NGOs subject to law on mass organizations

NGOs subject to law on mass organizations

JAKARTA (JP): All non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are
subject to the 1985 law on mass organizations, Minister of Home
Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. said yesterday.

By the same token, all NGOs must register with the government,
Yogie said before attending a cabinet meeting.

"They have to obtain government recognition and they have to
meet certain requirements stipulated in the 1985 law," he said
at Bina Graha presidential office.

His statement came after some NGOs, described by the
government as "problematic", defied the authority, saying they
were not mass organizations and therefore not subject to the same
law.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), one of the NGOs
targeted by the government, said the law states that a foundation
can be established by a notary, which is then filed with the
Ministry of Justice.

The 1985 law, according to Yogie, stipulates that the guiding
principle of NGOs, and mass organizations, must be the state
ideology Pancasila.

NGOs must also report all foreign financial support received
from abroad, he said.

This clause was drafted into law to ensure foreign funds could
not be used to finance the activities of the opposition groups,
he said.

"These criteria are needed to ensure that NGOs stick to the
missions stated in their respective statutes," he said.

The 1985 law applies to foundations, until Indonesia has a new
law on foundations, said Sutoyo N.K. Director General of Social
and Political Affairs of the Home Affairs Ministry.

Sutoyo, whose office oversees the registration of mass
organizations, said the YLBHI was not yet registered.

The debate about NGOs was renewed last week after Coordinating
Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedirman
said the government was prepared to take action against 32
"problem" NGOs.

Soesilo said some NGOs failed to specify the Pancasila as
their ideology, while others were engaging in illegal activities.
The 32 represents a small minority of the 8,000 Indonesian NGOs,
he said.

Yesterday, Attorney General Singgih, who also attended the
cabinet meeting, said investigations into the activities of the
32 NGOs would begin soon.

His office has already received the files, he said.

"We will investigate all the NGOs, to see whether they are
violating their statutes," Singgih said.

Sutoyo earlier named YLBHI, the National Brotherhood
Foundation (YKPK), the Indonesian Prosperous Workers Union
(SBSI), the New Masyumi Moslem Organization, the New Indonesian
Nationalist Party (PNI) and the Pemuda Marhaen Youth
Organization, as some of the targeted NGOs.

The latest crackdown on NGOs began with the rounding up of
leaders of the little-known Democratic People's Party (PRD), in
July.

The government said the PRD had communist traits, and blamed
the organization for inciting the July 27 riots that left at
least four people dead. SBSI chairman Muchtar Pakpahan was
arrested in the wake of the riots and has been charged with
subversion.

The NGOs have resisted previous government attempts to
regulate their activities. They argue that if they must be
regulated, it should be by legislation, and not by presidential
or ministerial decree or by the 1985 law on mass organizations.
(imn)