Bambang bids farewell to conflict-ridden LBH

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Bambang Widjojanto walked away on Wednesday from the populist Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), which he has chaired for the last five years.

His job will be done by an abruptly established group of caretakers tasked with reforming the 31-year-old organization, which has been battered by internal bickering.

"I have chosen to quit ... I will work together with other people to promote democracy. I refuse to work with people who love playing in the gray area. I respect my seniors, but none of you here is good enough to be my role model," he said at the handover ceremony.

YLBHI's board of trustees has set up a three-strong caretaker team, temporarily chaired by Victor Sibarani. The move was taken to break the impasse in the management reshuffle.

On Tuesday, YLBHI vice chairman Munir resigned.

YLBHI founder and former chairman of the board of trustees Adnan Buyung Nasution said that Bambang's tenure had actually ended in September but had been extended by another two months to allow for the election of a new chairman.

The board of trustees, the highest decision-making body, refused to reextend Bambang's tenure because he had failed to elect a new chief as scheduled, according to Adnan.

Adnan has been criticized for defending senior military officers named as suspects in the 1999 incidents of human rights abuse in East Timor.

"There are no conflicts. Everything is fine .... We have all buried the hatchet," he told reporters.

Thirteen of the human rights defenders at YLBHI criticized the reshuffle, saying that it would bring about more friction among the members. They charged that the board of trustees had carried it out without consulting them beforehand.