Foreign books available at IKAPI exhibition

JAKARTA (JP): Foreign publishers will be allowed to sell a limited number of books during a major international book exhibition in September, organizers said yesterday.

Foreign publishers can sell up to five books per title, the secretary-general of the Association of Indonesian Book Publishers (IKAPI), Setia Dharma Majid, said.

However, they must provide in advance a list of books they plan to bring in, and pay local taxes, which are refundable for unsold books, Setia said.

The list of books must be sent to the Attorney General's Office, he said, adding that authorities would reject books which were considered a threat to national stability.

The International Book Fair from Sept. 20 to Sept. 28 is a continuation of a series of fairs known in past years as the IKAPI Book Fair.

Some 114 publishers have confirmed their participation, including 11 from overseas. Foreign participants will include those from Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, Germany, Britain and Iran.

Setia said many book publishers have complained about red tape they encounter when taking part in book fairs.

He said, however, that IKAPI convinced the Attorney General's Office to do away with the required list of book titles from local publishers.

Instead, IKAPI gave its word that none of the books would contain "SARA", he said, referring to the Indonesian acronym for four topics considered politically too sensitive and divisive: ethnicity, religion, races and society groups.

The amount of foreign participants would also be larger if it was not for the arduous bureaucracy, Setia said.

He said there was no other place in the world where publishers had to deal with an attorney general's office whenever there was a fair planned.

Setia said the theme of this year's fair would be "Reading Habits as part of National Culture".

This is a first step in strengthening efforts to instill reading habits in society, he said.

He also promised attractive discounts on books on display.

Various competitions and a meeting of authors will also be held during the fair in the hope of attracting visitors, he said.

Organizers also plan to give a more prominent position to literary works, he added. (07)