Vandalism and human rights

Vandalism and human rights

Vandals recently attacked the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) and covered their office walls with obscene graffiti.

Police have yet to find the culprits responsible for the criminal acts, which included the pouring of a chemical liquid on two cars belonging to the foundation.

Recently, a number of lawyers from the foundation experienced similar incidents. A lawyer in the southern Sumatra city of Palembang found the bolts of the front wheels of his car loosened and his car was also smeared with a chemical liquid, which occurred at a state court building. A lawyer in Jakarta found his tires flattened one day and on another occasion, a lawyer in Bandung found the windshield of his car shattered.

Those who sympathize with the foundation have labeled the incidents as terrorist acts aimed at discouraging LBH's battle against human rights violations.

In western countries such actions would be severely punished. If the latest attack goes unchecked, such actions may befall consumer protection agencies, non-governmental organizations, law offices and other institutions which defend the public interest.

-- Mutiara, Jakarta