U.S. regrets lawsuit against Johny

U.S. regrets lawsuit against Johny

JAKARTA (JP): The U.S. government expressed regret on Monday
over a lawsuit filed against Indonesian Army Lt. Gen. Johny
Lumintang for his alleged role in violence in East Timor last
year.

U.S. Ambassador Robert S. Gelbard said his government termed
it "an unfortunate circumstance" and promised to personally
explain to Johny the details of the legal action as soon as
possible.

"The U.S. government was not involved with this and I
personally consider him as a friend ... this is very
unfortunate," Gelbard said after a meeting with Minister of
Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab.

However, the ambassador said his government could not help
Johny because the case was a civil lawsuit, which according to
the country's court system bans the government's intervention.

The New York-based Representatives of the Center for
Constitutional Rights and the San Francisco-based Center for
Justice and Accountability, on behalf of East Timorese
plaintiffs, served Johny legal papers when he was in the U.S.
last week at the U.S. government's invitation to speak in a
seminar about the reform movement within the Indonesian military.

Johny is currently governor of the National Resilience
Institute (Lemhannas) governor.

Gelbard confirmed on Monday there was no criminal lawsuit
against Johny, saying the plaintiffs were seeking compensation.
"So it was not an issue of him becoming a suspect," he said.

Alwi said the Indonesian government will advise Johny not to
meet any summons from the United States court following the
lawsuit. The minister added Johny could instead asked his lawyers
to attend any court hearing.

"It is not necessary for Pak Johny to give an explanation to
the U.S. court. It is better to send someone else to go on his
behalf, a staff from the embassy for instance," Alwi said.

He added the Indonesian government could not do more than
providing advice because the lawsuit was not filed by the U.S.
government.

"It's a matter of their legal system and we cannot address the
complaint," he remarked.

Alwi left for New York on Tuesday for talks on East Timor
refugees, but said he would also seek solution for Johny's case
upon request of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto.

Tyasno said on Monday he expected the foreign ministry to
ensure that any government that invited TNI officers would
respect their rights and privileges. (dja)