Aid to NGOs in Indonesia

Aid to NGOs in Indonesia

The news report that Surya daily quoted from The New York
Times May 20, 1998, which was later denied by Indonesia's non-
governmental organizations (NGOs), represented by the Indonesian
Environmental Forum and the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation,
and also by Amien Rais, is not completely wrong.

In the present era of reform, it is regrettable if only
parties considering themselves disadvantaged by this news voice
their denial. In a democratic atmosphere of reform, other
parties, particularly NGOs, who know inside out how foreign funds
can be channeled, should also help clarify this matter. It would
be a pity if only The New York Times and Surya become targets
without being allowed to give significant room for explanation,
with the exception of an apology.

On the one hand, it is hard for me to fully believe that in
this respect Surya and The New York Times, which has gained
recognition for its accurate reporting, are in the wrong. On the
other hand, I also have my doubts that recipients of foreign
funds, particularly those from the U.S. government, have in-depth
knowledge about the structure of decisionmaking regarding aid
extension.

NGOs receiving the funds may be ignorant of this matter, so
much so that when The New York Times exposed the funds, gigantic
in amount, this report caught the NGOs by surprise. Small-scale
NGOs may be wondering where these huge funds have "landed"
because the funds, certainly, have not been intended solely for
NGOs but, ultimately, for the people.

From my dealings with a number of NGOs, I have been informed
that in Indonesia there are conspiracies recommended by a
particular country as a prerequisite to entitle one to receive
its financial aid. Indonesian NGOs receive foreign funds from two
main sources: the United States and European countries. The
government of a country must have its own mechanism or
bureaucracy in allocating its budget for this financial aid.

In this respect, we need not feel uncomfortable to learn that
the intelligence agency of a donor country is involved in making
recommendations. This opinion stems from a premise that no
country will give aid free of charge. The political and economic
interests of the donor country concerned will be explicitly taken
into account in the extension of financial aid. The Indonesian
government will also do likewise when extending financial aid to
another country.

Things would be different if the forum and the foundation do
not know that the extension of funds from the United States
through the USAID package involves the CIA, which is a member of
the USAID consortium. In various brochures and products of USAID,
the CIA is officially mentioned. It is the job of the forum and
the foundation to check the statute of USAID.

This, I believe, is the difference between Indonesian NGOs and
a newspaper publisher, particularly The New York Times.
Therefore, Adnan Buyung Nasution and Amien Rais must check
whether they have received financial aid from a party, which,
when traced, will turn out to be a USAID donation. Being human,
Buyung and Amien have their limitations in this regard.

It is foolish to think that the extension of donation must
feature the hidden agenda involved. All can be felt only as the
impact of an expected result. It is the proper right of the U.S.
government and members of the USAID consortium, for example the
CIA, to feel that what has been donated has achieved the expected
result, and, also, to make this feeling public. Donation
recipients should not waste energy denying the feeling that
someone has, let alone waging a fight against facts, while reform
work is still piling up.

MULYADI S.

Bogor, West Java