I won't forget, the way you're kissing

I won't forget, the way you're kissing

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post

Michael Learns To Rock's song That's Why (You Go Away) would
have been the perfect soundtrack for a French kiss moment in Aceh
recently.

I won't forget/ the way you're kissing
/the feelings so strong/were lasting for so long.

Lovely, heartwarming lyrics to be sure, the kind of thing that
up until recently soldiers and their girlfriends in the province
might have listened to as they wiled the nights away apart; him
up in the military camp fighting GAM, and her safely domiciled at
her parent's house. As its title suggests, the song is also about
people leaving each other. Then there's the chorus, which, of
course, is about something we all do -- and are known to often
enjoy -- kissing.

There is no warning at all in the song, however, about the
dangers of publicly kissing, now a dangerous act in a province
where there is sharia law. An act which could theoretically end
in the public stoning of the soldier and the Acehnese girl.

If you haven't already heard, Aceh's controversial public
kissing scandal has an interesting mix of perpetrators: an
Indonesian Army General, one of his soldiers and his young
girlfriend.

The incident took place in Lhokseumawe last week, during the
withdrawal of Indonesian soldiers from Aceh in line with the
truce signed in August in Helsinki. Maj. Gen. Supiadin, commander
of the Iskandar Muda Headquarters, spotted an Acehnese girl in a
corner of the wharf who was weeping uncontrollably.

"What's the matter with you, girl?" Supiadin asked.

With his presence and that of Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM)
observers, then Prv. Eko Wahyudi and his red-scarfed girlfriend
Yuni committed a blatant and flagrant violation of local decency,
a heartfelt kiss, on the mouth, which was duly snapped, recorded
and written up by a mob of waiting media.

Anticipating public protests from the devout Acehnese Muslims
following repeated TV reports and print media coverage of the
passionate kiss, the general made a public apology, saying he was
responsible for the romantic -- but legally wrong -- spectacle.

Supiadin has since promised to do his best to make sure that
the soldier and the woman would eventually be able to form a
family. In a situation where many commanders seem ambivalent at
best about the welfare of their soldiers, the two-star general
proved that he really cared. He called the soldier to say goodbye
to his crying girlfriend, who he had known for a year, when the
soldier's ship was about to embark. And, most importantly, he
took responsibility for the kiss.

During the nearly three-decade war in Aceh gross violations of
human rights, including the rapes of civilian women, were not
uncommon. This time, however, Yuni voluntarily surrendered her
lips to her soldier and gentleman, in an act that said "Make
Love, Not War" as boldly as any Western peace protesters could.

However, war was what the kiss became. On Tuesday, dozens of
members of the Association of Islamic Students (HMI) demanded the
punishment of the 23-year-old Acehnese girl and her dreamed-of
soldier. In Jakarta, many other people condemned the couple,
especially the woman, because the kiss was conducted in Aceh,
which everyone knows is the Veranda of Mecca.

Many others, perhaps less devout, jealously acknowledged: "How
hot they kissed," as they likely murmured, "and ... it is hard to
resist."

The proponents of the new criminal law bill will no doubt use
this case as strong evidence that Indonesia needs to ban kissing
in public and use other legal means to purify sex as very sacred
affair.

The kissing scene is actually very similar to a piece of art,
the famous Unconditional Surrender World War II-era photograph,
featuring nurse Edith Cullen Shain and an unknown sailor. The
young man approached the nurse and spontaneously kissed her on
the mouth at New York's Times Square after U.S. President Harry
Truman announced Japan's surrender on Aug. 15, 1945. Different
from the Indonesian lovers, the two Americans were complete
strangers to each other.

Should the Acehnese woman be punished for expressing her love?
Should she be caned or stoned? Under the sharia law, several
people who committed minor crimes have already been caned in
Aceh. We can certainly say that Yuni has violated sharia.
However, when she kissed her soldier, she certainly must never
imagined that this would have been the consequence. She was only
an ordinary woman acting out of love for a man, who earlier had
been ordered by the state to kill as many rebels as possible in
Aceh. As yet, her future is uncertain, but hopefully, like in a
Hollywood movie, this love story will have a happy ending -- or
at least be bittersweet like a Michael Learns to Rock song.

Before we leap to punish this woman, it might be a good time
to weigh up some sins in this situation; after all, laws should
be seen in their wider context. Perhaps we should ask ourselves,
who are the bigger sinners: Those who killed or ordered the
killing of innocents in Aceh during the war, who raped women and
committed crimes against humanity, or this young, naive girl?
More blameworthy, surely, are the government officials who stole
money that was originally allocated for the victims of the
tsunami?

It is very easy to punish a defenseless woman -- even her
family may kick her out of the house. But is the girl alone in
making an honest mistake?

If the police or prosecutors do act in this case and an
Acehnese court decides to cane or even stone the woman, the judge
might do to remember this wise advice:

"If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the
first stone at her!"

The writer can be reached at purba@thejakartapost.com