Major antiporn protests hit several big cities<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Thousands of Muslims staged separate protests on Monday in
\nseveral cities across the country, urging authorities to take
\nfirm action against pornographic products.<\/p>\n
Some protest groups demanded the death penalty for porn
\nproducers and distributors.<\/p>\n
The protests, which took place in at least 10 cities including
\nBandung, Semarang, Jambi, Padang, Pekanbaru, Pontianak, Medan,
\nCirebon, Palembang and Samarinda, involved supporters of the
\nMuslim-based Justice Party (PK).<\/p>\n
The rallies followed the recent circulation of copies of
\npornographic VCDs featuring two Indonesian students from Bandung,
\nWest Java. The copies have sparked widespread condemnation from
\nMuslims and other community groups across the nation.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, some 500 women wearing Muslim head veils marched
\nto the province's legislative body demanding West Java Governor
\nNuriana eradicate porn publications.<\/p>\n
\"Porn VCDs, magazines and tabloids are easily found every
\nwhere because officials have not been firm and the rules are not
\nclear,\" said Diah Nurwitasari, a protest leader.<\/p>\n
The protesters said they were concerned over the fact that
\nporn products were not only used by men, but also housewives,
\nincluding those who usually attended religious sermons.<\/p>\n
\"We know this when the VCDs showing intimate relations by the
\ntwo students in Bandung hit the market. We were very shocked when
\nwe discovered Muslim mothers have also appreciated them,\" Diah
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In Medan, around 100 women staged a protest at the North
\nSumatra legislative council, expressing similar concerns over the
\nspread of porn products throughout the country.<\/p>\n
\"Pornography must be wiped out because it becomes a serious
\nthreat to the building of the nation's morality,\" said a
\nstatement issued during the protest.<\/p>\n
The teenage protesters declared an \"open war\" in the
\npredominantly Muslim nation against those offering sex as a
\npublic commodity.<\/p>\n
In Cirebon, protesters burned porn print products outside the
\ncity's mayoralty office. Local Mayor Lasmana Suriatmaja joined
\nthe rally and led the burning.<\/p>\n
In Jambi, woman protesters demanded that the provincial
\nauthorities ban the media from publishing porn articles or
\nphotos.<\/p>\n
In Palembang, protesters from the Forum for Anti-Pornographic
\nMoslems (Formap) set ablaze tabloids, magazines and newspapers
\ncarrying porn pictures.<\/p>\n
Female Muslims in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, slammed local
\nauthorities for refusing to take firm actions against
\npornography.<\/p>\n
\"We demand the security forces take concrete action in
\neradicating pornography in this region,\" said protest coordinator
\nLaila Asri.<\/p>\n
In Semarang, protesters demanded that porn dealers be
\nsentenced to death in order to save the nation's future from
\ndestruction.<\/p>\n
\"We demand that the government revoke the license of the media
\nfound guilty of involvement in porn cases,\" said Dyah Woro,
\ncoordinator of the protest at the capital city of Central Java.<\/p>\n
They also called on the people to jointly fight pornography to
\nprotect the nation's morality.<\/p>\n
Similar protests were also staged in the West Sumatra capital
\nof Padang, Pekanbaru in Riau and Samarinda in East Kalimantan.
\nThe rallies came only days before the holy fasting month of
\nRamadhan begins on Nov. 17.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/major-antiporn-protests-hit-several-big-cities-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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