Thread: Parting kiss sparks Sharia law furore

http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.a...55E954,00.html

Quote:
Parting kiss sparks Sharia law furore
Marianne Kearney in Jakarta
01oct05

A DEPARTING Javanese soldier and his Acehnese girlfriend have caused outrage in Aceh, with student groups calling for the two lovers to be flogged under Aceh's Sharia law.

The soldier – who had been based at the port at Lhokseumawe – was one of hundreds permanently withdrawing from the region as part of the peace deal between the Indonesian Government and local separatists.

Under encouragement from his commander, the Javanese soldier gave his weeping girlfriend a proper goodbye – passionately kissing her on the lips.

The kiss was recorded by a horde of waiting media covering the troop withdrawal, and subsequently broadcast on television and published in national newspapers.

Aceh's military commander, Major-General Supiadin Adisaputra, was forced to apologise, explaining it was a spontaneous kiss.

"This has caused a lot of embarrassment, especially because it involved a soldier," said Elvida, a representative of the Acehnese women's group Flowers. "A lot of people want the girl to be punished."

The Indonesian Muslim Student Union demonstrated outside the governor's office in Aceh's capital Banda Aceh on Tuesday, calling for the perpetrators to be flogged, a punishment meted out under Sharia law to adulterers.

A limited form of Sharia law was introduced in Aceh in 2001, but with the destruction of much of Aceh's infrastructure and law enforcement in the December 26 tsunami, Sharia law has only been enforced sporadically in parts of Aceh this year. Last month two people caught gambling were publicly flogged.

Observers say the well-publicised kiss has sparked renewed demands for Sharia law to be implemented again.

"The demand for Sharia is stronger, because it (the kiss) caused a lot of concern among the community, because they think, maybe, there will be public kissing everywhere," said Teugku Ahmad Haikal, from the non-government group NGO Forum.

The kiss was considered so outrageous local papers did not publish it, said Haikal, but many Acehnese had downloaded it from various websites, and it had become a hot topic of conversation.

With a flood of international aid workers entering the region after the tsunami, Aceh – particularly Banda Aceh – has become more open.

Many youths flout Sharia restrictions. Young women do not wear headscarves and unaccompanied young couples often meet in restaurants and cafes for dates, according to Elvida.

Many Acehnese hope Sharia law will be reintroduced across the province, not just to target small-time offences but as a way of ridding Aceh of rampant corruption, according to rights groups.