The Jakarta chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists have filed a lawsuit against the Indonesian Censorship Institute for its decision to ban the film Balibo.

Hendrayana, executive director of the Legal Aid Center for the Press (LBH Pers), which is representing AJI Jakarta in proceedings at the State Administrative Court, said the ban was a violation of the public's right to information.

In early December, the censorship institute, also know as the LSF, banned the film, which tells the story of five Australian journalists killed when Indonesian troops took over the border town of Balibo in East Timor in October 1975. A sixth journalist died weeks later when Indonesian forces invaded Dili.

Hendrayana said the LSF had no clear reason to ban the film and officials' worries that its screening might hurt bilateral relations between Indonesia and Australia had proved to be unfounded.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has previously said the restriction was to protect the country's image abroad. Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik has said the film was not fit to be screened and could damage relations between Indonesia, East Timor and Australia.

Update: Australian media call to put Balibo ban on presidential agenda

10th March 2010. See article from encoremagazine.com.au

Australia's  Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance has asked Foreign Minister Stephen Smith to raise the banning of Robert Connolly's film Balibo with Indonesian President Susilo Bamban Yudhoyono during his visit to Australia this week.

The fact that the government of Dr Yudhoyono will not even allow the film to be shown to the Indonesian public suggests that this matter is far from resolved, said MEAA's federal secretary Christopher Warren.

As far as this country's community of journalists is concerned, the failure of Indonesian power holders to acknowledge and take appropriate action for what happened in Balibo in 1975 represents an important barrier to the development of full and cordial relations between Australia and Indonesia.

The Aceh office of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission has proposed a draft of the province's broadcasting qanun , or bylaw, that will be used as a standard to censor films, TV and programs to ensure they adhere to Islamic law.

The draft, however, received strong opposition from the local branch of the Independent Journalists Association (AJI), which objected on the grounds that the proposed measure violated press freedom laws.

Mukhtaruddin Yakob, head of the local branch of the AJI, said the draft had been submitted at the end of January to the governor's office for preliminary review: The proposed qanun is inconsistent with the [national] Press Law and the Broadcasting Law, he told the Jakarta Globe.

Mukhtaruddin said the qanun would require inappropriate censorship of the program content of broadcasters operating in the staunchly Islamic province.

The proposed bylaw would require radio and television stations to broadcast live the obligatory weekly prayer on Fridays and prohibit them from airing crime reconstructions, obscene material and sexual harassment cases.

It also bans broadcasters from airing fund-raising efforts that are not in the Muslims' interests, Mukhtaruddin said.

Under the qanun, movies, television shows (including soap operas and documentaries) and commercials would be subject to censorship by the Aceh Film Censorship Board and Aceh Film Advisory Board (Bapfida).

There are claims the latest law governing filmmaking in Indonesia is stricter than its predecessor dating back almost 30 years.

Director Riri Riza and producer Mira Lesmana say producers and directors had been hoping for more self regulation in the revised regulation.

But Lesmana told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program that the new law hands all power to the government: It puts the government in total control of all the activities of making a film, from permits, from what to say and what not to say, all the way up to penalties. Which for us is just going totally backwards to what we wanted.

She says even self-funded projects have to follow the regulations: We don't have a classification board. What we have is a censor board and there is no film whatsoever that can be shown in the cinema if you don't have censor cards saying that it is suitable.

Riza says one aspect of the new law is that 60% of screen time has to be reserved for Indonesian productions, regardless of quality: That is something that you call government intervention in the industry. It's trying to regulate whatever aims in the film industry, which is dangerous.

He says he wants to remind the Indonesian government that Article 28 in our constitution that protects the freedom of saying whatever you want to say and freedom to access information.

A Cambodian government morality committee will soon begin holding bimonthly meetings to review Web sites featuring racy images of Khmer women, and will consider blocking access to those deemed in conflict with national values.

The committee includes officials from the Post and Telecommunications Ministry as well as the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Interior Ministry.

