Maria Ozawa -- Victim?

You all know by now that the only reason I do posts on Maria Ozawa, or Miyabi as she is known affectionately by her fans, is that it gives me a reason to post some pictures of the young woman.

I have posted a few times, four to be exact, on Maria Ozawa and a film to be shot in Indonesia titled, "Kidnapping Miyabi". Besides getting to post some pictures of the young woman, there are also some interesting social and legal issues worthy of a bit of discussion.

On the social side of the equation, the questions of morality and profession are interesting. It would seem that the shenanigans that went on here say, once a porn star always a porn star. Seemingly, one never escapes their past. The film that Ozawa was to star in Indonesia was a comedy. It included no nudity and ultimately no sex scenes. This probably would have been disappointing to her many, many, many fans in Indonesia who have been snaffling up her DVDs for years.

On the legal front. It is worth discussing whether the Minister of Tourism and Culture has the power to issue directives that in essence blacklist certain individuals from entering the country. More specifically, can the minister issue a directive to a film production house setting out which actors maybe used in a film? Is this a sign of things to come as the new film law starts to see more vigorous enforcement?

The entry and exit of people to and from Indonesia is at the discretion of immigration. They are the front line enforcers in this field. Immigration works cooperatively with all parties. Most recently we have seen them work cooperatively with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) with respect to the furore that led to charges of a misuse of authority with respect to blacklisting a couple of businessmen from leaving the country.

Best case scenario is that the Minister of Tourism and Culture can approach the relevant authorities with their concerns and then immigration will consider whether a blacklisting is possible.

Even more interesting is the precedent that this sets in a broader sense. Maria Ozawa is not a criminal. She has broken no laws in Indonesia. She was being sponsored to star in a film, and this was by all accounts being done based on the prevailing labor laws and regulations.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Maria Ozawa has quite a following in Indonesia. And, that most people who did not know of her before, now do courtesy of the protests by the MUI and the FPI.

So, the question is, "has the government bowed to pressure from a vocal minority in preventing Miyabi from starring in an Indonesian comedy?" (Some might argue that she has already starred in a comedy -- the events surrounding whether or not she would make it to Indonesian shores)