Anti-porn law draws scorn in Indonesia
Source: Agencies |
March 27, 2010, Saturday
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AUTHORITIES in two Indonesian provinces said yesterday that they will not comply with a controversial anti-pornography law they say would stifle traditional Balinese and Papuan culture.
The Constitutional Court upheld the law a day earlier, rejecting appeals arguing that it defined pornography too broadly and could be used to impose conservative Muslim values on other groups and to justify attacks on art.
Legislators in Papua province -- a largely tribal region where women customarily go topless -- said the law passed in 2008 has never been implemented there because it can't be effectively enforced. The governor of Bali, a Hindu island that draws many tourists, said the law goes against Balinese society.
Komarudin Watubun, deputy house speaker for the Papua provincial council, said it would be impractical to impose the law in Papua.
"The people here in Papua have never bothered with the law. It's like other laws in Indonesia where many people just realize that it cannot be enforced so why should we bother with it?" he said.
The legislation passed with strong support from conservative Islamist parties, though more than 100 legislators walked out to protest its approval. It outlaws overtly sexual images, gestures and even conversations. Violators can be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison and fined up to US$795,000.
Meanwhile, Bali's governor Made Mangku Pastika said he has long objected to the anti-pornography law since it goes against Balinese society.
"We reject porn crimes, but this law also does not suit the sociological and psychological aspect of Balinese society," he said, speaking to a group in the provincial capital of Denpasar.
The Constitutional Court upheld the law a day earlier, rejecting appeals arguing that it defined pornography too broadly and could be used to impose conservative Muslim values on other groups and to justify attacks on art.
Legislators in Papua province -- a largely tribal region where women customarily go topless -- said the law passed in 2008 has never been implemented there because it can't be effectively enforced. The governor of Bali, a Hindu island that draws many tourists, said the law goes against Balinese society.
Komarudin Watubun, deputy house speaker for the Papua provincial council, said it would be impractical to impose the law in Papua.
"The people here in Papua have never bothered with the law. It's like other laws in Indonesia where many people just realize that it cannot be enforced so why should we bother with it?" he said.
The legislation passed with strong support from conservative Islamist parties, though more than 100 legislators walked out to protest its approval. It outlaws overtly sexual images, gestures and even conversations. Violators can be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison and fined up to US$795,000.
Meanwhile, Bali's governor Made Mangku Pastika said he has long objected to the anti-pornography law since it goes against Balinese society.
"We reject porn crimes, but this law also does not suit the sociological and psychological aspect of Balinese society," he said, speaking to a group in the provincial capital of Denpasar.
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