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