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W. Papua, Bali unite against porn bill
The head of the West Papua Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) repeated the province's intention to secede from Indonesia if the anti-pornography bill passed into law, during a rally in front of the Bali governor office in Denpasar, on Saturday
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The head of the West Papua Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) repeated the province's intention to secede from Indonesia if the anti-pornography bill passed into law, during a rally in front of the Bali governor office in Denpasar, on Saturday.
Jimmy Demianus Ijie told Balinese protesters that West Papua would galvanize international support for secession if the government enforces the anti-pornography bill in West Papua.
"We are serious, we will secede if the porn bill becomes law," he told the rally.
"So have no fear Bali, West Papua has made the (secession) pledge. Continue the fight to revoke the bill."
Jimmy, who is a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), came to Bali specifically to give his speech against the anti-pornography bill at the rally.
West Papua threatened to secede from Indonesia during the deliberation of the bill in October.
Jimmy said the West Papuans could not accept the bill because it "smelled of Sharia law" and it had no respect for the constitution, which, he said, embraces Indonesia's five major religions and its hundreds of cultures.
"I have been an art delegate in many countries where I wore my traditional clothes and did my traditional dances," he said.
"You can see my buttocks and I was swaying my hips and being all sexy. Are they going to arrest me for that, too?"
He said the bill was an insult to church congregations in West Papua, who had expressed their stand against the bill.
"The church played a major part in assisting the government in returning West Papua to Indonesia, and because the church is West Papua's representative, this is a stab in the back, too," he said.
On Oct. 30, the House of Representatives passed the bill with overwhelming support from 10 out of the 12 factions in the House. The remaining two, the PDI-P and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), walked out during the vote to show their resistance.
He further supported the Bali People's Component's (KRB) attempt to file a judicial review at the Constitutional Court.
"If the judicial review fails, we will secede," he said.
KRB coordinator Ngurah Harta said the judicial review would be filed next week, pledging to hold a civil disobedience campaign if the review fails.
The planned judicial review is not the only legal means standing between the anti-pornography bill and its enforcement in Indonesia. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono still needs to sign the bill and issue a governmental guideline to regulate the enforcement of the bill.
But according to Indonesian law, House passed bills automatically becomes law if the president does not sign it within 30 days, using the bill's original wording.
More than 400 people attended Saturday's rally. Art performances with women wearing transparent traditional clothes and tube tops entertained the cheering masses, who were cynically woo-ing and hoo-ing the women.
The men began joining the women, swaying their hips along as Balinese percussion music played in the background. A couple of women in tight shirts and long pants joined the performers in the middle and danced to dangdut.
"We'll keep on fighting," one of the dangdut dancers yelled as she thrusted her pelvis.
