Labeling of 32 NGOs as 'problematic' criticized

Labeling of 32 NGOs as 'problematic' criticized

JAKARTA (JP): A senior lawyer criticized the government
yesterday for labeling 32 non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
as "problematic."

Luhut Pangaribuan, director of the Indonesian Legal Aid
Institute, said in a workshop on human rights that only the court
of law has the authority to legally determine whether an
organization is "problematic".

"It's an exercise of intimidation, either direct or indirect,
by the government against the NGOs," Luhut said. "To my opinion,
there is nothing wrong with what the NGOs have done."

Luhut was presenting his paper on NGO involvement in promoting
human rights during the third day of the workshop jointly
organized by the National Commission on Human Rights and the
Raoul Wellenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
of Sweden.

The government said last month that the 32 NGOs had failed to
designate Pancasila as their operating principle and that they
were engaged in illegal activities. The attorney general will
start questioning leaders of the NGOs next week.

"It seems like that the government is trying to depoliticize
NGOs," said Luhut.

He said he regrets that relationships between the government
and NGOs are deteriorating. "A sympathetic approach was taken by
the government in the past when Minister of Home Affairs Rudini
initiated regular dialogs with NGOs," Luhut said.

Luhut also explained why some NGOs are opposed to a 1985 law
on mass organizations, saying that they have instead opted to
work under the banner of foundations.

"They (NGOs) abide by their own rules instead of the law on
mass organizations," he said. "The use of state power to treat
NGOs the same as mass organizations is an arbitrary act," he
added.

Luhut said that NGOs have campaigned relentlessly since the
1970s for the protection of human rights, despite the fact that
their activities have sparked controversy.

"The positive roles of NGOs can be seen in the frequent use of
the words 'human rights' nowadays which in the past might be
linked with communism," Luhut said.

NGOs also played a major role in helping the government draw
up the criminal code procedures, according to Luhut, who hailed
the work as "a masterpiece" for containing the universal human
rights declared by the United Nations 48 years ago.

"It is wrong, therefore, to believe that human rights have
their origins in Western culture," Luhut said.

Indonesia has yet to ratify the 1948 Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.

However, Luhut said that there have been many loopholes and
inconsistencies found in the criminal code procedures since they
went into effect.

"The codes do not include a clause giving a judge the right to
rule out dossiers agreed by defendants after the use of force,"
Luhut said as an example. (amd)