Martial law restricts freedom of art
Martial law restricts freedom of art
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
Wahai aneuk bek taduek le
bedoh sare tabela bangsa
bek tatakot keu darah ile
adak pih matee, poma ka rela
Allah hai dododa idang
seulang blang ka putoh taloe
beurijang rayeuk muda seudang
tajak bantu prang, tabela bangsa
(Kids, don't just take a rest,
together we defend our country
don't be afraid of blood
should you die your mother won't deny
Oh God, quickly go to bed
the rope in rice field has been cut
you should grow up fast young men
help us fight for the country)
These lyrics are part of a popular song among the Acehenese,
particularly sung by women, to lull their babies to sleep.
Many traditional Acehnese songs tell of their heroes who
fought the Dutch colonials, and people of different generations
in the province sing the songs to encourage each other to resist
oppression.
Under the martial law, however, the songs have now come under
the microscope of the military, who believe Aceh people are
spreading propaganda when they chant the lyrics.
Spokesman for the Aceh martial law administration Lt. Col.
Firdaus Komarno said that the military were now screening
traditional songs for fear that they could provoke people to
challenge the legitimate government.
"Listen to the song titled "Referendum". We will check if it
could incite Aceh people to demand a referendum," Komarno said
recently.
A number of activists have been jailed for their involvement
in a rally to call for a referendum in Aceh in 2000.
Komarno said that the military would not arbitrarily conduct
such screenings, but take every aspect of the songs into account,
including cultural background.
He said that the military admitted that patriotic songs had
been popular among Aceh people since their childhood and were
part of the people's character.
"It's as good as a cultural heritage, but if it is used to
motivate people to break away from the republic it is
unacceptable," he said.
He added that security authorities would ask producers to
withdraw all VCDs containing provocative songs from the shelves,
or if they are unable to do it, the military would conduct an
operation to sweep the banned VCDs.
The military is now examining a song composed by local singer
Yusbi Yunus, titled "Nanggroe Merdeka" (Independent Land).
Yusbi said he had been informed that the martial law
administration intended to pull six out of 12 albums he had
released from the market for allegedly campaigning against
Jakarta.
"I have been talking with the martial law administration about
my albums. I will comply with their orders," he told The Jakarta
Post.
There are between 20,000 and 30,000 copies of each album on
the local market.
He said his popular song Nanggroe Merdeka tells about people
who long for a country which acknowledges freedom, not a separate
country.
"We don't intend to stimulate the spirit to fight or break
away from the Unitary State of Indonesia," Yusbi said.
He said that the military might misinterpret his song, because
it used high-level figurative words, which could not be
translated literally.
Despite the screening conducted of some albums of Acehnese
songs, some traders said that they were yet to receive orders to
withdraw the VCDs or cassettes from the shelves.
"We are still selling them, there is no ban imposed on certain
albums," Amir, who runs his business in Aceh market in the
provincial capital of Banda Aceh, said.
But some people admitted that they had started to be extra
vigilant of the military when buying or listening to VCDs or
cassettes of Acehenese songs.
"I have to carefully select the albums, otherwise they will
arrest me if they find me listening to provocative songs. We live
under martial law," said Tarmizi, 35, a resident of Peulanggahan
district in Banda Aceh.
Artists, meanwhile, said that the restriction of creativity
and freedom of expression had shocked them.
"Today they ban some songs, we don't know what next," an
artist complained.