Indonesia dilutes anti-pornography bill

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian lawmakers have watered down an anti-pornography bill following criticism that it could restrict freedom and threaten the country's tolerant tradition, the parliamentary speaker said on Wednesday.

Controversy over the bill has exposed deep divisions within the world's largest Muslim nation and various groups on both sides of the debate have held street protests over the issue.

"A law must not create divisions within the nation and must be accepted by all citizens," House of Representatives speaker Agung Laksono told foreign reporters.

Major parts of the draft aim to shield the young from pornographic material and lewd acts, but also contains provisions that could jail people kissing in public and criminalise many forms of art or traditional culture that hinge on sensuality.

Laksono said the draft had been revised to take into account cultural traditions and local sensitivities.

"In places like Bali and Papua, bare-breasted women are a daily sight. If such things are banned it will be against local customs," he said.

Laksono said he hoped the bill, which was first drafted 10 years ago, would be passed before the end of this year and its name has been changed from the Anti-Pornograhy and Pornographic Action Bill to just the Pornography Bill.

Supporters of the bill, particularly Islamic groups, say tough measures are necessary to protect the public from corrupting Western influence.

Although illegal, explicit material is available with relative ease in Indonesia, and television programs regularly feature bared flesh and sexual innuendo.

Critics say if passed, such a law could pave the way for vigilante groups to take the law into their own hands under the pretexts of upholding morality.

Militant Muslim groups in Indonesia, particularly since the fall of the autocratic Suharto presidency in 1998, have sporadically taken vigilante action against red-light areas or liberal publications deemed offensive.

Seizing on the decentralization that accompanied Suharto's fall, some regions have passed restrictive laws designed to ensure public morality, raising concern among some more liberal groups.