Guidance for NGOs?<\/p>\n
The authorities are reportedly drafting a decree on the
\nguidance of this country's non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
\nAccording to Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and
\nSecurity Soesilo Soedarman, the NGOs \"have not been guided
\nproperly.\"<\/p>\n
Although the nature and stipulations of the decree have not
\nyet been made clear to the public, the leaders of some NGOs are
\nalready questioning whether such a move is needed at all and
\nvoicing concern about how much freedom the government's new
\npolicy will allow them.<\/p>\n
The NGOs are concerned the government will classify them as
\nmass organizations, which have to register with the Ministry of
\nHome Affairs for legalization, even though they are non-profit
\norganizations having no membership system. Unlike mass
\norganizations, the establishment of all NGOs is based on
\nnotarized acts, which are registered at local district courts.<\/p>\n
The NGOs also are actively questioning how the planned
\nregulation will be implemented amid the much heralded trend
\ntoward political openness.<\/p>\n
The perceived need for such guidance on the part of the
\nauthorities is apparently the result of the uneasy relationship
\nthat has developed between the government and some NGOs.<\/p>\n
It seems that some of the NGOs are perceived as having crossed
\nover the thin line between openness and undue criticism, making
\nthe authorities uncomfortable with their clamoring over human
\nrights and the environment. The issue of human rights is perhaps
\nthe most sensitive of the two because it is closely related to
\nthe matter of political stability. And the fact that some NGOs
\nhave been cooperating with foreign organizations has made their
\nrelationship with the authorities even tenser.<\/p>\n
NGOs are not a local phenomenon. In recent years they have
\nbecome some sort of international necessity, especially in
\ncountries where sound socio-political systems are still being
\ndeveloped.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia the NGOs have been born from the wombs of a
\npolitical format and a social structure, which many people,
\nnotably members of the younger generation, feel have not provided
\nenough opportunities for them to participate in the county's
\nmodernization programs.<\/p>\n
Because NGOs have grown up from the grassroots and government
\npolicy and its tendency toward pragmatism has come from above,
\nthere have occasionally been differences in the approaches of the
\ntwo parties toward what are meant to be mutually beneficial
\ndevelopment efforts. The resulting situation has unavoidably
\npushed the two into a cycle of suspicion and eventually onto a
\ncollision course.<\/p>\n
Although some NGOs have a strong habit of producing little
\nmore than political statements, to accuse all of the existing
\nNGOs of being ill-intentioned is not only absurd, but also
\ngroundless.<\/p>\n
There are some 2,000 organizations here which can be defined
\nas NGOs, most of which carry little, if any, political weight,
\nthus having negligible ability to even begin to disturb the
\nstability of the nation.<\/p>\n
In that light it seems self indulgent on the part of the
\nauthorities to hang onto an excessive fear of the existence of
\nNGOs.<\/p>\n
This is particularly so when we observe the fact that there
\nare NGOs which have helped expand the public's awareness of the
\nimportance of law and justice, of the need to preserve the
\nenvironment, of the importance of the fight against poverty and
\nof the need to improve the welfare of villagers. All of these are
\nefforts supportive of the government's own drive to improve the
\noverall well being of the entire populous.<\/p>\n
Hopefully the authorities will be generous enough to continue
\nto give the NGOs the opportunity to air their opinions and do
\nwhat good they can because these groups are capable of helping
\nthe government make its development programs a success.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/guidance-for-ngos-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}