Returned activist vows to testify at YLBHI office
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)