JAKARTA'S "BUDDHA BAR" CONTINUES TO DRAW PROTESTS

Magelang, C Java, May 28 (ANTARA) - Buddhist community activists here have initiated a campaign to solicit public support for the banning of the use of the word "Buddha" in the name of a bar in Jakarta.

Grouped in the Anti-Buddha Bar Forum (FABB), the activists have begun collecting signatures for their demand to close down a nite spot on Jalan Tengku Umar in the national capital named "Buddha Bar."
People supporting the demand were asked to put their signatures on 100-meter-long pieces of white cloth laid out at the activists' command posts at the Borobudur and Mendut temples.

A coordinator of the campaign, Made Krisna, said here Friday the owner of the bar in Jakarta had defiled the name and symbols of the Buddhist faith.

He said Buddha was a sacred name and should not be used for a bar which was a place for activities that were clearly against the principles of Buddhism.

Buddha was the name of the prophet whose teachings formed the basis of the Buddhist faith whereas a bar was a commercial establishment selling alcoholic drinks, night-life entertainment and porn-actions, he said.

He said campaigns to get the bar in Jakarta closed down would also be staged in other Indonesian cities where Buddhist believers reside. In Medan, North Sumatra, a similar campaign had already collected thousands of signatures, he added.

According to Krisna, after operating for a few years, the bar was actually already shut down by the government. The directorate general of intellectual property rights had in fact nullified or revoked the Buddha Bar trademark. Nevertheless, the night-spot had continued to operate until now.

On April 21, 2009, Buddha Bar's owner had stated his intention to change its name and the billboard carrying the words Buddha Bar was removed. But later, the old billboard was restored and ever since the bar had continued to operate under the name offending the Buddhist community.