Jakarta – Hundreds of activists, artists and cultural communities – decked out in colorful garb – bedazzled passersby and spectators along the city's main thoroughfares Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta and Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta in a peaceful protest against the endorsement of the pornography bill.

No! To Zero Culture was the theme the protest organizer, Diverse But One Alliance, picked to convey their message: The country is rich in cultural diversity and therefore a law in the name of morality will only be a conduit to destroy the harmony of that diversity. Saturday's event began with speeches at the National Monument (Monas).

"The carnival is our way of reminding all parties, the legislature, the government, and all Indonesians about our identity, an Indonesia according to the republic's foundations, the 1945 Constitution, Pancasila and its motto, unity through diversity," said alliance chairwoman Shinta Nuriyah Wahid.

Shinta, reminded everyone that the alliance was against all forms of pornography, but passing a law that would regulate people's morality would create a different situation.

The bill, she said, had the potential to cause national disintegration and it was an act of treason against the Constitution and Pancasila which bound the country's many cultures. "...We also object to the use of a law which dehumanizes people," said Shinta.

In order to eradicate pornography, the lawmakers and the government must make good use of the existing institutions and also take measures against indecency in television programs, dismiss corrupt law enforcers, make effective the Film Censorship Board (BSF), the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), and consistently uphold the Criminal Code.

Movie director Nia Dinata who also joined Saturday's protest said the government and lawmakers must respect human rights and cultural diversity. "If their is no diversity, there will be no more arts," she said.

Prolific woman writer Ayu Utami said that the government had not been doing what it should. "The panacea is already there but it has not been taken," said Ayu about existing regulations which were enacted into law to control pornography and indecency. "We can never heal a problem with the wrong medicine." One of the alliance's coordinators playwright Ratna Sarumpaet said that the alliance had already made future plans to block the endorsement of the bill.

"We plan to hold a national congress on culture which will give birth to the Indonesian culture manifesto," said Ratna. "If the legislature has still not taken action, we will hold another festival which will be larger and with even more representatives from all the regions." A 36-year-old housewife Siti Khomariah brought her two children along to see the parade and the colorful performances to give support to the activists fighting against the bill. She even let her children skip school to watch the rare protest.

She asked The Jakarta Post about what would happen to housewives who wore a nightdress at home and within their complexes. "Would they then be arrested because of being considered indecent", she queried. "We are now even more convinced that we must not be oppressed," she said.