http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/city/judicial-mafias-hand-seen-in-buddha-bar-row/371042 April 23, 2010 Dimas Siregar & Arientha Primanita Judicial Mafia’s Hand Seen in Buddha Bar Row As the nation is discovering how pervasive the judicial mafia is in law enforcement institutions, one group believes the same cancer might have had a role in the controversy surrounding the Buddha Bar.
Kevin Wu, head of the Anti- Buddha Bar Forum (FABB), said the failure of the bar to abide by a September 2009 court verdict ordering it to drop the name could indicate the judicial mafia was playing a role in the case. He said the State Administrative Court in Jakarta ruled in September that the bar should not use Buddha in its name. A month later it issued a similar ruling concerning the Paris-based franchise holder. An appeal court upheld the verdicts in February. In April last year, the Jakarta Tourism Office issued a letter asking the management of the local bar to change its name and remove any religious symbols from its operations and venue. The management originally returned to the colonial name of the building housing the bar, “Bataviasche Kunstkring,” but the decorations and theme were not changed and patrons continue to refer to it as the Buddha Bar. The FABB has filed a criminal report with the police against the bar but there has been no follow-up so far. “We have the suspicion that a case broker is involved in the Buddha Bar case,” Kevin said. “We don’t know why our suit was turned into a law covering religious blasphemy.” He also said the Jakarta Tourism Office had not tried to enforce its demand or the verdict of the court. Instead, he said, the office has merely sent another letter to the management of the Buddha Bar “appealing” for it to abide by the law. Kevin also said his group had reported the case to several institutions but it had not had any follow-up. “We have reported the case to Commission VIII of the House of Representatives, the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force and the National Police Commission,” Kevin said. Henry Marheroso, the operations manager of the Buddha Bar in Jakarta, said the bar continued to retain the name despite the court verdict. “We are still using the name Buddha Bar for the nightclub because we are still appealing the decision,” he said. “So until the appeal process is over we will continue to use the name.” Henry added that the Buddha Bar management couldn’t simply change the nightclub’s name because it was an international franchise. A move to change the name would constitute a breach of contract and that Buddha Bar in Jakarta would have to pay compensation, he said. Henry said he had no knowledge about any case broker being involved in the dispute. Arie Budhiman, who heads the city’s tourism office, said it only issued a permit for the company behind the nightclub, Nireta Vista Creative, to operate a restaurant, while the naming of the enterprise was left to the company itself. “However, we have sent warnings regarding the name,” Arie said. Last year, the company took the Jakarta Tourism Office to the State Administrative Court and the case is still ongoing. Jakarta became the first city in Asia to host a Buddha Bar franchise when the establishment opened for business in Menteng in November 2008. The first outlet was opened in Paris in 1996. But local Buddhists objected to the name and protested until the government asked the bar’s managers to remove its signs. The controversy over the name has not significantly affected sales, with the establishment continuing to do steady business. There are at least two popular bars in Bali that also use the word “Buddha” in their names. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
