Paras Indonesia, April, 13 2006 @ 10:56 pm
No Nudity, But Militants Still Attack Playboy Office
By: Roy Tupai
The radical Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has made good on its threat to attack the
office of the newly launched Indonesian edition of Playboy magazine, even though the
publication contains no nudity, not even an outline of a nipple.
More than 200 FPI members at 2pm Wednesday (12/4/06) gathered outside the
magazine`s office located on the third floor of the AAF Building on Jalan Simatupang
in South Jakarta to demand the magazine cease publication.
Some of the protesters spent about 20 minutes throwing stones at the building,
smashing windows and glass doors. Dressed in their trademark white robes and
turbans, the radicals also demonstrated their capacity for intellectual debate by
smashing lamps in the buildings car park. They then gleefully tore up copies of the
magazine while repeatedly shouting "Allahu Akbar! [God is Great!]".
About 90 policemen, most of them not equipped with anti-riot shields and helmets,
had been deployed to guard the building. They immediately ran in all directions when
the stones started flying. Many took cover behind cars, while others scurried to fetch
anti-riot shields that had been left in police trucks. A few braver officers chased some
of the FPI members but were reluctant to make any arrests because they were
intimidated and heavily outnumbered. Two officers suffered head injuries when hit by
stones and were rushed bleeding to nearby Fatmawati Public Hospital.
Police tried to negotiate with the protest leaders for an end to the violence.
Meanwhile, several of the magazines employees, mostly women, secretly left the
premises via a back entrance. The mob failed to notice the departure of the
employees and eventually dispersed at about 3pm, still shouting "Allahu Akbar!".
FPI member Salim Ali Hamid warned that Playboy could expect more attacks if it
refuses to stop publishing.
Prior to the attack, the FPI protesters had rallied outside National Police headquarters
on Jalan Trunojoyo to demand the magazines publisher and advertisers be punished.
They said the magazine had used a tame cover to disguise obscene photos. "Playboy
magazine has a polite cover but contains pornography because its shows vulgar
photos that arouse lust," said one of the orators.
Fans of erotica disagree strongly and have jokingly threatened to protest that the
magazine should be forced to show nudity. Many existing local magazines and
tabloids show much more skin than Playboy Indonesia, while pirated hardcore
pornographic movies are widely available due to police corruption.
FPI leader Habib Rizieq Shihab was permitted to enter National Police headquarters
to submit his demands for the punishment of Playboy Indonesias publisher and
advertisers. Outside, his followers tore up and burned some copies of the magazine.
"Punish them, including the companies that have advertised in Playboy magazine and
thereby intentionally taken part in sponsoring the publication of this pornographic
magazine," Shihab was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
The protesters then moved to the Attorney Generals Office on nearby Jalan Sultan
Hasanuddin, demanding that Playboy Indonesias publishing license be revoked. They
also called for the immediate execution of three radical Christians sentenced to death
over sectarian violence in Central Sulawesi province.
After taking a break for prayers, the protesters announced they would go to Playboy
Indonesia`s office.
Sold Out
The magazine, which is probably the worlds least titillating version of Playboy, went
on sale on April 7 with a cover price of Rp39,000 and a strikingly dull red cover.
Thanks to massive media hype and public controversy, it quickly sold out at many
outlets and has since been changing hands for up to Rp100,000. The magazine is
published by PT Velvet Silver Media.
Although severely lacking in erotic photos, the first edition contains an interview with
Indonesias most famous author Pramoedya Ananta Toer, as well as articles on Aceh,
East Timor, Toyota cars and religion.
FPI is best known for attacking bars, nightclubs, brothels, billiard halls and more
recently the US Embassy.
Publisher Calls For Peace
Playboy Indonesias editorial director/editor-in-chief Erwin Arnada, who is also a
director of PT Velvet Silver Media, said differences of public opinion on the magazine
should not be resolved through violence.
He said PT Velvet Silver Media was committed to obeying the law. "We fully respect
the publics right to express their views on this magazine. But such expression must
be made peacefully and not ignore the rights of other people," he said in a press
statement.
Arnada said Playboy Indonesia had not broken the law because it did not contain
explicit photographs. "We took steps to avoid this magazine receiving a negative
response from readers. One of our efforts was to sell the magazine sealed in plastic
and write a notice on the cover that it is for mature readers."
He said the magazine was only being sold through selected bookstores, magazine
agencies and other retailers. "Our target is mature urban readers aged 25-45 years
old. In less than five days, almost all copies of the first edition of Playboy Indonesia
magazine were sold out," he added.
Arnada said his company had carefully reviewed the magazines content before the
launch and sought opinions from writers, cultural experts, religious leaders and media
analysts to ensure the content was in accordance with Indonesian law.
Police to Prosecute FPI
South Jakarta Police chief Senior Commissioner Wiliardi Wizar said legal action
would be taken against FPI`s leaders and those involved in the violence at the
magazines office.
"Our task was basically only to protect the building, as it used by many other
members of the public… We had tried to use persuasive measures [to calm down the
FPI protest], but suddenly the situation went out of control, resulting in two of our
officers sustaining head wounds when struck by stones… We will prosecute FPI
because our two officers were injured. We will also summon Habib Rizieq today," he
said.
Separately, National Police spokesman Brigadier General Anton Bahrul Alam said
there would be a full investigation into the attack. He said the police would continue to
provide protection to those facing potentially violent protests.
He also said the National Police was awaiting expert legal guidance on whether
Playboy Indonesia had violated any laws.