Ros Sorakha, an undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications said: As young Cambodians have access to such technologies, they indulge and commit wrongdoings that deviate from our customs and traditions by accessing and replicating erotic and pornographic pictures over Internet sites. She was addressing the annual conference of the National Committee for Upholding Cambodian Social Morality, Women's and Khmer Family Values.

Minister of Women's Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi, who is also president of the morality committee, said the monitoring of objectionable Web sites is entirely consistent with its mission: If we can stop the flow and influence of foreign culture, then we can maintain our own culture and traditions and foster values for our women.

Update: Cambodia to block websites 'against the principle of the government'

28th February 2010. Based on article from phnompenhpost.com

An official for Telecom Cambodia (TC) has indicated that the state-run company would seek to block access to Web sites it deems inappropriate, should it be granted control over the country's domestic and international Internet exchange.

If any Web site attacks the government or any Web site displays inappropriate images or pornography, or it's against the principle of the government, we can block all of them, said Chin Daro, TC's deputy director, during an interview at the company's offices. If TC plays the role of the exchange point, it will benefit Cambodian society because the government has trust in us, and we can control Internet consumption.

Government officials have long been looking to funnel all Internet service providers (ISPs) through a state-run central exchange point, and they have recently indicated that they plan to execute the change as soon as possible, according to industry insiders.

Chin Daro also said during the interview that he believed the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications was looking to grant the monopoly as soon as the necessary infrastructure was in place.

Tifatul Sembiring, the Indonesian Minister of Information and Communications publicly announced recently an outline of plans to filter content on the internet by using a system like the one Australia has chosen for their censoring efforts.

The proposed plan, by means of a monitoring committee would determine what online content is to be blocked at the internet service provider level. Under the new system, ISPs would be prohibited from distributing, transmitting, or otherwise making accessible content such as pornography and anything else deemed illegal or immoral.

Access to content containing, supposed lies and misleading information will also be banned in Indonesia.

Article 4 in particular looks to target gambling in the country. Websites that have any connection to gambling are prohibited which could change the outlook for online gambling adversely in the nation.

People who use the web feel this is a dangerous plan that spells the end of freedom of expression and the right to information. Opposition to the proposed plan is growing fast with journalists and political reporters leading the charge. The youth of Indonesia also feel their right to free expression will be removed if this law takes effect.

Media activists and the Alliance of Independent Journalists have been very vocal saying that this is a clear violation of political and internet freedom, denouncing the plan as ambiguous and ill-conceived. At least 1400 Facebook members have responded with protest letters. Although the government has said this is just a first draft, the protests continue with growing support.

Update: Rejected

27th February 2010. Based on article from prachatai.com

The Indonesian government rejected a controversial draft regulation on multimedia content which had sparked protests by both journalists and online users, media reports said.

According to KOMPAS.com, Minister for Communication and Information (MCI) Tifatul Sembiring said he will erase it, acknowledging that it threatens freedom of the press in the country.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself said during a cabinet plenary meeting on 18 February that the draft proved to be a sensitive issue that caused debates among the public. He added that further consideration on the draft should be given.

The Jakarta Globe quoted MCI spokesman Gatot Dewa Broto as saying that the proposed regulation provides for a 30-member multimedia content team that would act on public complaints about disturbing content, and would only order Internet service providers to block Web sites that it felt were displaying material already banned under Indonesian law.

Update: But

1st March 2010. Based on article from thejakartapost.com

Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring said he would press ahead with a planned bill to monitor Internet content, despite claims it would violate freedom of expression.

The minister, however, said he would only resume the public deliberation of the bill once the protests surrounding it had subsided.

This draft regulation has apparently jangled some nerves in the public, Tifatul told a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission I on defense, foreign affairs and communications.

I've thus decided to implement a cool-down period while we analyze all the suggestions from the public.

He did not say how long the Communications and Information Technology Ministry would draw out that period.

Once everything has calmed down, we'll meet again with the House *to discuss the draft regulation*, he added.

