Hundreds of people rallied yesterday in the Hindu-majority holiday island of Bali against a tough anti-pornography law branded by critics as a threat to religious freedom.
About 400 people marched through the capital Denpasar against the law, passed by mainly Muslim lawmakers in Jakarta last month.
Protesters denounced as too broad the law’s definition of pornography, saying it was a threat to Indonesia’s diverse non-Muslim minorities and could shatter national unity.
PHOTO: EPA
High-spirited protesters in traditional sarongs and translucent temple blouses marched toward the provincial governor’s office, cheering wildly at traditional dances and performances by local pop singers in curve-hugging pants. The chair of the West Papua provincial parliament, Jimmy Demianus Ijie, said the law criminalizes Papuan culture, where many people are semi-naked.
“I’ve taken part in many Papuan performances in many places and I’ve only worn traditional clothes, but you could see my arse and I was swaying my hips, I was being sexy. Are they going to arrest me for that too?” he told reporters.
A challenge to the law would be launched in Indonesia’s Constitutional Court next week, activist Ngurah Harta told the protest.
“We have to win this judicial review or we will hold a massive civil disobedience campaign,” he said.
Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika pledged last month that his government would not enforce the pornography bill, but he did not turn up to yesterday’s protest.
Muslims make up roughly 90 percent of Indonesia’s 234 million population, which also contains sizable Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Confucian minorities.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
US ELECTION: Polls show that the result is likely to be historically tight. However, a recent Iowa poll showed Harris winning the state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris courted voters angered by the Gaza war while former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump doubled down on violent rhetoric with a comment about journalists being shot as the tense US election campaign entered its final hours. The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president frantically blitzed several swing states as they tried to win over the last holdouts with less than 36 hours left until polls open on election day today. Trump predicted a “landslide,” while Harris told a raucous rally in must-win Michigan that “we have momentum — it’s
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given
RSS