JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Indonesian humanitarian organisation Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) has denied reports alleging that it sponsored the recent deadly sectarian riots in the Indian capital of New Delhi sparked by the controversial citizenship law.

Indian media company indiatvnews.com reported on Thursday that the ACT had funded the violent riots.

“It was said that the Indonesian NGO ACT tried to send 25 lakh (S$47,743) to fund rioters through a Delhi-based organisation. Reports also claim ACT is a highly radicalised Muslim organisation. It provides money in the name of assistance to many Muslim countries,” said the news portal indiatvnews.com.

The report also said the ACT had links to Hafiz Saeed, a firebrand cleric who has been declared a global terrorist by the United Stated and United Nations. It also alleged that the ACT had been involved in riots in Bangladesh and the establishment of Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

ACT supervisory council member Syuhelmaidi Syukur denied the allegations in a statement on Friday: “As a humanitarian organisation, we always maintain an independent stance upon implementing our programmes. Our objective is to give humanitarian aid since it is our duty.”

Regarding victims of the deadly riots in New Delhi, Mr Syuhelmaidi said the organisation had provided humanitarian aid to India since 2017. During the recent conflict, he claimed that the ACT had only delivered emergency supplies, such as clothing, food, water, medicine and financial aid.

Among the donations were hundreds of food packages and monetary aid for victims or families of New Delhi riot victims.

“Our monetary aid recipients consist of victims whose houses have been damaged, widows who lost their children and people who lost their source of income due to the riots,” said Mr Syuhelmaidi.

The ACT, he went on to say, had reported its programme’s implementation through various media, including social and mass media. The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had also awarded it the highest audit grade of “unqualified opinion” for 14 years straight.

Sporadic violence hit parts of the Indian capital of New Delhi as gangs roamed streets littered with the debris of days of sectarian riots that left more than 30 people dead, AFP reported.

The unrest is the latest bout of violence over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial citizenship law, which says that Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan are not eligible for citizenship, triggering months of demonstrations that turned deadly in December.

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