Legal foundation 'not a political party': Buyung

JAKARTA (JP): Outgoing chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Adnan Buyung Nasution says the people should not expect too much from the foundation in promoting democracy in Indonesia because it is not a political organization.

"It is unrealistic to expect the foundation to politically transform the country into a more democratic society because the foundation is not, and will never become, a political organization," he said at a press conference marking the foundation's 25th anniversary.

"If the political situation has changed, that has not been done by the YLBHI itself, but by the hard work of all those who support democracy, including political organizations and the foundation and other non-governmental organizations," he said.

At the press conference, Buyung, who recently announced his resignation, launched three new books published by the foundation.

They are LBH: Memberdayakan Masyarakat Membangun Demokrasi (LBH: Empowering People to Develop Democracy), Catatan Hak Asasi Manusia di Indonesia 1994 (Report on Human Rights in Indonesia in 1994) and Pidana Politik (Political Crimes).

Buyung said that if the people want to develop democracy, the country's legislature should be empowered to control executive power and review the law. He said the government should realize its function of serving the people and accommodating their aspirations.

He said the foundation had made significant strides, but that it needed to be pro-active in carrying out its mission of providing legal aid to justice-seekers and promoting democracy and human rights.

"The foundation has yet to have a decisive influence in handling cases and it is still only reactive against the existing situation," he said, citing numerous small cases which could not be handled completely in the past.

He said he hoped that the foundation would remain faithful to its initial mission of providing legal advocacy for the public and fighting for democracy.

Buyung said his resignation from the foundation's chairmanship was aimed at giving the younger figures in his profession opportunities to lead and develop the legal institution.

"I am not going anywhere. I will remain a member of the board of patrons of the foundation and I am committed to its mission. The time has come for the young generation to lead the foundation, which has about 160 lawyers," he said.

The board of patrons met last night to appoint several people as care-taker leaders of the foundation, which has chapters in all provinces.

The foundation will organize a national congress in the near future to elect a new chairman. Top lawyers Mulyana Kusumah, Nursyahbani Kacasungkana and Achmad Santosa are considered front- runners for the job.

Meanwhile, Mulyana, who accompanied Buyung at the meeting, said that the foundation, which has faced waves of repression from the government in carrying out its mission, would continue its activities in providing legal assistance to the weak.

"We will give priority to the fight against injustices and repression in an effort to encourage structural changes in society," he said.

He said that unjust practices, repression, human rights violations -- especially in labor and land cases -- were still prevalent in Indonesia. (rms)