Activists oppose controls on NGOs

By Prasetyohadi

JAKARTA (JP): Several non-governmental organization (NGO) activists voiced their objections yesterday to a military proposal that foreign aid destined for NGOs, especially those with "problems", should be regulated.

Asmara Nababan, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana and Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, all prominent figures in the Indonesian NGO movement, said in separate interviews that the question of foreign aid is an internal matter for each recipient NGO.

"They cannot do that," Asmara, secretary-general of the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, told The Jakarta Post when asked to comment on the proposal.

"We're only accountable to the donors," said Nursyahbani, executive director of the Legal Aid Foundation - Association of Indonesian Women for Justice which receives grants from various foreign organizations including the Ford Foundation.

"If the government gives us some money, we will also submit our accountability report to it," she said.

"If the government can have financial relations with other governments, why should it prevent the public from having similar relations with their counterparts abroad?" she asked.

The idea to control foreign aid for NGOs was broached by Armed Forces Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid after addressing the congress of MKGR, a social organization affiliated to Golkar, in Bandar Lampung, Lampung, Friday.

"In the name of the national interest", a clear set of regulations on NGO funding is needed because Indonesia has had problems with some groups that receive money from overseas, Syarwan said.

"We're not against foreign aid if it is used for the interests of the nation and the country," he was quoted by Antara as saying. "After all, the state also receives foreign aid," he added.

"Foreign aid must be regulated and it should be used for the good of the people, the nation and the country. It should not be used for anything that goes against national interest."

Syarwan said that in general, the impact of NGOs has been positive for Indonesia, because they have made beneficial contributions to national development.

The number of "problematic NGOs" is small, and some of them were involved in the July 27 incident, he said, referring to the bloody riot in Central Jakarta which, by official accounts, left four people dead.

"If we tolerate these few NGOs, their activities could be detrimental to the nation and the country. That's why we need to regulate them," he said.

The Antara report did not say whether Syarwan singled out any particular NGO as "problematic."

The government has said that the Democratic People's Party, which is blamed for the July 27 riot, received funding from abroad, including from Australian trade union organizations.

The underlining principle of the work of any NGO should be "the love of the country," Syarwan said.

"That is the most important thing. From that principle will come various works and creations that will always take into account the national interest. If a person doesn't love his own country, then he won't find it hard to do things that go against the national interest.

"There will be no guilt because there is no love," Syarwan said.

Asmara, Nursyahbani and Abdul Hakim were dismayed by Syarwan's statement, describing it as another example of a communication breakdown between NGOs and the authorities.

Communications must be reestablished to eliminate such mutual suspicions, they said.

Asmara said Syarwan did not spell out what he meant by "problematic NGOs", and this was only sowing further suspicion.

Abdul Hakim, executive director of the Institute for Research Policy and People's Advocacy, said that rather than making public accusations, the authorities should take NGOs that are violating regulations to court.

Asmara recalled that there was a brief period when relations between NGOs and the government were cordial, during Gen. (ret.) Rudini's tenure as home minister from 1988 to 1993.

Relations started to go downhill when a new minister came in 1993, he said, referring to Moch. Yogie S.M.

"If Syarwan has any questions about NGOs, why didn't he come directly to us?" he asked.

Nursyahbani said some NGOs have been accused of wrongdoings but they were never properly told what exactly they had done. "If we have good communications, perhaps NGOs will know more about what they could and could not do," she said.

For the past few years, the government has been drafting a regulation on NGOs activities, but the move has always met stiff opposition from NGOs, which insisted that if they were to be regulated, it must be by legislation, and not some presidential or ministerial decrees. (16)