Angry mob vandalizes LBH office

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of people attacked the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (LBH) office here in front of dozens of police officers who had been alerted in advance, activists said on Monday.

LBH's secretary Dadang Trisasongko told reporters that the people from the so-called People's Voice Committee smashed the office's main entrance and several windows.

"They came here at noon on 11 public buses, demanding, among other things, the office return about 200 workers of textile manufacturer PT Tyfountex to Surakarta, Central Java," Dadang said, adding the office had been sheltering the workers while they struggled to resolve a dispute arising from their dismissal.

In a statement made available to the media, the group accused the workers as rioters from "out of town" who had gone to the office under the pretext of "seeking justice".

Dadang said that the office was also accused of neglecting a number of cases, including the Tanjung Priok incident in 1984 when the security forces opened fire at hundreds of Moslem protesters.

"However, the fact is that it was LBH personnel, who were among the first to stand up for the victims at the time," Dadang said.

Dadang said the people smashed the windows and vandalized the main entrance while their representatives were inside presenting their demands to LBH members.

"Police were already here when the people began to ransack (the building) but they did nothing to stop the violence," Dadang said.

Labor activist Teten Masduki said that during the incident, he rushed to the nearby Menteng police station and asked the senior officer Capt. Sudiman to either identify the perpetrators or the group leader, but he refused to do so.

"He worried that the action would only incite further unrest," Teten said.

Central Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Iman Harjatna, who was also seen at the scene, echoed the same sentiment, saying that mass arrests would only exacerbate the situation.

"If we made any arrests, the situation could have got worse," Iman said.

One of LBH's founders, Adnan Buyung Nasution, who arrived at the office shortly after the incident, phoned Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman to complain about the incident.

"Why did the police let this happen while they were already here... it seemed that there was some kind of conspiracy," an agitated Buyung told Noegroho.

LBH is known to be highly critical of the government and is considered one of the leading non-governmental organizations campaigning for democracy and human rights.

Ucup, one of the protesters, admitted that his group had staged the protest at businessman Arifin Panigoro's residence in South Jakarta on Oct. 3.

The mob, claiming to be members of the People's Savior Front, pelted stones at the businessman's luxury property on Jl. Jenggala, smashing windows of the house and Arifin's two cars, including a Mercedes-Benz sedan.

Ucup, a pedicab driver who lives in Warakas, North Jakarta, also admitted that he had participated in a number of demonstrations.

He said the earlier demonstrations were discussed two or three days before the scheduled day.

He said that he was invited by his friend to gather at a pre- determined place in Warakas early in the morning.

"I was told that the demonstration was to protest the high prices of basic essentials," he said, while eating a packed lunch outside the LBH office.

He said the "coordinators" of the protest distributed headbands and food on the way to LBH. (byg/jun)