Thread: Jakarta : Buddha Bar Not to Buddhists Liking ; Owners to be sued

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Buddha Bar Not to Buddhists Liking ; Owners to be sued
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Posted by Ashin Mettacara

By Markus Junianto Sihaloho,

Jakarta Glove

The exclusive Buddha Bar in Central Jakarta, part-owned by the daughter of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, has been labelled sacrilegious by the Indonesian Buddhist Student Association.

Association chairman Eko Nugroho told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday that the new bar and restaurant in Menteng violated laws related to insulting religions and should be shut down.

Eko said that a number of Buddhist organizations in Indonesia had filed official complaints about the name with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism.

He said the Jakarta administration should have considered the law regarding the misuse of religious symbols before issuing permits for the restaurant.

“We urge local governments in Jakarta to take strong action against the new bar to avoid angering Buddhists,” he said.

He said the bar was owned by Megawati’s daughter, Puan Maharani, the heir apparent to the Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, and Renny Sutiyoso, the daughter of presidential aspirant and former Jakarta governor, Sutiyoso.

Eko said that other student religious groups would support their association and it would file a class-action lawsuit against the city administration.

“We are also considering filing a class-action suit against the central government for its failure to follow the Constitution, under which Buddhism is protected,” he said.

He said that all parties related to the Buddha Bar establishment should have understood that Buddha was the highest-rank spiritual teacher for Buddhists.

“A Buddhist would never permit anyone to take Buddha’s name for commercial use,” he said.

He said that the bar owners should respect Buddhism and its universal values and as a religion that is protected by Indonesian’s Constitution.

“We are still arranging and collecting sufficient documents necessary to sue the owners, which we will soon do with the East Jakarta District Court,” Eko said.

According to bar’s official Web site, Jakarta was the first city in Asia to host the Buddha Bar, which was originally established in Paris in 1996. Other franchises are based in London, New York, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Kiev, Cairo and Beirut.

However, Eko said that that fact could not be used as justification to open a new Buddha Bar in Jakarta, saying that the governments of Singapore and Thailand had refused to issue licenses for Buddha Bars in their countries.

ashinmettacara.org

Hundreds of Buddhists to rally, pray to protest Buddha Bar
05-03-2009

Hundreds of Buddhists plan to hold a prayer service in front of Buddha Bar in Central Jakarta on Thursday morning to protest the French franchise bar's management they regard has been inconsiderate in displaying Buddhist religious attributes.

Eko Nugroho, head of the Indonesian Buddhist Students Association, told tempointeraktif.com that the service was to honor Buddha who is represented by a Buddha statue inside the bar's building.

“Around 200 people will join the procession,” he said.

Eko said the Buddists would gather first at Taman Cut Meutia Park at around 10:30 am before walking in prayers towards the bar.

He said he expect the bar management to change the bar's name. “It is very inappropriate to use a religious symbol to name an entertainment place that sells liquor,” he said.

Separately, head of Jakarta Tourism Agency, Arie Budiman, said the administration was asking Buddhists to be patient, as the bar management was still considering to change the bar's name.

The Buddha Bar building used to be the Old Immigration Office building, which was originally set up as a center for the arts and hosted opera performances. The bar is now run by the daughter of former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso who initially approved the purchase and renovations.

The Jakarta administration spent Rp 28 billion (US$2.3 million in today's currency) in 2002 to repurchase the old building and poured an additional Rp 6.1 billion into restoring it in 2005.

asianewsnet.net

Originally Posted by Mid

The Buddha Bar building used to be the Old Immigration Office building, which was originally set up as a center for the arts and hosted opera performances. The bar is now run by the daughter of former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso who initially approved the purchase and renovations. The Jakarta administration spent Rp 28 billion (US$2.3 million in today's currency) in 2002 to repurchase the old building and poured an additional Rp 6.1 billion into restoring it in 2005.

just another normal scam

Indonesian court orders closure of Buddha Bar in Jakarta
Gopal Ethiraj
Thu, 2010-09-02



The Jakarta branch of Paris-based Buddha Bar has been ordered to be closed immediately by an Indonesian court on Wednesday, citing the controversial bar and restaurant had inappropriately used the religion’s name and icons for entertainment purposes. It also convicted the licence holder of blasphemy. The Jakarta’s central district court also ordered licensee, PT Nireta Vista Creative, the official Jakarta tourism agency and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo to pay damages of one billion rupiah (110,000 dollars) to the plaintiffs for distress.

The Anti-Buddha Bar Forum had filed the complaint on behalf of local Buddhists in May. It has fought the bar’s use of the Buddha’s name and the use of Buddhist decorations for a commercial venture.

The plush lounge bar and restaurant is the France-based chain's first franchise in Asia, but it sparked protests almost from the moment it opened in late 2008 in central Jakarta. Its trademark ‘Oriental styling’ included a large sitting Buddha figure which dominates the bar area. This infuriated mainly Muslim Indonesia's Buddhist minority, who organised protests and a legal challenge.

The owners then changed the name to "Buddhabar" but that failed to satisfy the Buddhists.

The judges passing the verdict, upholding the case we filed in May calling for the bar to be shut down, said "The licence holder was found guilty of blasphemy and of using Buddhist symbols and ornaments at an inappropriate place."

The city authorities had failed to consider the religious sensitivities when they approved the licence, the judges said.

Buddhist monk Sugianto Salaman said the verdict was reasonable. “We are happy to hear the verdict. If the court had not ordered the bar’s closure, we would have been done it ourselves. The verdict is the legal way of shutting it down,” he added."We're very pleased with the court's decision. It's a blessing for Buddhists. Justice has been served," Sumargono, the lawyer said.

Muslims make up roughly 90 percent of Indonesia's 240 million people, but the constitution also recognises the country's Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Confucian minorities.

The owners of the bar reportedly vowed to appeal the court's decision, which could have implications for other hotels, bars and restaurants that feature decorative statues of Buddha.

asiantribune.com