YLBHI lawyers see Xanana, but find language barrier
JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) were finally allowed to see convicted East Timor rebel leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao yesterday, but talks about preparing a new trial was bogged down by a language barrier.
The lawyers, led by executive director Adnan Buyung Nasution, were permitted to see Xanana at the Cipinang Correctional Institution in East Jakarta in their third attempt for the past two weeks.
Xanana has appointed YLBHI to represent him in his quest for a new trial.
He said the first trial, which led to his conviction and a life imprisonment for his rebellious activities, was fraught with irregularities. His term had been commuted to 20 years in jail under a presidential amnesty which he now claimed was applied by his government-appointed lawyer without his knowledge.
Buyung told reporters after the two-hour meeting with Xanana that he mostly listened to Xanana and allowed the rebel leader to "pour out his feelings, thoughts, complaints, criticisms".
He said he avoided leading the discussions to more specific topics, "in order to build Xanana's trust in his lawyers".
Mother tongues
Buyung, who was accompanied by Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, said the prison officials "treated them well", as they provided wide access, including a private room for the talks. He said there no security guards watching over the meeting.
He admitted, however, that problems in communication emerged during the talks as Xanana, whose mother tongues are Portuguese and the local East Timor dialect, spoke only a little Bahasa Indonesia.
Buyung is considering bringing an interpreter with him at the next session, which is scheduled for tomorrow.
On Xanana's request for a new trial, Buyung said the topic was brought up in yesterday's meeting but not in details. The issue will be discussed more extensively tomorrow. "A new trial is a possible solution but only after further discussions can we decide whether it is the best way out," Buyung said.
Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman earlier scorned Xanana's petition for a new trial, calling it "unethical" on the grounds that Xanana had already applied for clemency, which was granted by President Soeharto.
Buyung, responding to Oetojo's remarks, agreed that there is no jurisprudence that allows a convicted person to petition for a new trial after receiving clemency, but he stressed that this should not prevent one from taking this course.
"It can be made a new jurisprudence now," he said.
The decision in any case is up to the Supreme Court.(pwn)