Legal aid at the crossroads<\/p>\n
Frans H. Winarta, Member of the Board of Trustees, Indonesian
\nLegal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Jakarta<\/p>\n
The financial plight of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation
\n(YLBHI) has been the subject of considerable discussion in the
\npress in recent months. The concern is justified given the
\nleading role this organization played in the struggle for human
\nrights during the New Order regime.<\/p>\n
The operational funding that reached over Rp 500 million per
\nmonth for the 14 LBH branches throughout Indonesia was stopped by
\ndonor agencies Novib, Triple Eleven and Sida on the grounds that
\nan organization like YLBHI was no longer needed in this new
\nreform era.<\/p>\n
The modus operandi of LBH has been to concentrate on
\nstrengthening and encouraging the formation of civil society
\nthrough the issues of human rights and civic education for the
\ncommunity and for the poor who lack any knowledge of their legal
\nrights.<\/p>\n
At a time when the state is not as strong or as repressive as
\nduring the New Order regime, YLBHI has had to switch course and
\nreturn to its original mission of providing legal aid for the
\npoor.<\/p>\n
As long as poverty still exists, there is always a need for
\nlegal aid. If a country as advanced as the United States has
\naround 3,500 legal aid organizations spread across 50 states,
\nthen Indonesia that has still yet to fully recover from the
\nmulti-dimensional crisis that struck the country in 1997
\ndefinitely needs legal aid for its tens of millions of poor and
\nunemployed citizens.<\/p>\n
The right to legal representation and to an adequate defense
\nis an essential part of the principle of equality before the law
\nthat is constantly enunciated by our leaders, government
\nofficials and the community in general. It is a principle that is
\neasy to articulate, but extremely difficult to implement.<\/p>\n
Access to legal counsel is a fundamental human right
\nregardless of whether one is rich or poor. Access to justice for
\nthe common people actually increases productivity and social
\ncohesion because it reduces their sense of helplessness and
\naugments their sense of ownership in the system. This makes
\nsocial upheaval and destructive tendencies less likely.<\/p>\n
A country that considers itself democratic should make
\nprovision in its state budget for legal aid in order to ensure
\nequality before the law and access to justice. Legal aid funding
\ncan also be obtained from private funding sources like
\nbusinesspeople, legal professional organizations, advocates and
\nothers sympathetic to the defense of the poor. This is something
\nthat has yet to be done in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Legal aid funding has been obtained from overseas sources
\ndespite the fact that businesspeople and the legal profession
\nhave a responsibility to fund legal aid bodies that give the poor
\naccess to justice. Since foreign aid was cut off, YLBHI has been
\nin its most severe financial crisis since its founding in 1970.<\/p>\n
But this parlous financial state can actually become an
\nimportant test for the organization and the community to see
\nwhether legal aid can be obtained and supported from the
\ncommunity's own resources.<\/p>\n
Legal aid is the responsibility of the state and the
\ncommunity. Therefore, the financial difficulties currently being
\nexperienced by YLBHI require a common endeavor to overcome them.<\/p>\n
Earlier on LBH did receive public funding under the
\nadministration of former Jakarta Governor Ali Sadikin in the
\n1970s. But this assistance was cut off after Ali Sadikin ended
\nhis term. It has recently been rumored that the Jakarta
\nAdministration of Sutiyoso also wishes to help YLBHI by urging
\npowerful businesspeople to contribute long term aid to YLBHI so
\nthat the renowned organization can continue its mission of
\nassisting the city's poor. These permanent funds will be
\ndeposited in a bank and the interest used to meet the operational
\ncosts of YLBHI.<\/p>\n
The success or otherwise of getting this kind of funding from
\nthe business community will depend very much on the businessmen's
\nawareness and the approach adopted by the Jakarta administration.
\nThe board and management of YLBHI must convince the business
\ncommunity that legal aid is necessary to achieve a just and
\nprosperous society.<\/p>\n
In any part of the world, the rich cannot simply ignore the
\nplight of the poor and economically deprived. Striking contrasts
\nbetween rich and poor will always invite social tension. If the
\npoor in our community at least achieve some sense of satisfaction
\nthrough legal aid in dealing with legal problems, this should
\nencourage greater public order and respect for the law. The
\nexistence of a large dissatisfied poor population who feel
\ncheated will always create conditions that are ripe for social
\nupheaval and violence.<\/p>\n
Arthur von Briesen stated in his book Unequal Justice:<\/p>\n
\"Legal Aid is vital because it keeps the poor satisfied,
\nbecause it establishes and protects their rights; it produces
\nbetter working men and better working women, better house
\nservants; it antagonizes the tendency toward communism; it is the
\nbest argument against the socialist who cries that the poor have
\nno rights which the rich are bound to respect\".<\/p>\n
It is based on this paradigm that it is hoped the business
\ncommunity will contribute funding so that the legal aid movement
\ncan continue to provide services for those less fortunate. This
\nis particularly important given the continuing high levels of
\npoverty in Indonesia. It is true that aid from a conglomerate
\ncould be potentially problematic if YLBHI later has a case
\nagainst one of its own donors.<\/p>\n
But the workers and urban poor who do not have access to legal
\naid and representation are more dangerous than workers and the
\nurban poor who do have access to legal aid. At least, legal
\ndisputes will have a chance of remaining within legal corridors
\nand not descending into anarchy.<\/p>\n
Such permanent funds will be nonbinding so that the
\nindependence of YLBHI can be guaranteed. Von Briesen considered
\nlegal aid as a potent force against communism and against
\nsocialists who claim that the rights of the working class are
\ntrampled on by the rich.<\/p>\n
In other words, legal aid is about a fair distribution of the
\nright to justice. If the rich can be defended by tough and
\nexperienced advocates with high charges, then the rights of the
\npoor to a proper legal defense by a public defender acting pro
\nbono publico (for the public good) must also be guaranteed.<\/p>\n
If such a balance can be achieved, then we can begin to move
\ntoward the principle of justice for all. It is hardly surprising
\nthat Governor Sutiyoso has taken note of this problem given the
\nheterogeneous nature of Jakarta's population and the great
\nimbalance in distribution of wealth.<\/p>\n
It is hoped that this article might touch the heart of
\npowerful businesspeople to set aside a small part of their wealth
\nfor perpetuity funding for YLBHI so that this organization can
\ncontinue its mission of defending the poor as part of our joint
\npublic responsibility. There are hundreds of workers and
\nactivists of YLBHI now asking: Quo Vadis, YLBHI?<\/p>",
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