Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Australian Prime Minister John Howard may, like President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is an avid dog lover and a Muslim, have nothing against dogs.
But it is understandable the two were angered by cartoons depicting them as male dogs at the height of mating season.
It is no exaggeration to say that most Indonesians would be deeply insulted by being called anjing (dog). A jealous wife who suspects her husband is having an affair might yell at him,""Dasar anjing (implying ""You are just like a dog, because a dog cannot control its sexual desire"").
Meanwhile, for dogs, it is a gross violation of animal rights and they have no opportunity to defend themselves. It is possible they do not want to be compared with human beings, especially not politicians.
Rakyat Merdeka cartoonist Fonda Lapod explained in his article It is not a cartoon about coitus -- which appeared Monday on the newspaper's front page -- his controversial cartoon, The adventures of two dingoes, was motivated by a strong sense of nationalism.
He said he could not accept the humiliating treatment his country was given by Australia and her government. Although the many readers who saw his cartoon, which was published last week, could be forgiven for thinking the opposite. Fonda denied the drawing he made of two dingoes, representing Howard and his foreign minister Alexander Downer, was of the animals fornicating but of them ""behaving playfully"".
In the cartoon, the prime minister says while on top of Downer: ""I want Papua!! Alex! Try to make it happen."" According to newswire reports, Howard dismissed the Indonesian cartoon, although Downer described it as grotesque and ""way below standards of public taste"".
Both Howard and Downer were clearly upset by the drawing. They have a number of reasons to take offense -- for starters, they are not animals and it might give the wrong impression they are into bestiality.
Rakyat Merdeka is known for its eye-catching and bombastic headlines and its sometimes ugly cartoons. This has often caused problems for the newspaper. In October 2003, the South Jakarta Court handed down a six-month suspended sentence to its executive editor Supratman for defamation against president Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Mega's mouth smells of diesel fuel and Mega is worse than a loan shark are among the headlines that angered Megawati.
In the same year, its chief editor Karim Paputungan was handed, by the same court, a five-month suspended jail term, for making the decision to print a cartoon depicting Akbar Tandjung half-naked. At that time Akbar, who was facing corruption charges, was leader of the Golkar Party and speaker of the House of Representatives.
It is a popular newspaper, but many people do not regard it as a serious newspaper but more as a sensationalist daily.
It is surprising that The Australian, which is often described here as a serious newspaper of good quality, retaliated in a way that was in equally poor taste. The cartoon itself was drawn by award-winning cartoonist Bill Leak.
I must apologize for using such language: But which of the two publications is the stupidest?
The other cartoon portrays an Indonesian man with his peci (cap) -- very probably President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono -- as a male dog copulating with a Papuan dog. ""Don't take this the wrong way...,"" the Indonesian dog tells the Papuan dog
The cartoon caption reads ""no offense intended"". The President was evidently irritated and said Monday, ""We should review again the various agreements we have agreed on, for example, cooperation in the field of illegal migration.""
Indonesia has agreed to help intercept illegal immigrants to Australia, because many of them used Indonesian waters in the past. And Australia could face great difficulties if Indonesia unilaterally annulled the agreements.
Millions of Muslims around the world were angered by the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad published by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September. The cartoons caused global uproar. The feelings of many Muslims were understandable, although the violent reactions of some were also regrettable.
The following could be regarded as preaching, but, as in any other profession, the press should never forget their social responsibility. Every country is in real need of freedom of the press, but that freedom should not come at any cost, including wisdom. In any case, why should dogs responding to the call of nature, or on a reproductive mission, be reduced to a lower position in the eyes of others?