"It was a very bad mistake allowing NGOs like Greenpeace to enter the country," Deputy General Chairman of APKI Rusli Tan said.
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made a mistake in 10 years of his administration by allowing foreign non governmental organizations (NGOs) to operate freely in the country, the Pulp and Paper Association (APKI) said.

"It was a very bad mistake allowing NGOs like Greenpeace to enter the country," deputy general chairman of APKI Rusli Tan said via telephone here on Tuesday.

The government including regional administrations do not have to provide assistance in fund for foreign NGOs, but they had been free to launch negative campaigns in the country and abroad to boycott Indonesian commodities in international markets, Rusli said.

For local NGOs, the government especially regional administrations have to provide fund assistance derived from the regional budget to sustain their operations, he said.

Greenpeace, which made its presence for the first time in Indonesia in 2005, had launched campaigns raising issues about management of forests, energy, water and marine affairs in the country.

Its campaigns about forests had been mainly on peat forests in connection with global heat and climate change.

Rusli said the NGO which claimed to nature lover could put pressure on business players especially those operating in "green industry" like crude palm oil companies and pulp and paper producers.

The NGOs could put pressure for money to finance their operations in the country , he said.

"I dont know whether the new government under Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla (the president and vice president elect) would repeat the same mistake. Will they have the courage to do away with the foreign NGO?," he said.

Deputy chairman of the Riau provincial chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Viator Butarbutar said foreign NGOs had launched negative campaigns on Indonesian export commodities.

"Their campaigns had concerned mainly issue of alleged damage to the environment but the impact had been insignificant on exports from Riau," Victor said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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