Government vows to come down hard on pornography

Government vows to come down hard on pornography

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After hearing a report about group masturbation among elementary
school students, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the
government would soon take extreme steps to stamp out
pornography.

"It (pornography) has reached intolerable levels. Do
everything in your power to stamp out this problem," the
President was quoted as saying by State Minister for Youth and
Sports Affairs Adhyaksa Dault after a meeting at the Presidential
Office on Monday.

Adhyaksa and State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia
Hatta met with the President to report on plans by their two
offices to sign a memorandum of understanding on the eradication
of pornography next month.

They said they were also seeking a commitment from Susilo to
fight pornography, which they said was damaging the morals of the
nation.

Several months ago, Susilo complained about bare navels being
shown on television. However, his complaint met with more
ridicule than outrage.

During the meeting, Adhyaksa told the President about a group
of elementary school students found masturbating together.

The minister put the blame on pirated hard-core pornographic
VCDs, which are cheap and readily found in most markets.

"After hearing the report, President Yudhoyono looked unhappy.
He said that while physical damage could be repaired over time,
moral damage could cause the loss of a generation," Meutia said.

The President said on Thursday the country's moral crisis was
one of the main impediments to rooting out corruption.

Adhyaksa said the offices of the two state ministers would set
up a joint team to deal with pornography.

"This problem must be comprehensively dealt with," the
minister said.

This means the police and other institutions such as the
Ministry of Communications and Information will be represented on
the joint team.

Adhyaksa said the police had the authority to conduct
operations against the producers, distributors, sellers and
purchasers of pornographic VCDs. Both Adhyaksa and Meutia agreed
the Ministry of Communications and Information should be
represented on the team because pornography involves both the
print and electronic media.

Separately, Muslimat Nahdlatul Ulama, the women's wing of the
country's largest Islamic organization, welcomed the President's
stance against pornography, but said pornography had nothing to
do with moral or social issues, Antara reported.

"We are pleased with President Yudhoyono's stance. However, it
(pornography) is not moral or social problem ... it is about
capitalism and the entertainment industry," said Khofifah Indar
Parawansa, the chairwoman of Muslimat and a former state minister
for women's empowerment.

The government has been working on a controversial "anti-
pornography" bill since last year. The bill has been criticized
as repressive and meddling in private affairs.