Emha reads critical poems before military

SEMARANG (JP): After extensive ambivalence, rebel poet Emha Ainun Nadjib finally decided to read his poems to mark the local celebration of the Armed Forces (ABRI) Day.

And the military showed no objection or any attempt to stop him on Tuesday night when he read his poems which are critical of authorities at the campus of the Diponegoro University.

"There is no ban against art performances in Indonesia," said Maj. Gen. Soeyono, the chief of the Diponegoro Military Command which oversees security in Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.

Emha has been barred from reading some of his works in Semarang and other Central Java cities in the past. One ban was imposed after he refused to submit the poems to the authorities' censors.

The poet had earlier been reluctant about participating in the ABRI Day commemoration saying that none of his works were connected with the military.

As it turned out, he did have one poem related to the military and it was unflattering. The work, entitled Secarik Puisi Tercinta Buat ABRI Tercinta (A love poem for the beloved ABRI), criticizes the corruption and collusion which Emha alleges is rampant in Indonesia and for which perpetrators go unpunished.

Soeyono, known as an art lover, was in the front row of the audience of more than 100-people who saw the performance. He smiled when Emha punctuated the critical parts in the poem.

Later Soeyono said that artists and the military must be able to live side by side, each respecting the other's profession. (har/emb)