Use well-mannered defense on the Internet, VP says

SEMARANG: Vice President Boediono implored Indonesians to be polite in defending their culture on the Internet at an event on Saturday at State High School SMAN 3 in Semarang, Central Java.

He specifically cited social networking site Facebook in responding to a student's question during the vice president's get-together with representatives from the city's high schools.

"Do not show hatred on Facebook, we only have to show by using decent language that our culture belongs to us," Boediono said, as quoted by vivanews.com.

He said that polite words would discourage other countries from snatching Indonesia's cultural heritage.

Spats on Facebook and other websites about Indonesia's symbols and heritage being used or claimed by other countries or parties have been rife lately. - JP