LBH offices across the country on the brink of collapse
Muhammad Nafik and Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya
Legal Aid Institutes (LBH) across the country are on the brink of collapse as the once respected non-governmental organization is suffering from financial difficulties following a bitter internal rift.
All of their international funding agencies had reportedly ceased assistance early this year after senior lawyers linked to the Indonesian Military (TNI) and corruption suspects took control of their parent organization, the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI).
Deddy Prihambudi, executive director of LBH Surabaya, said his office and 13 other LBH offices across the country would likely reduce or even cease operations as a consortium of foreign agencies had stopped their assistance.
He said his office and the other 13 LBH offices had been running short of funds for operational activities, including salaries.
"October is the last month that YLBHI will help finance LBH operations. YLBHI has apparently given up. Some LBH offices in Aceh, Medan, Padang, Palembang and Lampung will possibly be closed," Deddy told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He said that since January the operational funds from YLBHI for LBH offices had been gradually reduced.
Foundation chairman Munarman confirmed that YLBHI was facing financial shortages amid an internal rift, but denied the consortium of international funding agencies had completely ceased aid.
"What happens now is that the funding agencies have changed their contract of providing assistance from a four-month period to only three months," he told the Post on Tuesday.
But Munarman, who was appointed as the new YLBHI chairman on Sept. 23, 2002, admitted that it remained uncertain whether the consortium would be committed to extending assistance later this year.
Critics however doubted Munarman's statement that the international funding agencies were still providing funding for the foundation.
The four-member consortium that used to fund the rift-ridden YLBHI, comprised Novib of the Netherlands, Fida of Sweden, NCOS of Belgium and USAID. Another funding agency from the European Union had also extended aid in recent years.
Munarman said that if YLBHI no longer received funds from foreign donors, it would not close down its office and the 14 LBH offices.
Deddy's colleague Anshori said the halt of aid by the funding agencies was linked to the internal conflict and the taking control of the foundation by senior lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution.
"Changes proposed by young activists have not been adequately accommodated (by Buyung). So far, the YLBHI has depended on foreign financiers," Anshori added.
Former senior YLBHI activists confirmed on Tuesday the consortium was "refraining" from extending aid to the foundation.
"Some (agencies) have told us: Why should we give funds to those who already have the money?" said a former senior YLBHI leader, who wished to remain anonymous, referring to Buyung who currently chairs the organization's powerful board of trustees.
Buyung served as a lawyer for military officers charged with human rights abuses in East Timor after the territory voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999.
The foundation is also under fire for its inclusion of lawyer Muhammad Assegaf in the board of trustees, who is one of the lawyers of former president Soeharto's family, some members of which currently find themselves mired in corruption scandals.
Many have expressed doubts that the rift-ridden YLBHI would remain independent in its struggle for justice and democracy under the leadership of Buyung and with the inclusion of Assegaf in the board of trustees.
Buyung, a YLBHI cofounder, was officially named chairman of the board of trustees early last month, even though he had been suspended as a member in 2000 for defending military officers involved in the East Timor mayhem.
His appointment followed the resignation of his inactive predecessor Ali Sadikin, a former Jakarta governor, for health reasons.
Todung Mulya Lubis, a respected human rights lawyer, has reportedly resigned as a member of the organization's board of trustees. However, he could not be reached for confirmation as he is visiting the United States.