Tifatul said the bill had been in the works since 2006, three years before he became minister.

Thailand's National Telecommunications Commission had been investigating about 20 community radio stations for allegedly trying to incite violence in the run up to Thaksin's asset forfeiture verdict.

NTC acting secretary-general Thakorn Boonyasith said the stations were accused of violating operating regulations.

Some have been accused of encouraging listeners to cause chaos as the ruling on ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's 76.6-billion-baht asset seizure trial draws near. Others are alleged to have offended the monarchy.

The NTC says there are about 6,600 registered community radio stations across the country which are granted 300-day permits. They are prohibited from slandering anyone, inciting violence or damaging the institution of the monarchy. Those who do will have their permits revoked for a year. Thakorn said the stations in question had been asked to send their archived broadcasts for the past 30 days to the NTC for examination.

Thakorn said he had sent a letter to all community radio stations last week warning them to comply strictly with the regulations.

China has tightened controls on internet use, requiring anyone who wants to set up a website to meet the censors and produce ID documents.

The technology ministry claimed the measures were designed to tackle online pornography, but internet activists see it as increased government censorship.

A number of websites are now being registered overseas in an attempt to avoid controls.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Tuesday lifted a freeze introduced in December on registration for new individual websites. But the technology ministry said would-be website operators would now have to submit identity cards and photos of themselves, as well as meeting censors before their sites could be registered.

A new mythical animal is on the prowl on the Chinese internet.

The Yake lizard is the latest creation of China's nimble and imaginative netizens as a way to poke fun at the authorities and their bid to corral online debate and to block access to sites the censors deem inappropriate.

Internet satirists were inspired by the language used by a Uighur artist performing on the Spring Festival Gala show, noted for wholesome family entertainment peppered with propaganda.

When the artist from the restive, mainly Muslim western Xinjiang region performed the song The Party's Policies are yakexi – using the Uighur word for good, Chinese netizens were not convinced. After all, seven months ago angry Uighurs took to the streets, leaving nearly 200 people - mostly Han Chinese- dead after a night of rioting.

Netizens pounced on the word to ridicule the song – and the censors. They soon found a suitable pun, and the Uighur word became Yake lizard. The word xi in Chinese can mean lizard.

China's most popular blogger, the youthful writer and racing driver Han Han, then set up a competition, offering 5,000 yuan (£500) to the creator of the best new lyrics for the Yake Lizard song.

All this has helped to ensure the Yake lizard has become an internet mascot within the confines of the Great Firewall of China. Blogs and chatrooms have created certain characteristics for the legendary lizard. One noted that the creature used to flourish in the Soviet Union but was now virtually extinct there and to be found mainly in mainland China, North Korea and Cuba.

On February 5 an unidentified man was arrested for comments he posted to a webboard. His house was searched, his computer confiscated as evidence, his family frightened, and friends panicked. These are ordinary people who express opinions that the authorities consider dangerous, and the mainstream media never allows. The Internet is their only outlet.

The police released this man on February 6, told him to stop making comments on the webboard, and they will let the case go away quietly. 

How many other cases there are there like this one? It is a perfect method of intimidation and creating fear without having to do the paper work to the end, not having to bother the court, and without public attention. Many Thais now say they will withdraw from the internet exchanges, at least for a long while.

The government announced last month (Jan 2010) that they would set up a committee to oversee the cases to prevent the abuses of the law. During the past year, the convictions in three cases were severe (18, 10 and 7 years of prison).

A dozen more people were arrested, charged for lèse majesté, either by the lèse majesté law or under the Computer Crimes Act 2007 which is a lèse majesté law in disguise. The CCA has not been used against pornography or identity theft but solely for lèse majesté. Four recent arrests were for translating news from Bloomberg about the monarch's health, for spreading so-called inauspicious rumours after the downturn in the Thai stock market.

An unconfirmed source reports there are about 200 lèse majesté cases in court at the moment. We can imagine how widespread the intimidation and fear is.

