Buddhists protest Buddha Bar

Buddhist plan to hold a prayer service to protest the Buddha Bar's use of Buddhist icons.

"Hundreds of Buddhists plan to hold a prayer service in front of the Buddha Bar club in Central Jakarta on Thursday morning, in protest against the French franchise management's use of Buddhist attributes.

Eko Nugroho, head of the Indonesian Buddhist Students Association, told tempointeraktif.com that the service was organize to honor Buddha, who is represented by a Buddha statue in the Buddha Bar building.

Eko expects the bar management to change the bar's name. "It is most inappropriate to use a religious icon to name an entertainment place that sells liquor," he said."

Read full article.

The Buddha Bar labeled sacrilegious

Indonesian students taking matters into their own hands:

"The exclusive Buddha Bar in Central Jakarta, part-owned by the daughter of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, has been labeled 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."

Read full article.

Indonesian Monks against Buddha Bar

Indonesian Buddhist urge to have the newly opened Buddha Bar, a Paris-based franchise restaurant, shut down.

"We urge the Jakarta administration to take strong action against the use of the name Buddha to avoid angering Buddhists," Brilian Moktar, head of the Buddhist association in Medan, was quoted as saying by Antara.

Jakarta became the first South-east Asian city to have the Buddha Bar in December, joining major international cities like London, New York and Dubai.

Read full article.