The city of Surakarta, or Solo, despite its reputation as a hotbed of hardline Islam, has relatively relaxed rules for places of entertainment during Ramadan.

The city administration of the Central Java city of about 500,000 persons, has ruled, according to Evi Febria Roekmi of the local Tourism Department, that night spots such as cafes, bars, and night-clubs must close only for the first week of the celebration of the “holy month”, 23-30 September 2006, and the last week, 17-23 October. The two weeks in between, it seems, are not as holy, with discos and pubs being allowed to open from 10pm until 2am, while karaoke bars and cafes can open all day, from 11am to 1am.

These rules are less restrictive than in the capital Jakarta although the matter of massage parlours and amusement arcades is not delved into in the report.

Surakarta, during the celebration of past fasting months, has been subject to many instances of “sweeping” of night-time entertainment venues by radical Islamic groups.