New association for rights founded

JAKARTA (JP): A group of prominent legal and human rights activists announced yesterday the establishment of Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).

Aiming to provide legal aid for the poor and the legal- illiterate, the association is mostly staffed by people previously active in the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI), one of Indonesia's prominent legal aid bodies.

Mulyana W. Kusumah and Hendardi, respectively the new association's secretary and executive director, were former members of the YLBHI who left following an internal leadership wrangle. Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, chairman of the new association, was still member of YLBHI as well as director of the Jakarta office of the legal aid institute.

Luhut said yesterday the association would work toward building a nation which would respect the supremacy of law, a democratic political system and provide a legal system with full human rights protection.

He said democracy would start with the association, which is based on state ideology Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. Leadership elections, for example, will be conducted in a democratic manner, he promised.

Hendardi said the organization complies with the law stipulating that all mass organizations must register with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"This association will be an umbrella association for human rights activists and open to individual as well as institutional membership," Hendardi said.

"It is something new, more democratic and more able to accommodate our aspirations," Hendardi said.

Hendardi and Mulyana left YLBHI criticizing the overpowering role of its board of trustees in deciding the foundation's leadership.

The decision to set up the new association was made at a meeting of 42 legal and human rights activists on Nov. 5 in Jakarta. The association has already opened branches in several provinces, including West Java, West and South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Yogyakarta.

A number of prominent people founded the association, including senior journalist Mochtar Lubis a former YLBHI board of trustees member. Lawyers Amartiwi Saleh and Tumbu Saraswati and political observer Arbi Sanit were also involved.

The other founders were sooth-sayer Permadi, lawyer Dwiyanto Prihartono and activists of a number of non-governmental organizations, Benny K. Harman, Bonar Tigor Naipospos and Arist Merdeka Sirait.

Mulyana said the association would provide legal aid and conduct studies and researches. (26)