JAKARTA: Greenpeace Indonesia continues to find itself the center of attacks from both conservative Muslim activists and the government over its activities inside and outside the country. The ANTARA news agency reported that the government is looking at a number of alleged offenses committed by the environmental group, which could potentially lead to its expulsion from the country. That pressure to suspend the NGO continued during a discussion on the “Polemic of Mass Organization Bill and Freedom of Association – Greenpeace Indonesia Legal Status” at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta on Thursday. According to the Bernama news agency, the discussions showed that Greenpeace Indonesia had violated “many rules, one of them being the organization had failed to report to police or the Home Affairs Ministry the funds and assistance it received from abroad.” Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi, who had earlier in the week described Greenpeace Indonesia as a “wild organization,” and said the NGO had never reported their activities to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Last week, a large number of protesters gathered near the Greenpeace Indonesia headquarters in Jakarta to demand it leave the country over reports that it received funding from gambling. They said that the international environmental group based in The Netherlands was relying on gambling money to operate. Gambling is forbidden in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, and the youth say the government should not allow Greenpeace to continue work in the country while receiving money from “un-Islamic" sources. “We give Greenpeace a month to leave during this Ramadan month," said Habib Sholeh bin Muhammad al Hadar, the leader of the rally, who was quoted by local media as saying. The protesters warned that if the organization remained in the country after the month, they would organize an even larger rally to force Greenpeace from the country. He added that Greenpeace only “serves foreign interests" by being in Indonesia. The gambling issue was denied by Greenpeace Indonesia, but the protest leader said the official website of the environmental organization said it received donations from Postcode Lottery in 2010 and 2012, with a total received of some $2.25 million. “They kept on saying that they did not receive any gambling money, but in fact Greenpeace Netherlands clearly received it in 2010 and 2012," he said. “The money went from Greenpeace Netherlands to Greenpeace International, and then to Greenpeace Southeast Asia, before finally being received by Greenpeace Indonesia," he added. Meanwhile, Greenpeace Indonesia head Nur Hidayati said in a press release that the organization had never accepted gambling funds, adding that the Dutch Postcode Lottery did not involve gambling. “It is a common practice in the Netherlands and is not contrary to Greenpeace's basic values. The organization does not accept funding from any government or company. But our culture is different," she added.
