Legal aid foundation to hold talks to end rift

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) will bring together its activists from across Indonesia next week for a "national dialog" to end its protracted leadership rift.

The foundation's secretary general Aswab Mahasin said the dialog will be held from May 8 through 10 at a venue to be decided in a few days.

Dubbed one of prime movers of democracy, the foundation has been practically crippled by internal bickering that worsened in March during the election of a new chairman.

One camp charged that the election of Bambang Widjojanto was undemocratic. The rift culminated in the dismissal of Mulyana W. Kusumah, the foundation's executive director.

Also in March a group of senior members of the foundation moved to stake a claim on the foundation's leadership by establishing a rival federation, despite threats of punishment by the foundation's board of trustees .

Bambang, elected the new chairman in place of staunch human rights activist Adnan Buyung Nasution, has also formed his new executive board, which was condemned by the group as "legally defective because it was created through an undemocratic process."

Mahasin said those critical of Bambang's leadership will be given every opportunity to speak up before the board of trustees, the foundation's highest decision-making body.

"The main purpose of the dialog is to seek the best way to resolve the crisis and to unite the divided leadership," Mahasin said.

Senior activist Abdulrahman Saleh will have the honor of leading the three-day dialog. The board of trustees also decided that lawyer T. Mulya Lubis will chair the steering committee.

Bambang, who will chair the organizing committee in the dialog forum, said yesterday he had invited his most staunch critics, Mulyana, Rambun Tjajo, Hendardi and Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan to the talks.

Bambang said he has no objection if the board of trustees decides to annul the results of the March congress and calls for a new election.

"Why should I reject it if the board so decides?" he asked.

Aswab Mahasin also said that all provincial directors of the Legal Aid Institute are invited to the forum and will be allocated a special session to state their position.(16)