VOA标准英语2010年-Indonesia's Anti-Pornography Law Raise

A man browses¹ at pictures of Japanese porn star Maria Ozawa posted on a local Web site at a public Internet service in Jakarta (Sep 2009 file photo)

The recent arrest of six people in Indonesia over a nightclub show is raising concerns among minority groups and secularists about a new anti-pornography law.

In late 2008, Indonesia's parliament passed a broad law aimed at stamping out what many politicians saw as an epidemic⁴ of pornography. Pushed by Islamic conservatives, the law outlawed⁵ anything - from books to paintings to some bodily movements - considered capable of raising feelings of lust⁶.
 
Liberals and non-Muslims opposed the law, saying it is too harsh and too broad. But there was little action - until the arrest last month of four women for dancing in their underwear at a nightclub in Bandung.

The women arrested at the Belair Café and Music Lounge are likely to be the first people tried under the law and could face up to 10 years in prison. Their agent and a club manager could be jailed for 15 years.

Rights activists⁷ say the use of the law is the first step of a crusade they fear will spread beyond the fight against smut, and become a campaign against regional traditions and religious minorities. The concern is that everything from traditional dances to Hindu temple carvings⁸ could fall afoul of the law.

Ellin Rozana, the director of the Indonesian women's rights group Institut Perempuan, says the anti-pornography law is part of a project by some Islamic parties to push Indonesia toward adopting aspects of sharia, or Islamic law.

"The spirit of the law is to fight against Indonesian pluralism," she said.

Rozana says the law discriminates⁹ against women. She is urging police to drop charges against the six arrested people, who are yet to go to trial.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population - more than 200 million people. But it also has a secular³ government and many minority groups who practice a variety of other religions. The culture mixes in Hindu, Buddhist¹⁰ and folk traditions that date back before Islam came to the islands.

The secretary of West Java's top council of Muslim clerics, Rafani Achyar, says the new law is essential to uphold moral values. He says suggestive acts like the dancers at the Belair Café are a stain on Bandung, and a threat to Indonesia's future.

He says heavy punishments should be a warning to people to watch their behavior.

The head of Bandung's public order police, Ferdi Ligaswara, says the raid on the Belair Café is in line with a broader vice² crackdown by the city mayor.

He says authorities have officially declared Bandung a "religious city." But Ligaswara says that is not the same as declaring it an Islamic city.

He says the city is working hard to wipe out what the local government sees as pornography, including dances involving nudity or too much eroticism.

But many are concerned the law could go further.

Mas Nanu Muda is a Muslim and a practitioner¹¹ of jaipongan, a local dance that draws on West Java's pre-Islamic heritage.

The provincial¹² governor has already criticized the swaying women's movements in jaipongan as being too suggestive.

Although local officials say there are no plans for a crackdown on jaipongan, Mas Nanu says he thinks the dance will be next.

He says the problem with many of the politicians is that they think they are being good Muslims by trying to replace local traditions with Arab culture.

It is a complaint heard frequently in Indonesia. The country has long had a reputation as a bastion of moderate Islam. But moves such as the new anti-pornography law are seen by many as a sign that reputation may be under threat.
 

1 browses   

n.吃草( browse的名词复数 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息v.吃草( browse的第三人称单数 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• The picture browses:The picture which supports JPG, BMP format browses. 嫩枝图片：图片支持规划组、嫩枝BMP的格式。 来自互联网
• NIV I am my lover's and my lover is mine; he browses among the lilies. 3[和合]我属我的2良人；我的良人也属我。他在百合花中牧放群羊。 来自互联网

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

4 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

5 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

6 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 carvings   

n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 discriminates   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的第三人称单数 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• The new law discriminates against lower-paid workers. 这条新法律歧视低工资的工人。
• One test governs state legislation that discriminates against interstate commerce. 一个检验约束歧视州际商业的州立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

11 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

12 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。