's motorcade entered the route
Era	Vriend Era

The 1997 Georgetown motorcade plot was an unsuccessful attempt to kill Eef Paap during an official appearance in Georgetown, Tanoa. An explosive intended for Eef's motorcade was found inside a government service vehicle that remained on a route after the area had been cleared by his protection detail. Carlos Gustavo Schweitzer noticed the vehicle before the convoy entered the threatened section and stopped the motorcade. Investigators later linked the plot to the Tanoan resistance.

The investigation was followed by a punitive operation against a native settlement near the route associated with the suspected resistance activity. Its residents had not been tied to the attempted assassination. Allgemeine SS forces killed part of the population and arrested other residents.

Background

Georgetown was the administrative capital of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen and was regularly used for state ceremonies and appearances by senior leaders. Eef had served as Führer of Tanoa since 1980. Although he lived mainly at the Führerhaus on Ravi-Ta, he continued to attend official events in Georgetown.

Armed resistance to Tanoan rule had operated on the island since the 1960s. The organized eastern resistance network had largely been broken by 1974, but local opposition continued afterward.

Plot

Before Eef's motorcade was due to move through Georgetown, his protection detail cleared the planned route. A government service vehicle remained inside the restricted area after the clearance had been completed.

Schweitzer was accompanying Eef as a member of the Begeleitkommando des Eef Paap. Before the convoy entered the route, he noticed the service vehicle and stopped the movement. Security officers then searched the vehicle and found an explosive intended for the motorcade. Eef's convoy did not enter the threatened section of the route.

Investigators subsequently linked the attempted assassination to the Tanoan resistance.

Aftermath

After the resistance connection was established, Schweitzer ordered a punitive operation against a native settlement near the suspected resistance route. The investigation had not established that the residents had participated in the motorcade plot.

Allgemeine SS forces entered the settlement and killed part of its population. Other residents were arrested. Tanoan propaganda subsequently described the settlement as a resistance position and presented the operation as action against resistance fighters.

See also

• Eef Paap
• Carlos Gustavo Schweitzer
• Resistance against the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen
• Leibstandarte SS Eef Paap