Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono decided to ring in National Children's Day on Friday by giving a speech to hundreds of children about pornography.

At the event at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah theme park, Yudhoyono called on parents to think about why recent sex video scandals had grabbed the national spotlight and how they could work to prevent their children from being negatively affected by the scandals.

"I want to highlight a tragedy, the moral tragedy that occurred recently in the form of the pornographic videos," he told the hundreds of children and parents who attended the event.

"What lesson can we learn from it, who should be held responsible, and how do we ensure it never happens again? The answer is something that I have said previously: we need parents to provide more guidance, schools to provide the right education, and the state to enforce strict and proper laws.

"Let's always keep this incident in mind, and introspect on why such a tragedy was allowed to happen."

The leaked videos, purportedly featuring a pop singer and two TV presenters, have had some child rights activists seething over the setting of "a poor moral standard for the nation's youth and encouraging them to engage in casual sex."

Yudhoyono previously told a council of Islamic clerics that he was "ashamed of what has happened," and called on police and prosecutors to take legal action over the sex-tape scandal.

On Thursday, Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring, who has long campaigned against online porn, announced a blanket ban on offending Web sites ahead of the start of the holy month of Ramadhan next month.

Yudhoyono also used Friday's speech to call on parents to better protect their children from exploitation, discrimination and "misleading social interaction and bad behavior."

"We must remember that a child's education begins at home. It's the responsibility of the parents to guide them toward the right path," he said. "Parents should also be responsible for forming a child's personality, including their values, ethics and behavior."

The president said it was imperative that adults set a good example for children to emulate. "It is important that the values they learn at home and in school are reflected in daily life."

Incongruity could lead children to not trust adult authority figures, Yudhoyono went on. "Public officials are expected to set a proper moral example, but it is the responsibility of everyone as we strive to become a highly civilized society," he said.