Indonesian Court Orders Closure of Buddha Bar; Awards Damages To Plaintiffs

In Indonesia today, the Central Jakarta District Court ordered the Jakarta branch of the Paris-based Buddha Bar to close.  The court also ordered the company that operates the bar, along with the Jakarta's governor and its tourism agency that allowed the bar to operate,  to pay plaintiffs the equivalent of $111,000. Today's Jakarta Globe and M&C report that a group called the Anti-Buddha Bar Forum filed the law suit last year, charging that the bar's name and its use of Buddhist symbols violated laws requiring respect for state-approved religions. Last year the bar's owners, in response to complaints, renamed it, but plaintiffs say that is not enough because it has refused to remove Buddhist symbols used in the bar,