NGO activists complain about confiscation of INFID papers
JAKARTA (JP): Activists from the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) released to the public documents that had been confiscated by the authorities last week upon their return from a meeting in Paris.
They were mostly papers about good governance which were presented at the INFID conference in the French capital, vice chairman of the Indonesian branch of INFID, Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, told reporters yesterday.
INFID decided to publicize the documents to correct the public misperception of the nature of the papers and the character of the INFID participants, following the controversy generated by the confiscation, Abdul Hakim said.
"We are worried because of the incident, the public might perceive that we were bringing in documents that could endanger the country," he said. "This in turn could put our members in jeopardy."
The documents were seized at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport last week when five members of the Indonesian delegation to the INFID conference returned from Paris.
The Attorney General's office stressed that they were simply "borrowing" the papers to be photocopied and gave a receipt to show that the documents were taken and would be returned to the owners later.
Initially, none of the five INFID members -- Asmara Nababan, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, Mulyana W. Kusumah, executive director of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, Oesman Tanjung, Didik Rachbini, and Saifudin Gani, at the airport -- complained.
But some of the organizations they represented subsequently protested the confiscation, partly because the action could lead the public to believe the INFID is an anti-government organization.
No liberal values
Abdul Hakim stressed that the Indonesia delegation to the INFID conference did not return with liberal values that oppose the generally accepted values here, although it might have views different from those of the government.
Attorney General spokesman Soeparman said the government had every right to check all printed materials that come from abroad.
But Zumrotin K. Susilo, the chairperson of the INFID Indonesia to the conference, has filed a formal protest with the Attorney General's office.
"The action was illegal. We demand that the Attorney General's office punish the officers and apologize to the five members of the INFID delegation," Zumrotin said in her letter.
She told the press yesterday that the Paris meeting discussed the concept of good governance, as well as decentralization, labor, property and environment issues.
The conference was attended by 30 people from various NGOs in Indonesia and their counterparts from the country's main aid donors. Its recommendation was sent to the donor countries and organizations before their annual meeting in Paris in June to discuss Indonesia's aid requirements. (01)