Religious lecture held for VCDs vendors

JAKARTA: The West Jakarta mayoralty has started to conduct religious lectures for vendors of pirated video compact discs (VCDs) in Glodok on Friday, in the hope that the religious approach could reduce the rampant sales of pornographic VCDs.

The lectures will be conducted twice a week.

The lectures, presented by preachers of Islamic, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist and Hindu preachers, are aimed at "giving the vendors a spiritual 'shower' so they no longer feel right about selling pornographic VCDs," said committee member Fachrurazy, A.H.

"Eradicating the sale of porn VCDs is not an easy job here because vendors are too busy to go to monasteries to hear religious sermons. They forget that religion forbids the selling (of pornographic items)," he was quoted by beritajakarta.com.

Glodok is one of the centers of pirated VCDs. Most vendors in Glodok display pornographic VCDs openly.

With the support of the police, the mayoralty has occasionally conducted raids on the contraband goods, but to no avail. -- JP