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