Legal Aid Foundation's executive board installed
Legal Aid Foundation's executive board installed
JAKARTA (JP): Lawyer Bambang Widjojanto was formally installed as the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation's (YLBHI) executive board chairman yesterday amid a new row over access to bank accounts between two competing camps in the organization.
Bambang, 36, was installed by Board of Trustees Chairman Harjono Tjitrosoebono. The board had elected him in preference to other, more senior and experienced, candidates.
Bambang yesterday also revealed some, but not all, of the members of the executive board, an indication that the precarious negotiations with senior YLBHI staffers who had opposed his election were still on-going.
Bambang appointed Soekardjo Adidjojo, a lawyer and runner up in the election, and Frans Hendra Winarta, also a lawyer, as his deputies. The secretary-general will be Ahmad Fauzan, former Director of the YLBHI's Manado chapter, while the post of treasurer will be temporarily held by Frans.
Bambang replaced Adnan Buyung Nasution who resigned in October. He will serve for a year and half, which is the remaining period of Buyung's term.
Conspicuously absent from Bambang's shortlist are names such as Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, Hendardi, Mulyana W. Kusumah, Amartiwi Saleh and Rambun Tjayo who had been on the old executive board.
These names had formed a federation with YLBHI in protest over the way the board of trustees conducted the election. The federation has claimed to take over the running of the organization's day-to-day activities in defiance of the Board of Trustees' warning.
The row intensified yesterday when Adnan Buyung Nasution, as a member of the Board of Trustees, blocked a number of YLBHI accounts in three banks: Bank BNI, Bank Exim and ABN Bank to deny access to the dissenters. Frans co-signed the order to block the accounts.
One of those who was denied access was Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, the chairman of the Jakarta Office of the Legal Aid Institute. He said that the move could severely disrupt his office's activities. "Both Buyung and Frans are no longer on the executive board," Luhut said.
He said he hoped the new chairman would reverse the move but added that his office would try to continue its operation even without money.
Harjono supported Adnan's initiative. "By blocking the bank accounts, we can prevent the possibility of any irresponsible use of the funds," he said.
Neither Buyung nor Harjono would disclose the amount of money at stake.
Bambang, in his inaugural speech, said the tasks ahead for YLBHI are not easy. One of them is to develop democracy in the country.
He also appealed for reconciliation with the dissenters. (imn)