YLBHI under fire as suspect lawyers take charge
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Criticism of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) has mounted following the taking control of the once respected non-governmental organization by senior lawyers linked to the military and graft suspects.
Lawyers and human rights campaigners expressed doubt on Wednesday that the rift-ridden YLBHI would remain independent in its struggle for justice and democracy under the leadership of Adnan Buyung Nasution, who once served as a lawyer for military officers charged with rights abuses in East Timor in 1999.
"With some senior lawyers closely linked to the military and corrupters occupying posts in the organization, the YLBHI's independence is doubtful. It will be hard for it to be impartial as its executives will suffer from conflicts of interest," Hendardi, director of the Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Buyung, a YLBHI co-founder, announced on Wednesday that he had been named last week as the chairman of the organization's powerful board of trustees, even though he had been suspended as a member in 2000 for defending military officers involved in the East Timor mayhem.
His appointment followed the resignation of his inactive predecessor Ali Sadikin, a former Jakarta governor, for health reasons.
The new members of the board of trustees include Muhammad Assegaf, who is one of the lawyers for former president Soeharto's family, many members of which currently find themselves mired in corruption scandals and other criminal cases.
"Buyung taught me when I was a YLBHI member for 13 years to stay away from conflicts of interest in trying to secure justice for victims. But he's has not remained consistent to the organization's mission as he has defended the military," Hendardi said.
Hendardi, who quit the organization and established the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) in 1996 following an internal dispute within the YLBHI, criticized the inclusion of Assegaf on the YLBHI's board of trustees.
"Buyung's presence is, in itself, problematic, and with the presence of Assegaf there, it will only worsen the YLBHI's deteriorating image and further plunge it into discord," he asserted.
He said its eroded impartiality had caused the YLBHI to suffer "financial difficulties" in running its programs as several international funding agencies, such as the Netherlands' Novib organization, had ceased providing aid.
Todung Mulya Lubis, another respected human rights lawyer, is rumored to be about to resign from the board of trustees. However, he declined on Wednesday to comment on the rumors.
Other prominent lawyers, who asked for anonymity, said the YLBHI was the subject of "serious politicking", with Buyung and his colleagues taking over the organization's leadership in a bid to stifle its promotion of democracy and advocacy against military-linked violence.
They accused Buyung of trying to cleanse the YLBHI of activists, including those in its regional branches, who had ideas for changing the organization by sidelining them.
The conflict within the YLBHI escalated after its founders, who also acted as the organization's board of trustees, rejected the board of executives' proposal to change the organization from a foundation to a loose association.
The rift peaked with the dismissal of the then YLBHI chairman, Bambang Widjojanto, and the resignation of his vocal deputy, Munir, from the organization early in December 2001.
The board of trustees later set up a caretaker board, led by Irianto Subiyakto, to prepare for the election of a new YLBHI executive board within six months.
Bambang and Munir were among the organization executives who demanded the expulsion of Buyung from the YLBHI in January 2000 following the latter's move to defend military officers in the East Timor case.
Irianto, who should have ended his term as caretaker chairman last June, still holds the YLBHI top job, and facilitated Buyung's reinstatement as a member of the board of trustees.