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Porn law a 'dead document'
NAKED ANIMOSITY: Papuans wearing traditional costumes rally in front of the House of Representatives on Monday
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NAKED ANIMOSITY: Papuans wearing traditional costumes rally in front of the House of Representatives on Monday. They said they rejected the anti-pornography law, which was passed by the House on Oct. 30. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)
It is unlikely the recently passed anti-pornography bill will be enacted in several provinces as top officials there have announced they will not enforce it, legal experts say.
Many provinces have declared they will not enact the bill, raising questions of whether a House law can be valid if it is not applied nationwide.
"How can we expect the law to be implemented when people and officials oppose it? Who's going to enforce it? It will end up as merely a dead document," constitutional law expert Irman Putra Sidin said.
At least four provinces -- Bali, North Sulawesi, Yogyakarta and West Papua -- have rejected the porn bill, with the predominantly Hindu island of Bali and the Christian province of North Sulawesi officially rejecting it.
They have said they will file a request for a legal review with the Constitutional Court. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives last Thursday.
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika and North Sulawesi Governor SH Sarundajang have said the new law will destroy Indonesia's unity and threaten cultural harmony.
Yogyakarta's community leaders have raised similar fears over the law.
Leaders of churches in West Papua rallied in front of the House on Monday, threatening to push for independence should the central government agree to enforce the law.
"Hereby, we announce that we reject the bill on pornography because it will harm our pluralism," Filep Mayor, secretary of the group representing 40 church communions in the mainly Christian province, said after meeting with House speaker Agung Laksono.
Filep said locals would "break away from Indonesia if the law is enforced".
Group chairman Andrikus Mofu said that should their demand not be heeded, they would take up the issue with an international forum.
"We will inform the international community of our aspiration and our intention to separate from Indonesia," he said.
Responding to the protest, Agung promised to follow up on the demands and urged the government to immediately offer clarity on some of the law's articles, which have been criticized as vague and misleading.
Irman, chairman of study forum the Indonesian Legal Round Table, criticized the bill's loose definition of pornography, saying it did not offer the public legal clarity.
The constitutional law expert called on the provinces to unite in calling on the Constitutional Court to annul the law.
"According to Article 28 (B) of the amended 1945 Constitution, legal definition must be clear, strict and definite. Previously, all loose definitions were revoked by the court. I am optimistic the court will do the same for this law," he said.
Irman said the provinces opposing the law could call on the President to delay passing the bill or annul it.
"The President can annul a law which is determined to threaten the country with disintegration and that is chronically protested against by regions," he said.
