Cultural freedom
<p>Cultural freedom</p><p> The opera house inaugurated by President Soeharto in Jakarta
on Monday is said to be world-class. According to the
construction company, the theater, which is located at Taman Mini
in East Jakarta, is no less sophisticated than other outstanding
venues like L'Opera in Paris, the Royal Opera House in London and
the Sydney Opera House in Australia.</p><p>The inauguration should be welcomed and should also instill a
sense of pride because Jakarta, and Indonesia, is very much in
need of a modern theater. Both the 176-year-old Gedung Kesenian
(Jakarta Play House), located near Pasar Baru, and the Taman
Ismail Marzuki theater in Central Jakarta, lack sophisticated
equipment and facilities.</p><p>The inauguration of the opera house should mark the beginning
of efforts to develop culture in the nation, which, along with
education, politics and law, has been neglected as a consequence
of overzealous development of the economy.</p><p>That choice has caused us to fall behind other Asian countries
in terms of cultural development. During the same period,
Singapore successfully turned itself into the cultural hub for
Southeast Asia without much fanfare. Its Kalang theater has
staged many shows, including Les Miserables, by Cameron
Mackintosh and The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber,
both of which are world famous musicals. Furthermore, the auction
house Christie's frequently holds sales of objet d'arts in the
island city.</p><p>Cultural development, especially in developing countries, is
impossible without the involvement of the government. Cultural
activities in Jakarta reached their peak in the 1970s under the
generous patronage of governor Ali Sadikin.</p><p>Since that short-lived blossoming, this nation has been left
with a sense of backwardness because of the lack of cultural
development, and has suffered in pain as it watched wonderful
artistic creations die at the hands of trigger-happy security
authorities at frequent intervals over the last three decades.</p><p>The list of victims of cultural oppression in the arts world
alone is very long. Even some works by the country's most noted
poet, W. S. Rendra, have been banned. The author has been the
frequent recipient of severe intimidation and has been terrorized
by unknown parties whom the authorities have refused to
investigate.</p><p>Among some of the more recent victims of the censor's knife
have been Suksesi by the popular Teater Koma, Sam Pek Eng Tay by
the same group, and Pak Kanjeng, a play written by the well-known
author Emha Ainun Najib. However, this list would not be complete
if it did not include Marsinah Menggugat (Marsinah Accuses),
written by playwright and actress Ratna Sarumpaet, and performed
by her Satu Merah Panggung theater group. The play is a monolog
tribute to Marsinah, a female labor activist who was brutally
murdered in East Java in 1993.</p><p>Performance of all of these productions was banned for
"security reasons", an illogical move if the authorities' claims
that the nation is stable and secure are true.</p><p>With this somber backdrop the government needs to elaborate
its policies and programs to encourage cultural development. It
must treat culture as an intellectual activity, and shun the
bland and meaningless pop art for which the ruling elite have
recently shown a penchant. Artists must also be told if police
will continue to view them as people infected with a subversive
virus, or if they will finally be granted their artistic license?</p><p>If one wants to develop culture and the arts, of greatest
importance is freedom of expression. Without this, the fruits of
the new opera house will be nothing more than an elaborate
propaganda trick played by an uncultured regime, and this nation
will never be able to stem the onslaught, and block the negative
impacts, of western culture.</p>
on Monday is said to be world-class. According to the
construction company, the theater, which is located at Taman Mini
in East Jakarta, is no less sophisticated than other outstanding
venues like L'Opera in Paris, the Royal Opera House in London and
the Sydney Opera House in Australia.</p><p>The inauguration should be welcomed and should also instill a
sense of pride because Jakarta, and Indonesia, is very much in
need of a modern theater. Both the 176-year-old Gedung Kesenian
(Jakarta Play House), located near Pasar Baru, and the Taman
Ismail Marzuki theater in Central Jakarta, lack sophisticated
equipment and facilities.</p><p>The inauguration of the opera house should mark the beginning
of efforts to develop culture in the nation, which, along with
education, politics and law, has been neglected as a consequence
of overzealous development of the economy.</p><p>That choice has caused us to fall behind other Asian countries
in terms of cultural development. During the same period,
Singapore successfully turned itself into the cultural hub for
Southeast Asia without much fanfare. Its Kalang theater has
staged many shows, including Les Miserables, by Cameron
Mackintosh and The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber,
both of which are world famous musicals. Furthermore, the auction
house Christie's frequently holds sales of objet d'arts in the
island city.</p><p>Cultural development, especially in developing countries, is
impossible without the involvement of the government. Cultural
activities in Jakarta reached their peak in the 1970s under the
generous patronage of governor Ali Sadikin.</p><p>Since that short-lived blossoming, this nation has been left
with a sense of backwardness because of the lack of cultural
development, and has suffered in pain as it watched wonderful
artistic creations die at the hands of trigger-happy security
authorities at frequent intervals over the last three decades.</p><p>The list of victims of cultural oppression in the arts world
alone is very long. Even some works by the country's most noted
poet, W. S. Rendra, have been banned. The author has been the
frequent recipient of severe intimidation and has been terrorized
by unknown parties whom the authorities have refused to
investigate.</p><p>Among some of the more recent victims of the censor's knife
have been Suksesi by the popular Teater Koma, Sam Pek Eng Tay by
the same group, and Pak Kanjeng, a play written by the well-known
author Emha Ainun Najib. However, this list would not be complete
if it did not include Marsinah Menggugat (Marsinah Accuses),
written by playwright and actress Ratna Sarumpaet, and performed
by her Satu Merah Panggung theater group. The play is a monolog
tribute to Marsinah, a female labor activist who was brutally
murdered in East Java in 1993.</p><p>Performance of all of these productions was banned for
"security reasons", an illogical move if the authorities' claims
that the nation is stable and secure are true.</p><p>With this somber backdrop the government needs to elaborate
its policies and programs to encourage cultural development. It
must treat culture as an intellectual activity, and shun the
bland and meaningless pop art for which the ruling elite have
recently shown a penchant. Artists must also be told if police
will continue to view them as people infected with a subversive
virus, or if they will finally be granted their artistic license?</p><p>If one wants to develop culture and the arts, of greatest
importance is freedom of expression. Without this, the fruits of
the new opera house will be nothing more than an elaborate
propaganda trick played by an uncultured regime, and this nation
will never be able to stem the onslaught, and block the negative
impacts, of western culture.</p>