RI objects to painting

RI objects to painting

HANOI (Dow Jones): An ASEAN art show sponsored by the U.S.
consumer products conglomerate Philip Morris Cos. has become the
subject of controversy in Vietnam, with the Indonesian Embassy
trying to block the inclusion of a Singaporean painting at the
exhibit.

The painting by Chiang Jing Ying, titled Victims of May, is
about the riots in Indonesia last spring that has upset
Indonesian officials here, who wrote to the Ministry of Culture
asking that it be barred from the show.

"The victims (of the riots) were not only ethnic Chinese, but
Indonesians too." J.B. Widodo, first secretary at the Indonesian
Embassy, said on Tuesday.

The painting is due to arrive in November and to be put on
display at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations art show in
Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi late this year.