JAKARTA LIFE'S STYLE
The Indonesian ministry of foreign affairs said here on Friday that the ban on the screening of the film "Balibo 5" was the affair of the Film Censor Board (LSF).Its spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, said the government had not interfered in LSF`s decsion-making on the film.
"The ban on Balibo 5 is the responsibility of the office concerned namely the LSF, not of the foreign ministry or the Indonesian government," he said.
The ban for the screening of Balibo 5 that depicts the death of five Australian journalists in Balibo, East Timor, on October 16, 1975 is under the authority of the LSF as the official agency in charge of the affairs. No other agencies including the government has interfered, he said.
He said the ban was not aimed at covering up the Indonesian government`s action at the time and hindering democracy.
Faizasyah said the LSF had its own parameter to decide to ban a film to be screened in the country involving various aspects such as religious, social and others.
"The government did not want to interfere in the affairs of the LSF that has its own authority with regard to determining if a film is appropriate for screening in Indonesia," he said.
He said the Balibo 5 was an art work and it would continue to be appreciated but the LSF possibly had considered it inappropriate for screening in Indonesia based upon various considerations.
Regarding the death of the Australian journalists he said that the Indonesian and Australian governments had stated that the journalists were killed after being trapped in a firefight during the war in the region.
He said there were many local people who had also been killed during the war.
"Actually the victims of the war at the time were not only those journalists but also many other civilians," he said.
He said the government did not make the ban a problem because it still had other work to do.He hoped the case would not damage democracy in the country.(ANTARA News)
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