VP supports bans against witchcraft

VP supports bans against witchcraft

JAKARTA: Vice President Hamzah Haz said on Saturday he
supported a plan to revise the Criminal Code to allow for a ban
against sorcery.

"It will prevent anarchy among people," he told reporters
during a visit to Bogor Palace.

Hamzah said that witchcraft was a common practice among
Indonesians, therefore a rule to regulate it was mandatory.

He admitted, however, that it would not be easy to provide
evidence to prove charges involving sorcery in court.

The draft of the revision to the Criminal Code has sparked
controversy for clauses that criminalize private sexual matters
and witchcraft.

The government has planned to amend the current Criminal Code
since the 1980s, which is a legacy of the Dutch, who occupied
Indonesia for 350 years until it gained independence in 1945.

The government said that the revision would include the
addition of new articles to cope with the complexity of
Indonesian society. -- Antara