Buyung faces dismissal from YLBHI's board of trustees

JAKARTA (JP): Senior lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution is facing dismissal from the board of trustees of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) for allegedly veering from the core ideals of the organization.

The contentious issue apparently concerns Nasution's decision to lead the defense team representing top military generals allegedly connected to human rights violations in East Timor.

A mid-term report by the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Abuses in East Timor (KPP HAM) identified the military of being responsible for rights abuses in the territory.

Members of the foundation's board of trustees and regional chapters and foundation executives met here on Monday afternoon to discuss the issue. Nasution was not present at the meeting.

Those in attendance at the meeting included Frans Hendra Winata, Abdurrahman Saleh, Zaidun, H.J.C Princen, Hugeng, Daniel Panjaitan and Dadang Trisasongko.

Later in the evening, Nasution faced the board of trustees at the residence of well-known government critic Ali Sadikin, who is also a member of the foundation's board.

The parties were still meeting late on Monday night, but earlier statements indicated Nasution's dismissal was likely.

"I think it is confirmed that the board of trustees will dismiss Buyung from YLBHI with or without the latter's consent," Todung Mulya Lubis, a senior member of the foundation, told The Jakarta Post.

The move to dismiss Nasution was a response to mounting calls from the foundation's regional chapters.

Todung said Nasution was considered to have abandoned the ideals of the foundation, which is to uphold justice and advocate human rights.

The dismissal would be a shocking fall from grace for the flamboyant 65-year-old white-haired lawyer who was a pillar of the foundation he helped establish.

Nasution chaired the foundation from 1981 to 1983 and from 1992 to 1996 before entering private practice with his own law firm in 1998.

YLBHI chairman Bambang Widjojanto said it was ironic that while his colleagues were fighting to bring rights abusers to justice, Nasution was defending them.

Foundation members and associates such as Todung and rights lawyer Munir are among the members of KPP HAM.

According to Bambang, this is not the first time Nasution has been warned about his selection of cases.

"It's the third time, with the latest case being when he represented state-owned aircraft maker IPTN in its suit against The Jakarta Post in 1997."

IPTN was the brainchild of former president B.J. Habibie, who was minister of research and technology at the time of the company's founding.

"We just want bang Buyung to have more space and freedom to pursue his profession without any conflicts of interest," Bambang said.

Meanwhile, Munir asserted that all of the foundation's executives and regional chapters supported the motion to "dismiss Nasution".

Ali Sadikin and Princen told journalists there were fears of an attempt to undermine the foundation, which is well known for its criticism of the government and military.

"We are afraid there is a political conspiracy behind this maneuver, including Buyung's recruitment to the team (defending the generals)," Princen said.

Meanwhile, KPP HAM chairman Albert Hasibuan said on Monday the commission had no political motives behind its plan to question a number of Army generals, including Gen. Wiranto, suspected of supporting the prointegration militias blamed for the violence in East Timor.

"We have no intention whatsoever to corner the military; we only want to seek an explanation because evidence and witnesses on the ground suggest that elements of the military colluded with the militias (in the violence)," Albert said.

Albert was speaking after meeting with the chief of the military prosecutor's office, Maj. Gen. Timur Manurung, and the intelligence assistant to TNI's chief of general affairs, Rear Adm. Yoos Mengko.

Albert said the two men came to his office for clarification on the commission's statement that elements of the military were involved in the violence in East Timor.

Wiranto, who was TNI chief when the self-determination referendum was held in East Timor, is scheduled to be questioned by the commission before Christmas.

Albert said the former spokesman for the Indonesian Task Force for the Implementation of the Popular Consultation in East Timor, Dino Patti Djalal, would be questioned on Tuesday about the outbreak of violence in the territory. (emf/byg)