Protest in Indonesia over ‘ pornography’ in music

Jakarta: Indonesian entertainers have rallied against a draft law that seeks to ban blasphemous and “pornographic” music content, which critics say could be used to clamp down on freedom of expression in the Muslim- majority nation.

More than 100 protestors — many carrying placards or playing guitars and drums — took to the streets of Bogor, near Jakarta, on Sunday to demonstrate against the proposed law.

An online appeal calling for the vaguely worded bill to be scrapped has been signed by nearly 270,000 people.

Under the proposed law, musicians would be prevented from “bringing negative influences from foreign cultures and/ or degrading human dignity” in Indonesia.

As well as cracking down on blasphemous and “pornographic” content, it imposes onerous new requirements on musicians, such as carrying out competency tests to gain certification.