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.