Govt told to limit foreign NGOs

Govt told to limit foreign NGOs

JAKARTA: The government has been called upon to limit the
number of foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the
province of Nangroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD).

The excessive number of NGOs has been held responsible for the
worsening situation and condition in NAD as marked by the recent
violent acts conducted by an unidentified group of people.

Prof. Dien Syamsuddin, secretary general of the Indonesian
Council of Ulemas (MUI), criticized the excessive number of NGOs
in NAD province which, he said, tended to create more problems
than solutions for the area.

Describing the huge number of NGOs in the province, Prof. Dien
Syamsuddin jokingly called NAD "the province of thousands of
NGOs".

The MUI Secretary General pointed to reports received from
MUI and Muhammadiyah organizations which revealed that not all
NGOs in NAD province had been working for the goodness of the
Aceh people but for their own hidden agenda.

According to him, both the central and regional governments
have the authority to limit the number of unscrupulous NGOs in
those areas. -- Antara