CRITICISM OF ANTI-PORNOGRAPHY BILL RAMPS UP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002083

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL/AWH
NSC FOR E. PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2018
TAGS: PGOV KISL SOCI ID
SUBJECT: CRITICISM OF ANTI-PORNOGRAPHY BILL RAMPS UP

REF: JAKARTA 2020 AND PREVIOUS

JAKARTA 00002083 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).


1. (U) This message was coordinated with Consulate General
Surabaya.


2. (C) SUMMARY: The recent passage of an anti-pornography
bill by Parliament continues to spark recriminations in
Indonesia. Opposition to the bill has come from a broad
spectrum of mostly secular-oriented groups, including
political parties and civil society, who charge that the bill
can be used by religious conservatives to constrain personal
liberties. Residents of Bali and Papua--largely non-Muslim
areas--have also joined in the criticism. Muslim-oriented
parties continue to vocally support the bill. The whole
matter will probably be settled by the courts. END SUMMARY.

RAMP UP IN CRITICISM


3. (SBU) The October 30 passage of an anti-pornography bill
by Parliament continues to spark recriminations. Supporters
of the bill say its aim is to stop the distribution of
pornography in all of its forms in Indonesia. It provides
for long-term jail terms and large fines for violation of the
bill's provisions. The bill was strongly supported in its
passage by Muslim-oriented parties in Parliament. The
government has indicated that it will allow the bill to
become law (the bill is slated to become law later this
month, one month after its passage).


4. (C) While noting that they are also strongly against
pornography, opponents charge that the bill is overly broad.
In making this claim, they point to Article I which provides
the definition of pornography for purposes of the bill.
Liberal Indonesian contacts have told us that the definition
is so broad that a person could easily be arrested for
design, art or fashion. Another controversial provision
would allow ordinary citizens to get involved in the
enforcement of the law. Opponents say that this could lead
to vigilante action by Muslim groups.


5. (C) Overall, opponents--many of whom come from the
secular side of the Indonesian spectrum--have told us that
the bill could easily be used by Muslim religious
conservatives to constrain personal liberties. Heri Achmadi,
an M.P. with the secular-oriented Indonesian Party of
Democratic Struggle (PDI-P),told Pol/C that his party would
continue to oppose the measure -- "The bill is totally
unnecessary and is simply a bid by conservatives to pressure
the rest of us." Some women have also wondered whether they
could be arrested for wearing certain types of clothes in
public. Catholic and Protestant groups--normally in favor of
laws protecting social values--have also come out in
opposition to the measure.


6. (C) Many opponents assert that politics were heavily
involved in the bill's passage. Syafi'i Anwar, Executive
Director of the International Center for Islam and Pluralism,
told poloff that the legislation was "unnecessary" because
current laws adequately dealt with pornography. Anwar
claimed that upcoming national legislative and presidential
elections factored heavily into the support for the bill.
Anwar said the proponents of the anti-pornography
legislation, including the secular parties Golkar Party and
Democratic Party (the party of President Yudhoyono),fear
losing Muslim support in next year's election. He said, "No
party wants to be perceived as supporting pornography in
Indonesia."

FLAK FROM NON-MUSLIM AREAS


7. (C) Criticism has also come from several largely
non-Muslim sections of Indonesia. The governor of the
predominantly Hindu province of Bali, Made Mangku Pastika,

JAKARTA 00002083 002.2 OF 002


has publicly stated the province will not implement the
bill's provisions when it becomes law, believing that it is
unconstitutional. The Head of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB),
Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya, said the trade group supported a
legal challenge to the anti-pornography law.


8. (C) There has also been dissonance from the mainly
Christian region of Papua in eastern Indonesia. On November
4, nearly 1,000 Christians in Jayapura, Papua, demonstrated
against the passage of the anti-pornography bill, saying the
measure conflicts with traditional cultures. Papuans are
particularly concerned that the law will prompt vigilante
style attacks from hard-line Islamist groups acting under the
color of the law's provisions, according to MP (Papua) Simon
Morin. Morin told poloff that he and several other Golkar
parliamentarians raised their concerns with Vice President
Jusuf Kalla, who is also the Golkar Party Head. Morin said
Kalla agreed that the law had "problems" but said the party
had to support it for "political reasons."

THE LEGAL BATTLE TO COME


9. (C) There is little doubt that the bill has tapped into
the secular-Muslim divide which is a key engine of Indonesia
politics. Given the depth of the opposition, the GOI has
promised to move forward carefully. Andi Mallarangeng,
President Yudhoyono's spokesman, told DepPol/C recently that
the government will be "cautious" in implementing the
anti-pornography law. In the meantime, Muslim-oriented
parties continue to speak up in support of the bill.


10. (C) That said, the whole matter will probably be settled
by the courts. Pramono Anung, the Secretary General of the
PDI-P, told Pol/C on November 12 that his party had already
joined in a brief to the Constitutional Court challenging the
bill. He acknowledged that the issue could take a long time
to resolve as it winds through the court system.

HUME