Poet Emha and ABRI

Poet Emha and ABRI

From Bisnis Indonesia

I was surprised when reading a news item in the paper that
poet Emha Ainun Nadjib was invited by Regional Military
Commander/Diponegoro Major Gen. Soeyono to read a poem in
Semarang, Central Java, in observance of the anniversary of the
Armed Forces (ABRI).

This is really an interesting event. Emha Ainun Nadjib is
often banned from doing his professional, cultural activities,
such as poetry reading, drama presentations and lectures on art.
Once he was even banned from staging a drama in Semarang, and he
was banned from reading poetry in the nation's capital. Not until
the middle of 1994 was he allowed to appear on stage in Central
Java's capital city of Semarang. Then he read his poetry on the
campus of Diponegoro University.

Now the fact that the security institution invited him to read
his poetry comes as a surprise. I hail the idea to let the
controversial poet read his poetry, which reflects that openness
is something to be honored.

WULAN RAMADHANI

Jakarta