CAIRO,
March 13, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – The Indonesian parliament is
modifying some contentious clauses in a new pornography bill in a bid
to reach a halfway house between the motion's opponents and
supporters, the Jakarta Post reported on Monday, March 13.
"We've
taken quite a number of controversial clauses off the bill,
particularly those which criminalize particular conduct," said
Balkan Kaplele, the chairman of the parliamentary committee in charge
of finalizing the bill.
Following
talks with religious leaders, rights activists and politicians at the
Islamic Muhammadiyah Organization's headquarters in Jakarta, he said
the law would focus on general definitions of pornography and
obscenity.
The
lawmaker specified one of the controversial clauses on the
establishment of an agency to oversee the implementation of standards
of decency, noting that the task would be entrusted to the police.
"All
breaches of the law on pornography and obscenity will be dealt with
using the Criminal Code and relevant laws, while the police will have
the authority to oversee the enforcement."
Pundits
say other clauses included those criminalizing sexuality in the arts,
literature and media, imposing an outright prohibition on nudity and
banning revealing attire.
In
its original form, the draft bill, initially proposed in 1999 and
officially titled the Anti-Pornography and Pornographic Acts Bill,
imposes fines on women who refuse to cover "sensitive" body
parts, such as hair, shoulders, midriffs and legs.
Violators
risk jail terms and fines up to Rp 2 billion (about US$214,000).
Another
article legislates a seven-year jail term for people caught kissing in
public.
Critics,
including artists and liberals, argue that the bill encroached on
personal freedoms and could scare away tourists in multicultural
Indonesia.
Moral
Decay
Muhammadiyah
chairman Din Syamsuddin said the country needed a pornography law to
curb the moral decay in an increasingly liberal society.
"We
are concerned by the moral liberalization that will lead the nation to
the brink of collapse, unless it is stopped as soon as possible,"
he said.
The
bill has gained its strongest support from Muslim groups.
Thousands
gathered Sunday at Al-Azhar mosque in south Jakarta to urge the
government to quickly pass the bill into law, according to the daily.
The
bill empowers the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) to report
TV stations airing programs containing violence, sexual content and
occult themes to police.
It
also gives the information and communication minister the right to
revoke a TV station's broadcasting license if the station violates
program standards and guidelines issued by the KPI.
Following
staunch opposition from the country's leading Muslim and conservative
groups, the government has recently opposed the planned debut of a
local edition of the raunchy magazine Playboy.
The
issue has stirred a heated controversy in Indonesia, the most populous
Muslim state where Muslims make up 80% percent of the 220 million
population.
The
Indonesian city of Tangerang, 20 kilometers west of Jakarta, already
has by-laws of its own prohibiting the sale of alcoholics and
prostitution.
Its
mayor announced earlier in the month plans to impose a dress code for
school girls to be dressed modestly when they go to the classes as
part of a wider conservative policy cracking down on vice and
immorality.
