JAKARTA: A pair of bare-breasted mermaid statues have been given the family values treatment at an Indonesian amusement park where officials slipped golden tube tops over their chests.
While the nude statues have been on display for years at Jakarta’s Ancol Dreamland, a recent policy aimed at respecting “Eastern values” has seen the mermaids get an official cover-up.
The statues were initially just covered with gold fabric, but they’ve now also been moved to a more secluded area after visitors kept pulling the coverings down, park sources told AFP.
Ancol Dreamland spokeswoman Rika Lestari insisted no outside agitators were behind the cover-up.
“There was no pressure from any group,” she said. “Ancol is trying to become an amusement park and vacation spot for families.”
That didn’t stop the park’s move from being widely mocked.
“Thanks Ancol. Now, no one will commit adultery of the eyes from looking at the mermaids’ breasts,” comedian Soleh Solihun wrote on Twitter.
Earlier, Lestari told the Indonesian newspaper Kompas: “We’re Eastern people, we have Eastern culture, so what was inappropriate we made it more appropriate.
“It’s just a matter of perception, because what we’ve done was the best for us. It’s a good thing, so why not.”
Indonesia is the world’s biggest Muslim majority country and relatively conservative social values are prevalent.
Bare-breasted mermaids get covered up in Indonesia
Bare-breasted mermaids get covered up in Indonesia
- Indonesia is the world’s biggest Muslim majority country and relatively conservative social values are prevalent
Small dog sole survivor of Peru helicopter crash that killed 15
- Rescue workers found the caramel-colored dog among the twisted wreckage of the Mi-17 helicopter
- Local media reported that the dog appeared OK, but as a precaution was taken to a veterinary clinic
LIMA: The only survivor of a military helicopter crash in southern Peru that killed 15 people was a small dog belonging to a colonel who was among the passengers, an air force source told AFP Tuesday.
Rescue workers found the caramel-colored dog among the twisted wreckage of the Mi-17 helicopter that crashed Sunday. It was lying next to the body of its owner, Col. Javier Nole, 50, who was on board with his wife and two daughters.
“It’s Col. Nole’s pet; it’s the only survivor,” the source, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
Local media reported that the dog appeared OK, but as a precaution was taken to a veterinary clinic.
Seven children were among the 15 fatalities when the Russian-made aircraft crashed in the Arequipa region. The helicopter had been recently deployed in rescue operations for victims of floods there.
It had taken off from the city of Pisco, in the Ica region. Rescuers located the wreckage on Monday just over 300 kilometers (186 miles) away near Chala Viejo, a town close to the Pacific coast in Arequipa.
The air force has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
