Banyan | Who's afraid of the activists?

摘要

In Central Asia officials claim that non-governmental organisations are "battering-rams" that damage national sovereignty. In China a new law restricting independent organisations is being drafted, as activists are hounded, including five women recently detained for more than a month for campaigning against sexual harassment. And Cambodia's rulers say they must "handcuff" any ngos that stir up political trouble. You would expect authoritarian states to suffer from NGO-aversion. But many of the ostensibly more liberal Asian polities also display the symptoms, especially where prickly nationalists are in charge. When Sri Lanka's defence ministry took charge of regulating ngos, it was described as a necessary guard against traitors. Last month India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, snarled that "five-star activists" were bent on doing down his country. A new law in Indonesia imposes tight restrictions on ngos so as not to "disrupt the stability and integrity" of the country. And three years ago Pakistan closed down Save the Children and booted out its foreign staff, saying that spies all too often masquerade as aid-workers.