TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-The ASEAN Literary Festival (ALF) 2016, which was supposed to open today, is threatened to get cancelled. The management of Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), place where the event is supposed to be taking place, has closed the site.
The annual event is scheduled to be held for four days from May 5-8 May at the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Cikini, Central Jakarta.
"This is very unacceptable, the ALF should hold a literary translation workshop today, but TIM refused to open the door," said ALF director ALF Okky Madasari told Tempo on Thursday, May 5, 2016.
The workshop program, said Okky, was to be held at 1.00 pm today at TIM's Cipta Gallery.
Not only the workshop, Okky said that the 2016 ALF opening ceremony—scheduled to start at 5:00 pm at the Jakarta Theater—is also threatened with cancelation.
"The Jakarta Theater building, where the opening should take place tonight, is also locked."
As of 12:30 on Thursday, the main entrance of the Jakarta Theater building is closed by security officers. The building's other entrance is opened, but for a different event.
"We are still waiting for the committee's decision. So the doors remain shut since morning," said a security guard.
The officer prohibited Tempo from staying around near the main doors of Jakarta Theater.
This year's ASEAN Literary Festival is the third event since it was first held in 2014 in TIM. In this annual festival, visitors will be treated to literary discussions involving famous authors from Southeast Asia, including Indonesia.
In this year's festival Nobel Peace Laureate José Ramos-Horta is scheduled to speak at the opening today. The complete schedule of the festival's programs and guests can be found on the official website aseanliteraryfestival.com.
YOHANES PASKALIS