A blogger, who had allegedly posted doctored images of Kelantan Mentri Besar, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. The image is reported to have Nik Abdul Aziz having anal intercourse with Anwar.

Kelantan PAS Security Committee, secretary Mohamad Ibrahim, lodged a report after discovering the pictures on the Internet.

According to another news report, the blogger is currently being held under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, which relates to improper use of network facilities or network service to comment, request or suggest in a communication which is obscene, false, offensive, or used to abuse, threaten or harass another person.

If convicted, the blogger faces a maximum one year jail term and/or a maximum fine of RM50,000.

Igan D'Bayan's painting titled Gothika Filipina 2 should have been included in the Asian International Art Exhibition (AIAE) held from November 2009 to January 2010. But the curators didn't allow the painting to join the display at the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Invited to participate in the prestigious annual exhibit together with nine other prominent Filipino visual artists, D'Bayan was surprised when he was told by Lay Ann Orlina, wife of sculptor Ramon Orlina who chairs the Federation of Asian Artists (FAA)-Philippine Committee, that there was a potential problem with his painting.

D'Bayan was given several options: submit another (presumably less provocative) painting, cover the offending area, or stand by his work and be willing to face the consequences. The flummoxed artist replied that he would stand by what he had painted.

Igan subsequently received an email saying that his painting couldn't be accepted for the exhibit because the secret part of a woman was painted too clearly, and that they hoped the artist could replace it with other works that don't bring any bad interpretation from or to the audiences (sic).

Igan D'Bayan will now hold a one-painting show of Gothika Filipina 2 at The Crucible Gallery at the Art Walk, fourth floor, SM Megamall A, Manila, starting on Tuesday, Feb. 16. The internationally censored painting will be on view until Feb. 28.

The Hollywood film Valentine's Day, starring Julia Roberts, has been banned in Brunei following recent warnings from religious leaders declaring that Valentine's Day is not for Muslims because it encouraged promiscuous activity.

An Indonesian movie Rumah Dara (literally Maiden House) starred Shareefa Danish and Julie Estelle has been banned in Malaysia.

The slasher movie is the first Indonesian film that cannot be seen in the Malaysian theaters.

Member of Information Commission at the House of Representatives (DPR) Tantowi Yahya said Malaysia applies its own mechanism of censorship. Tantowi said he has yet to watch the movie. Prior to being premiered in Indonesia on January 22, the movie had been on the theaters in Singapore, North America and Korea.

Rumah Dara is the first slasher movie directed by Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel, who are widely acknowledged as The Mo Brothers.

Update: Slashed by the Indonesian Censor

9th February 2010. See article from thejakartaglobe.com

They're most likely strangers to Indonesian movie fans as their debut feature-length film, Rumah Dara (Dara's House) — the story of a twisted family that kill its guests — was only released in local theaters a couple of days ago.

But prior to its domestic premiere, the movie, originally titled Macabre, was screened at a number of film festivals around the world, and left quite an impression.

In their first feature, the self-styled 'Mo Brothers' show a natural feel for genre rules that makes this fresh meat for gore hounds, proclaimed Derek Elley, in a film review for the Los Angeles-based entertainment magazine Variety.

Writing for The Austin Chronicle, an alternative newsweekly in Texas, Richard Whittaker said the movie may put the Southeast Asian nation on some gore hounds' maps. … This may be the bloodiest film of the [Fantastic Fest Film] festival.

In September last year, a new Indonesian film law was introduced, increasing the amount of government control over the film industry, largely through its censorship agency. The typical violence of a slasher film is still considered taboo and usually prohibited.

Rumah Dara, according to its directors, was subjected to this harsh scrutiny and some of the close-up scenes of violence were cut.

But Kimo reassured horror buffs that the cut scenes were just a very small part of the movie and did not affect the integrity of the film: We thought that it could've been so much worse, he added. We could've been banned.

The film has also faced public criticism for its extreme violence, with one reporter saying after a press screening that the film had no value and was immoral.