Legal aid office attacked by graffiti vandals
Legal aid office attacked by graffiti vandals
JAKARTA (JP): The Director of the Jakarta branch of the Legal
Aid Foundation Luhut Pangaribuan expressed concern yesterday at
the obscene pictures and writing scrawled on two outside walls of
the foundation's building at Jl. Diponegoro 74, Central Jakarta.
"The graffiti and the words here are not a form of vandalism
done for fun by street kids. This was deliberate and clearly
planned," Luhut said.
The obscenities and graffiti of male sex organs can be seen by
anyone passing by the foundation building.
Luhut said that the perpetrators apparently came to the
foundation headquarters between the security guards' rounds at
midnight and 3 a.m on Thursday.
"We suspect that there must have been more than three persons
involved, maybe as many as 10," Luhut said.
Luhut refused to name the people he suspects, saying that is
the task of the police.
"Whoever they are, they must be people with sick minds," Luhut
said.
Bambang Widjojanto, the Legal Aid Foundation's national
operations director, reported the case to the Menteng, Central
Jakarta, Police Chief Maj. Anis Angkawijaya on Thursday
afternoon.
Maj. Anis told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the police will
summon the foundation's two security guards for questioning on
Monday.
"Actually I have been waiting for the two guards, but they
have not shown up yet," Maj. Anis said.
He said that due to the vulgarity and offensiveness of
graffiti, the police have asked the foundation to repaint the
wall immediately.
Luhut said yesterday that the foundation will ask its
employees, clients and other supporters to help clean up the
walls on Monday.
"The foundation will not hire any workers to repaint the
walls," Luhut said.
The defacing of the building is the last incident in a chain
of mysterious threats and damage to property aimed at the Legal
Aid Foundation's branch offices in Jakarta; Palembang, South
Sumatra, and Bandung, West Java, over the last 10 days.
The first incident occurred in Palembang on Jan. 25, when
unidentified men loosened the tire bolts on a car, owned by a
lawyer from the local foundation office, while it was parked at
the courthouse.
Another incident occurred at the South Jakarta District Court
building on Jl. Ampera Raya on Jan. 30. Unidentified men poured
acid over the hood of a car being used by the foundation lawyers
and slashed all of its tires.
Another incident, involving the Bandung-based Nusantara Legal
Aid organization, which is not affiliated to the foundation,
happened in Bandung six days ago. Unidentified people broke the
window of a car owned by Effendi Saman, a lawyer of Bandung-based
Nusantara Legal Aid.
Effendi told reporters that his car stereo and other
belongings were left untouched. (mas)