beyondbrics

Buddha-Bar is fighting for survival in Indonesia.

The French lounge chain opened in Jakarta two years ago – its first move into Asia. Yet this week a district court ruled the club offends followers of the faith, and ordered it to close and pay $111,000 in fines.

“We’re going to keep operating while waiting for the response from the French owner,” the popular venue’s manager said.George V Entertainment, which owns Buddha-Bar, is considering an appeal, which could be drawn out for years in Indonesia’s notoriously slow and corrupt courts.

Located in a beautifully renovated colonial building in the upscale Menteng neighborhood, Buddha-Bar draws affluent Jakartans to plush sofas and cocktails. However, its centrepiece, a giant Buddha statue, and the Buddha-Bar name itself have drawn protests from student groups in Indonesia who say such use of religious symbols is offensive.

Buddha-Bar has never been targeted elsewhere by international Buddhist groups and it’s curious that the suit has been lodged in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation – where Buddhism is virtually non-existent. The lawyer for the bar said the suit should not even have been filed in a civil court, but rather in a trade court.

“We’re satisfied with the verdict”, Sukman, who led calls for the bar’s closure and is part of the Anti-Buddha Bar group behind the lawsuit, told beyondbrics. “We demand that the operating license be revoked, even before the court ruling is legally binding. ”

The verdict will not be enforced until all legal options have been exhausted, which could take years. And, in the meantime, the controversy doesn’t seem to have hurt the Buddha-Bar’s business. Visitors on Thursday lounged and dined to the soothing sounds of chill-out music.

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