Minister calls for probe into fire at legal aid office
JAKARTA (JP): Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman has called for an investigation into the mysterious fire which destroyed the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (LBH) in Medan, North Sumatra.
"I haven't received any reports about the fire, but it has to be investigated," Antara quoted Soesilo as saying yesterday.
Fire gutted the legal aid office early Monday. The cause of the fire is unknown, but some press reports have linked it to an attack on the office the day before when it was hosting a meeting of independent poll watchdog activists.
An unidentified man first entered and tried to break up the meeting on Sunday. When his demands were ignored, a number of youths threw stones at the office and the activists who had gathered to form the North Sumatra board of the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP).
The poll watchdog was formed here last month by vocal government critics. The government has stated that it considers its formation or any other election watchdog unnecessary.
Director of the North Sumatra legal aid office Alamsyah Hamdani said in a statement that police had not given the office permission to hold the meeting.
Alamsyah said that soon after the rock throwing ceased, police stepped in to disband the meeting. Antara reported that hundreds of documents and numerous facilities in the legal aid office were destroyed.
The Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation has called for a thorough investigation into the attack and the fire in a letter to the North Sumatra police chief. It also asked that police guard the building and the assets of the office in Medan.
The two-story building has been occupied by the legal aid office since 1972. The loss of at least 400 legal dossiers in the fire will cause delays in various court proceedings, said Alamsyah.
"The destruction of the legal files will clearly delay the work of our lawyers," Alamsyah said, adding that his office will now have to ask the court for copies of the lost documents.
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There is so far no evidence linking Sunday's attack to the fire on Monday.
"I really don't know anything, I haven't received any reports," said Soesilo.
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation however claims that the fire has to do with opposition to the new poll monitor.
Foundation spokesman Hendardi said in a statement yesterday that the vehement opposition to the watchdog reflects the moral and ethical deficits in the country's political life.
He said the establishment of the poll body has provoked much discussion about domestic politics.
"This reality has become a cause for concern for certain parties who wish to maintain the political status quo. It is therefore not surprising that coercive plots are being used to impede KIPP's work," Hendardi said.
Meanwhile in Bandung, West Java, the head of the local chapter of the Legal Aid Institute, Effendi Saman, said the burning of the Medan office reflects an inability of the police to protect and ensure the safety of the community.
He said that after the disturbance on Sunday, the police should have anticipated further troubles and stepped up their presence to prevent any more malicious acts of destruction.
"It is quite clear that there are elements of premeditation here," he charged. (mds/17)