Rendra protests censorship

Rendra protests censorship

BANDUNG, West Java: Rebel poet W.S. Rendra attended a poetry
reading event at the Saparua Sports Hall on Tuesday but declined
to take the stage after learning that police had forbidden him to
read four of the 12 poems he had been scheduled to read.

Rendra, who is accustomed to police bans, said he had read the
four works in Surabaya earlier this month and there had been no
problem.

The four poems are Doa Seorang Anak Rangkasbitung (The Prayer
of a Rangkasbitung Child), Adipati dan Tokek (Regent and House
Lizard), Demi Orang Orang Rangkasbitung (For the Sake of
Rangkasbitung People) and Kesaksian Bapak Saidah (The Testimony
of Saidah's Father), Antara reported.

The Association of Bandung Students, which organized the event
to raise fund for the victims of the Merapi volcano eruption, had
received police permission to stage the poetry reading only on
condition that Rendra did not read the four poems.

"I'm no politician and therefore have no political power. But
as a person I have a moral force and tonight I intend to use that
force because I hate being abused by political power," Rendra
said.

The other poets, who all read their works, include Sutardji
Calzoum Bachri, Agus R. Sarjono and Soni Farid Maulana (emb)