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)