Returned activist vows to testify at YLBHI office

JAKARTA (JP): Activist and lawyer Desmond J. Mahesa, who was released after being abducted by an unknown group, is in Jakarta and has vowed to reveal all today.

The chairman of the Nusantara Legal Aid Foundation, who turned up April 3 after being missing for two months, said he would deliver his testimony at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) office here.

"I will tell the truth... For me, it's part of amar ma'ruf nahi mungkar," he said, referring to the Koranic verse which means one should pursue good and fight against evil.

He was accompanied yesterday by, among others, lawyers from the Banjarmasin branch of the Indonesian Bar Association (Ikadin Banjarmasin), YLBHI, and the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).

Desmond said he wished to testify because he felt his privacy "had been violated" since he was sent back to his hometown of Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, last month by his abductors.

He claimed that unidentified men continuously pestered his friends and family.

"My uncle was approached (by some men), I met my friends and (their) mothers were approached, they never come directly to me... but I felt insecure back in my hometown.

"So I have come here to clarify this matter... with the support of my colleagues here," he said, referring to the legal aid organizations assisting him.

One of his lawyer-friends, Dadang Trisuroso, added: "Desmond's being here (to testify) is part of his responsibility to the public who have so far given attention to his disappearance."

Desmond's testimony today will become the second open testimony after another returned activist, Pius Lustrilanang, went public with his ordeal over a fortnight ago.

Another returned activist, Haryanto Taslam of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) loyal to ousted PDI leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, has decided not to talk about his abduction.

The three activists were among over a dozen activists who the National Commission on Human Rights says were "forcibly abducted" by a well-organized group.

The commission has also noted that there exists a public perception that members of the Armed Forces may have been involved.

The Armed Forces, however, has refuted the allegations and has vowed to investigate the matter by forming a special team that would report directly to the Minister of Defense/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto. (aan)