New porn bill angers Bali’s Hindus
DENPASAR – Indonesian residents of Bali are challenging a new pornography bill which some say threatens Hindu traditions and the bikini-clad tourism industry.
The new bill designed to define pornography and set a moral tone across the vast, mainly Muslim archipelago of Indonesia is threatening to change all that, according to critics.
AFP reports that Balinese lawmakers, rights activists, artists and tourism entrepreneurs are planning to join forces in a campaign of civil disobedience against what they say is ill-conceived and politically motivated meddling from Jakarta.
They say the bill overlaps with earlier legislation, defines pornography too broadly and will encourage Muslim extremists to enforce their values on Hindu Bali where ancient phallic symbols in temples are as much part of the island as Westerners basking in skimpy swimwear.
“Balinese and other ethnic groups have a different view on what sexual or pornographic materials are,†local intellectual Wayan Sayoga said at a protest rally of 5,000 people yesterday.
‘We can view nudity without being trapped by lust because we look at it from an aesthetical perspective.â€
The bill, which could be passed in a matter of weeks, criminalises all public acts and material capable of raising sexual desires or violating “community moralityâ€, including poetry and music.
Protesters wore traditional clothes, see-through temple blouses, performed traditional dances and read a poem that repeated the word ‘genital’.
“The government should never forget that Indonesia is a country based on non-discrimination over race, religion and ethnicity,†activist Luh Anggraeni said.
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika has said the bill fails to consider cultural diversity in a nation which stretches from the conservative Islamic province of Aceh to the animist highlands of Papua, where women go topless and men wear almost nothing but long gourds on their penises.
“Many people in Papua still live naked or half-naked. Are we going to arrest them all?†Pastika asked.
Ian Jarrett
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