DENPASAR (Indonesia), Sept 23: About 1,000 people protested against Indonesia’s anti-pornography bill on the resort island of Bali on Tuesday, prompting the local governor to vow he would ask the president to drop the controversial legislation.

The protesters — who wore traditional Balinese sarongs and headdresses, and carried banners with the words “Anti-porn bill no, Indonesia yes” — marched to Governor Made Mangku Pastika’s office in Denpasar.

“We will sign a Balinese statement and will send it immediately to President SBY,” Pastika told the crowd, referring to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono by his initials.

The anti-porn bill is being pushed by a small group of Islamist parties in predominantly Muslim, but officially secular, Indonesia.

But it has been condemned by some of the country’s minorities including the Balinese, who are Hindu, as well as Christians, and some tribal groups who favour near nudity as traditional attire.

Critics say that the exceptions to the bill for sexually explicit cultural and artistic material are too vague, and that by allowing civil organisations to play a role in preventing pornography, this could open the door for vigilante groups to take the law into their own hands.

Legislators have so far stopped short of passing the bill, which has been discussed for about three years, because critics say it would threaten Indonesia’s tradition of tolerance and diversity.—Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

Anti-smuggling drive
Updated 04 Oct, 2023

Anti-smuggling drive

Smuggling is eating into the economy, weakening it and imposing enormous costs on the manufacturing industry, jobs and public well-being.
Deadly trade
04 Oct, 2023

Deadly trade

PAKISTAN may never have witnessed a character as notorious and slippery in the illegal organ trade as Fawad Mumtaz. ...
Caucasus conflict
04 Oct, 2023

Caucasus conflict

AFTER more than three decades of stalemate, the bloody conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh may be headed for a conclusion....
Relying on debt
Updated 03 Oct, 2023

Relying on debt

Sadly, the ruling military and civil elite haven’t grasped the seriousness of the economic crises.
Palestine abandoned
03 Oct, 2023

Palestine abandoned

IT appears to be only a matter of time before a normalisation deal is announced between Saudi Arabia and Israel....
Killjoys in Swat
03 Oct, 2023

Killjoys in Swat

IN yet another blow to women’s rights in Pakistan, a group of young, spirited girls seeking to participate in a...