Bandung
In the West Java capital of Bandung, about 100 FPI members staged an anti-Playboy
demonstration at the Gedung Sate building on Jalan Diponegoro on Wednesday. They
burned copies of the magazine and condemned its contents as pornographic.
"The name itself is pornographic, as well as the contents," said protest coordinator
Asep Syariffudin.
In an effort to drum up public support for their campaign, the FPI members said they
were launching about 20 "command posts" in Bandung to organize raids aimed at
confiscating pornography and "crushing Playboy".
"The sweeping will continue. Yesterday we visited Gramedia, Braga and Cikapundung
[bookstores]. FPI`s Bandung chapter has recorded several distribution points where
Playboy magazine is being circulated in the city," said Syarifuddin.
He said the raids would also focus on confiscating other mens interest magazines,
such as FHM, Popular and Matra. "If they are still in circulation within three days we
will get violent," he warned.
Anarchy Condemned
Peoples Consultative Assembly speaker Hidayat Nurwahid, who also wants Playboy
banned, said FPI should refrain from anarchic actions in its effort to "sweep" the
magazine out of Indonesia.
He warned that violent demonstrators would damage the image of Muslims and could
face criminal charges.
"Our colleagues who did the sweeping should not conduct such sweeping in an
anarchic manner," he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
Despite opposing the violence, Hidayat said police must close down the magazine
and charge its publisher under the Criminal Code for publishing a "pornographic"
magazine.
He claimed Playboy Indonesia was pornographic simply because of its famous title,
even though it does not contain any pornographic images. He said the publisher must
understand the Indonesian publics "psychological fear" of the magazine because its
name and spirit are no different from the pornographic American version.
"Is McDonald`s Indonesia any different from the one in America? In the long-run
[Playboy Indonesia] will be the same [as the American version] even though the first
edition did not show that [nudity]. This is merely a wait and see tactic and a test
case," he said.
He did not bother extending his analogy to point out that Indonesians who dont like
eating unhealthy overpriced junk-food at McDonald`s can simply chose to eat
elsewhere.
Hidayat on Friday claimed the Indonesian people had overwhelmingly rejected the
publication of Playboy. An absurd claim given that no referendum on the issue has
been carried out.
He said press freedom must not be abused to publish material that could lead to
moral decadence, provocation and controversy. "We need freedom with a
responsibility to lift our people out of desperation, to develop and to educate them
instead of creating something immoral," he was quoted as saying by state news
agency Antara.
The former Prosperous Justice Party chairman said the government and law
enforcement agencies should "deal wisely" with the publication of Playboy without
sacrificing the interests of the public. "From the name alone, the people at large have
rejected it," he said, adding the magazines content was likely to become racier in
future editions.
Muhammadiyah
Din Syamsuddin, chairman of the country`s second largest Islamic organization
Muhammadiyah, on Wednesday condemned the use of violence against Playboy
Indonesia, but said the government should take legal action against the magazine`s
management.
"We have to give priority to the law in a bid to push the government to take legal
action," he said after attending a discussion with World Bank president Paul
Wolfowitz.
He agreed with Hidayat that the magazine`s name represents pornography, even
though the first edition does not feature any nudity. "That is a marketing tactic as the
magazine has become an icon of pornography and a medium for the spread of
pornographic materials," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
He expressed regret that Communication and Information Minister Sofyan Djalil had
decided not to take legal action against the magazines management. "It seems to me
that the communication and information minister has been highly insensitive. This
national issue should not only be seen from the legal and formal aspects but also
from our conscience."
Cleo Confiscated in Semarang
In the Central Java capital of Semarang, police on Wednesday raided magazine
vendors in search of pornographic publications. They did not find any copies of
Playboy, but they did confiscate some copies of womens magazine Cleo imported
from Singapore.
The police found Cleo for sale at the Gramedia Book Store on Jalan Pandanaran and
initially paid Rp80,000 for a copy of the plastic sealed magazine to study whether its
content could be classified as pornography. Inside they found a picture of a
bare-chested woman and man wearing only underpants.
Semarang Police criminal investigation division chief Commissioner Wisnu Adi
Pamungkas decided the picture was sufficiently controversial to justify confiscating
copies of the magazine for further investigation.
"We are studying whether or not this is related to pornography. We do not know
whether the picture was for an advertisement, health information or something else.
We also want to ascertain its source," he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
Gramedia did not immediately comment on the raid. Security guards at the bookstore
said supervisors were not in the office when the raid occurred.
Before going to Gramedia, police had raided the Mahkota Magazine Agency on Jalan
Pusponjolo Tengah but could not find any copies of Playboy or any magazines
deemed pornographic.
"This operation was conducted merely in response to concerns within the community
over the publication of Playboy. We are only monitoring how far the magazine has
circulated," said Pamungkas.
Separately, the Central Java chapter of the Indonesian Ulemas Council and several
other Islamic organizations held a meeting with local police at the MUI Central Java
office in the Baiturahman Mosque complex to discuss the publication of Playboy.
They agreed to ask the government to take firm measures against Playboy by limiting
its circulation and monitoring its content. "We also asked groups to use good
methods [not violent raids] in responding to social problems and to supervise each
other, as well to report any media that have nuances of pornography," said MUI
Central Java secretary Ahmad Rofiq.
Central Java Police deputy chief Brigadier General Muhibbin said officers could not
take any action against Playboy unless it violated the 1999 Press Law.
West Sumatra
In the West Sumatra capital of Padang, several members of the provincial legislative
assembly on Tuesday urged the local government to issue a ruling to limit the
circulation of Playboy. "Otherwise the circulation of this magazine will be regarded as
normal and it will damage the younger generation," said National Mandate Party
member Taslim.
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