Bali, Indonesia- Today 11 October, the heightened maneuvers from the Indonesian authorities against the civil society organisations have finally led to the cancellation of the Peoples’ Global Conference Against the IMF-WB (PGC) Open Space.
As a response to the attacks, the CSO community came together to express and demonstrate their support to the PGC. CPDE issued a statement immediately after the harassments and sabotage in Bali have been reported by local member organisations and organisers of the PGC.
“CPDE decries the attacks of the Indonesian government against civil society organisations (CSOs) exercising their right to participate in the events in Bali, Indonesia,” says CPDE Co-chair Vitalice Meja.
“As advocates of development we denounce the Indonesian Government’s crackdown on CSOs and IMF-WB’s failure to take action against violations of CSOs’ right to initiative,” CPDE co-chair Beverly Longid reiterates.
CPDE slams the shrinking space for civil society, which runs counter to the notion of inclusive development – one of the key tenets enshrined in the development effectiveness principles, says Longid who is also a victim of harassment and trumped charges back in the Philippines.
The CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) is one of the organisers in the PGC Open Space that was set to host a forum on private financing through the effective development cooperation (EDC) lens.