Deutsche Welle, 2 April 2013
Indonesia's punk scene is alive and kicking despite conservative forces in the mainly Muslim country which would do anything to repress tatooed activists.
Indonesia's punk scene is alive and kicking despite conservative forces in the mainly Muslim country which would do anything to repress tatooed activists.
Medan is in
the north of Sumatra and its architecture is a relic of the Dutch colonial
period.
With the
muezzins calling to prayer five times a day, it's a typical big city in
Indonesia.
Tulang organizes concerts at his bamboo home in Medan |
Tulang is a
member of the band BKA. He's over 30 and has been a punk for a long time. He
says his neighbors aren't bothered by the fact that punks from all over the
world visit and that sometimes concerts are extremely loud.
Right now,
Kami Ada has come to visit. The Berlin-based punk band is made up of one
Columbian, a Pole, a German and an Indonesian. Their name means "We
Exist."
Cimot, who
is Indonesian and has been living in Berlin for three years, chose the name and
then organized a five-week tour of Sumatra, Java and Bali.
Prayer
breaks
Punks advertize online and with classic methods |
Whereas
Indonesian punk subculture is as varied as its western equivalents and all
styles from street punk to hardcore can be found, one major difference is the
role of religion.
Indonesia's
punks take off their shoes when they play in clubs that belong to Muslims. They
take breaks when it is time to pray so that people are not disturbed.
However,
some punks are worried about what is happening in the province of Aceh which
borders Medan and where shariah law has been introduced.
Just over a
year ago, some 65 punks were arrested there and sent to a re-education camp.
Poloh and
Kiki refuse to be intimidated by the moral police: "We will continue to
fight so that we can dress as we like and for freedom of speech and our
democratic rights in Indonesia," they told Deutsche Welle.
Cracking
down on punk
Even in
Jakarta there has been a crackdown on the punk movement. Until February this
year, one of the few places punks could meet and make music freely was Pondok
Jati Station. Punks lived there for years and organized well-attended concerts
that would be interrupted only by the trains but the location has now been
demolished.
Dozens of punks were arrested and sent to re-education camps in 2011 |
Although there
is some pressure from the authorities, Indonesia's punks stay in touch via the
internet, at concerts and through fan magazines. They also organize benefit
events to raise money for orphans or to campaign against corruption. Some have
even set up a soup kitchen called "Food not Bombs."
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