JAKARTA: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was strongly criticised yesterday for signing a tough anti-pornography law that opponents have said threatens national unity.

The law, backed by Islamic parties in Jakarta, criminalises all works and 'bodily movements' deemed obscene and capable of violating public morality.

It has prompted protests across Indonesia, with critics saying it threatens art and traditional culture, from temple statues in Bali to penis sheaths on tribesmen in Christian and animist Papua province.

The President's signing of the law late last month was made public yesterday.

'Yudhoyono could have chosen not to sign it because there are still several provinces which strongly oppose the law,' said lawmaker Eva Sundari of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle.

'The opposing provinces, such as Papua, Bali, Yogyakarta, North Sulawesi and East Nusa Tenggara, say the law threatens their culture and national unity.'

Mr Gusti Ngurah Harta, head of the Bali People's Component, an organisation of local intellectuals and artists, said: 'We don't need a porn law. Instead, we need reinforcement of existing laws to protect children against porn acts, remove vulgar writings in the media or porn in film.' He added: 'We will not vote for him (Dr Yudhoyono) in the elections next year.'

Political analyst Bantarto Bandoro from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said: 'Yudhoyono's decision could shake the foundation of his presidential campaign for next year's election.'

But the President's special staff for legal affairs, Dr Denny Indrayana, said: 'The President told me that he had carefully read the latest version of the law. He commented that it was appropriate.'

The law contains provisions for between six months and 12 years' jail for producers and distributors of pornography, and up to four years in prison for downloading pornography. It also contains provisions protecting local cultures. Opponents, however, say these will do nothing to prevent a crackdown.

Thousands of people on the mainly Hindu island of Bali have protested, and activists and politicians from Indonesia's far-flung, non-Muslim regions have begun murmuring of civil disobedience.

The central question is whether police will try to enforce the law against Papuan tribesmen who wear the penis gourd, known as a koteka, and very little else.

Indonesia has no shortage of grand-sounding laws that go unenforced due to political compromise, inertia or graft. Mr Abdul Azis, the head of police in the highland region, known as Jayawijaya, said he was still deciding whether or not to enforce the law, given local sensitivities.

Ms Sundari said the law, with its much-criticised clause allowing civilian groups to enforce public decency, serves to allow Islamic hardliners to act as 'moral police'. 'The goal of this law is to become a legal umbrella for groups pushing for syariah (Islamic) law,' she said.

Whichever way it is enforced, many say the law has already hurt inter-communal bonds that have held together a diverse country that spans thousands of islands.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE