Cultural sensitivity, along with a difficult political climate, are two reasons why conservative groups are winning in their fight to have artists like Lady Gaga banned from performing in Indonesia, a political communication expert says.

Police say US pop singer Lady Gaga has become the first foreign artist to be denied a concert permit by Indonesian authorities, with the National Police declaring on Tuesday that they would not issue a permit for the singer's planned June 3 concert at Bung Karno Main Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta, one of the first of many stops in her "The Born This Way Ball" world tour.

According to Effendi Gazali, Lady Gaga's controversial reputation is one reason why "when we defend artists like Lady Gaga who have a reputation more for eroticism than for things like political substance, we are automatically on the losing side against groups that claim to defend cultural and religious values," Effendi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Lady Gaga has sparked strong opposition from groups such as the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the United Development Party (PPP), an Islamic party with 38 out of 550 seats in the House of Representatives.

Considering that the government has a lot of other problems on its hands right now, Effendi says that it can't be bothered to exercise extra effort in defending artists like Lady Gaga.

"They've got elections to look forward to, as well as political corruption issues to deal with. Then there's also the recent Sukhoi Superjet 100 accident," Effendi said over the phone, referring to the recent referring to the Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 that crashed near Mt. Salak in West Java last week.

"As such, the government doesn't want to look for enemies. This is why they are caving in to pressure from certain groups. On the other hand, if the police were to ban a political artist from performing in Indonesia, the government might care a lot more about getting involved."

Effendi compared what he called "today's difficult political climate" with the early days of Yudhoyono's presidency, which Effendi said was a period when the country was more "euphoric" and tolerant of the exercise of certain freedoms. "We had a new president and a new government. People were celebrating their freedoms. That's why it was much easier for artists like Beyonce, who have a reputation for erotic dances like Lady Gaga, to perform in the country," Effendi said.

American R&B diva Beyonce performed in Indonesia in November of 2007 as part of a world tour.

"Back then, because the government was new, they were compelled to fulfill their campaign promises and to enforce the law. Now, however, things have changed, with the government under so much scrutiny because of their problems."

Aside from the difficulties the government is facing, Effendi noted that cultural expression issues are hot right now in Indonesia. The government is already having difficulties finding ways to deal with religious freedom issues like the disputes over churches in a number of areas.

"They just can't be bothered to deal with another issue of cultural expression," Effendi said. (png)