Posts Tagged ‘Indonesia’
February 14th, 2013
On the eve of Valentines Day, the Pakistani government issued a staunch warning to its media to avoid reporting the “depraving, corrupting and injuring” holiday. It’s not banned in Pakistan, but Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority warned the press that a “large chunk” of its population are against Valentine’s Day celebrations on principal, with some Islamist groups protesting against the festivities. The Malaysian government has offered similar warnings to its Muslim population. In India, activists of the Shiv Sena Hindu right-wing group held protests against St Valentine.
— An anti-Valentine’s Day demonstration held in Amritsar, India
Many Indonesian officials and clerics see Valentine’s Day as nothing more than an excuse for illicit pre-marital relations. The deputy mayor of Depok, Idris Abdul Somad, warned the public off celebrating and dismissed Valentines Day as a public holiday for sex and urged citizens to replace romance with religion by participating in Islamic activities. In Jambi, on Sumatra island, and Solo, in Central Java, hundreds of students held protests against Valentine’s Day on 13 February. In Aceh, the only Indonesian province living under Islamic law, authorities enforced a ban on novelty gifts.
In Iran, Valentine’s Day was banned in 2011 to avoid the spread of western culture. It didn’t stop some citizens from celebrating today though, as shoppers hunted for gifts, despite the regime banning the sale of cards or heart shaped novelties, with florists being threatened with closure should they sell red roses. In Saudi Arabia it’s a similar story; Pre-marital relations are met with staunch punishment. Valentine’s is viewed as a pagan holiday and activities are monitored and curbed by the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
The censorship of Valentine’s Day isn’t excluded to Islamic countries. In Florida, high-school goers learned the hard way that school is for learning, not for loving after two Orlando schools banned Valentine’s Day, promising to turn away deliveries of gifts that arrive at school to avoid distraction.
Regardless of sanctions, lovers will still exchange the whispers of sweet nothings and secretly bought gifts. This Valentines Day, whether it’s a Mills and Boon novel for one, or a supermarket meal deal for two, remember that it’s not forbidden — yet.
July 13th, 2012
Indonesia’s Sampang District Court has
sentenced a Shia cleric to two years’ imprisonment for blasphemy. Tajul Muluk was said to have caused ”public anxiety” for his religious teachings. Witnesses said that the cleric encouraged Muslims to pray three rather than five times a day, that the Quran was no longer authentic and that followers need not make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, considered one of the five pillars of Islam. Under Indonesian law,
blasphemy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
May 28th, 2012
Lady GaGa has been
forced to cancel her
Indonesian concert, as promoters claim the threats made against her were too serious for the show to go ahead. The Born This Way Ball, which was scheduled to take place on 3 June, has been at the
centre of a campaign from Islamic hardliners, claiming the show could undermine the country’s moral fibre. Promoters had suggested negotiations were taking place to tone down the gig, ensuring it could go ahead safely, but the pop diva’s management stated there would be no compromise to quiet the religious conservatives. GaGa
tweeted an apology to her fans.
May 17th, 2012
Lady Gaga has been
refused a permit to play her sold-out concert in
Indonesia following demonstrations from religious protesters. The permit for the Born This Way Ball, scheduled to take place on 3 June, was refused after Islamic hardliners, lawmakers and religious clerics spoke out against the pop star’s racy clothes and dance moves. Indonesian critics have said that the nature of the show could undermine the country’s moral fibre. Lady Gaga’s promoters in Indonesia will fight for the performance
to go ahead, despite threats that protesters will use physical force to prevent her getting off the plane.
September 14th, 2011
Radio Era Baru was on Tuesday
forcibly closed by police and frequency monitoring officials. The move comes in spite of the fact that
last week’s conviction of its manager on a charge of broadcasting without permission and disrupting neighbouring frequencies is still the subject of an appeal.
September 9th, 2011
A sentence of six months and a suspended sentence of another year in prison were
handed down on Tuesday to Gatot Machali, manager of Batam-based
Radio Era Baru, who was found guilty of broadcasting without permission and disrupting neighbouring frequencies. The station’s president, Raymond Tan, citing a leaked copy of a letter from the Chinese embassy in
Indonesia, said the prosecution is the result of direct pressure by the Chinese government on the Indonesian authorities with the aim of preventing the station from broadcasting its programmes in Chinese about human rights violations in the
People’s Republic.
October 11th, 2010
The former editor-in-chief of Playboy Indonesia has begun a
two-year prison sentence for publishing images of women in underwear. Erwin Arnada was found guilty of violating indecency laws during a closed trial at the Supreme Court in August, overturning the acquittal decided by South Jakarta District Council in 2007. Islamic hardliners launched legal action against Arnada in 2006,
attacking Playboy Indonesia offices shortly after the magazine’s launch. Spokesman for the Islamic Defenders Front, Soleh Mahmud, said that the case shows “pornography has no place in Indonesia”.
August 31st, 2010
A
journalist was killed on 21 August while covering clashes between two villages in one of Indonesia’s southern islands. Police watched the attack but did nothing to intervene. According to International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), journalist Ridwan Salamun was hacked to death by angry villagers. A group of 70 journalists staged a
demonstration to express their outrage over his death.
