Indonesian provinces plan to ignore anti-porn law

Asian Defense News: JAKARTA, Indonesia – Authorities in two Indonesian provinces said Friday that they will not comply with a controversial anti-pornography law they say would stifle traditional Balinese and Papuan culture.

The Constitutional Court upheld the law a day earlier, rejecting appeals arguing that it defined pornography too broadly and could be used to impose conservative Muslim values on other groups and to justify attacks on art.

The law sparked protests when it was passed in 2008

Legislators in Papua province _ a largely tribal region where women customarily go topless _ said the law passed in 2008 has never been implemented there because it can't be effectively enforced. The governor of Bali, a Hindu island that draws many tourists, said he has consistently opposed the law because it goes against Balinese society.

Komarudin Watubun, deputy house speaker for the Papua provincial council, said it would be impractical to impose the law in Papua.

"The people here in Papua have never bothered with the law. It's like other laws in Indonesia where many people just realize that it cannot be enforced so why should we bother with it," he said.

The legislation passed with strong support from conservative Islamist parties, though more than 100 legislators walked out to protest its approval. It outlaws overtly sexual images, gestures and even conversations. Violators can be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison and fined up to $795,000.

Meanwhile, Bali's governor Made Mangku Pastika said he has long objected to the anti-pornography law since it goes against Balinese society.

"We reject porn crimes, but this law also does not suit the sociological and psychological aspect of Balinese society," he said, speaking to a group in the provincial capital of Denpasar.

Ninety percent of Indonesia's 235 million citizens are Muslim, most practicing a moderate form of the faith. But many of its islands have large Christian and Hindu populations.

In January, four exotic dancers, along with two club managers, were arrested in the Java city of Bandung, where the mayor had announced a crackdown on behavior considered un-Islamic. The six were believed to be the first to be prosecuted under the law.

Law professor Adrianus Meliala, from the University of Indonesia, said the law's provisions are unlikely to be applied evenly across the country.

"Law enforcers are reluctant to perform legal actions which are not popular and will cause a controversy, so they will avoid charging people," he said.

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Associated Press Writers Irwan Firdaus and Niniek Karmini contributed to this report.