15 Comments on “Book Burning”

1. Colson Says:
   August 8th, 2007 at 5:56 am

   Here’s a salute to a great Indonesian author:

   Good for you Ayu Utami.

   It’s sad you and the likes of you have to protest the Attorney General’s Office’s disgusting imitation of Nazi-style bookburning.

   However it’s great you and the likes of you got the guts not to give in to the intimidation meant to crush freedom of speech.

2. anonymous_aloy Says:
   August 8th, 2007 at 6:41 am

   “Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings.”

   Let it be written in history books that Nur Mahmudi Ismail of PKS participate in this shameful act.

3. Falcon Says:
   August 8th, 2007 at 7:36 am

   Book burning is the marking of authocratic individuals, “I am right your are wrong”. and a sign of a weak and timid minds. Individuals condoning such act are equal to tyrans. They are displaying powerforce to erase freedom of expression. If you dont like the book just banned it. Let the future-pass by and the history unfold but you can not burn a mind.

   “Book burning is standard procedure” what a shamefull remark

4. Ihaknt Says:
   August 8th, 2007 at 8:36 am

   Sigh…like Jakarta needs more polution. Burning = polution, people!!!

5. dewaratugedeanom Says:
   August 8th, 2007 at 9:44 pm

   What’s next?
   - Malam Kaca (Kristallnacht gaya Indonesia)?
   - More pogroms of Chinese businesses?
   - Deportation (wajib transmigrasi) of bule and non-Muslim pribumis?
   - Extermination camp Hutanbuku (Buchenwalt)?

6. Shorty Says:
   August 8th, 2007 at 10:23 pm

   A book is the written transcription of the author’s thoughts, burning or destroying the book doesn’t destroy them, or prevent them from being disseminated.

   In fact burning/censoring/banning have the opposite effect – they draw attention to the content and create a market, ”I wonder why?”, ”I must check it out”, ”why are they afraid”.

   A just person/organisation/company/government ALLOWS and WELCOMES all criticisms.

   A secure person/organisation/company/government is not concerned by the criticism.

   Try this for size, I don’t agree with what you say, but I’ll defend your right to say it.

7. Aluang Anak Bayang Says:
   August 8th, 2007 at 11:11 pm

   Ayu Utami is sexy. Very kissable lip.

8. Serious Man Says:
   August 9th, 2007 at 12:52 am

   I agree with Agung Thomson Siagian, spokesman for the Attorney General’s office, it was just standard procedure. I think ayu utami cs was excessive. What GM said “just don’t use them” and let the historian make wrong story isn’t solution. Do they agree with some people there that always try to change our history with communist?

9. Peter Says:
   August 11th, 2007 at 8:43 pm

   Hey why don’t they just recycle instead?

10. Pena Budaya Says:
    August 16th, 2007 at 2:28 pm

    This burning book action is a symbol of the destruction of intellectual heritage.
    What a shame!

11. Aluang Anak Bayang Says:
    August 16th, 2007 at 4:27 pm

    Pujian untun Allah Subhana Wata’alah, re

    This burning book action is a symbol of the destruction of intellectual heritage.
    What a shame!

    We have the Quran which contains scientific and mathematics miracles, we do not need any other book.

    Salam.

12. Pena Budaya Says:
    August 18th, 2007 at 1:09 am

    We have the Quran which contains scientific and mathematics miracles, we do not need any other book.

    We don’t need to Quran to be scientific or mathematicians, neither do as a our moral guidance, but we don’t have to burn Quran for that. We just have to be open minded to new ideas.

13. Achmad Sudarsono Says:
    August 19th, 2007 at 11:56 am

    Heh Friend – I am the Great Poet ! Why wasn’t I invited to the literary event…??

14. Bas Says:
    August 20th, 2007 at 3:38 am

    So I assume it’s oke if I burn Al Quran and other nonsense stuff like it too?

15. empressnasigoreng Says:
    November 8th, 2010 at 9:32 am

    I quite like this poem by Bertolt Brecht:

    THE BURNING Of THE BOOKS
    When the Regime commanded that books with harmful knowledge
    Should be publicly burned and on all sides
    Oxen were forced to drag cartloads of books
    To the bonfires, a banished
    Writer, one of the best, scanning the list of the Burned, was shocked to find that his
    Books had been passed over. He rushed to his desk
    On wings of wrath, and wrote a letter to those in power ,
    Burn me! he wrote with flying pen, burn me! Haven’t my books
    Always reported the truth ? And here you are
    Treating me like a liar! I command you!
    Burn me!

    It seems that those writers having the writings burnt should take it as a compliment!

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