PHNOM PENH , March 17 KYODO
Cambodian entertainment watchdogs have blacklisted three songs, fearing that they affect morality, such as by encouraging women to pursue other women's husbands. The blacklisted songs were identified as ''If I Can't be Your First Wife, Can I be Your Second?'' ''I Love Another's Husband'' and ''May I Have a Piece of Your Heart?'' The Khmer Arts Association and the Cambodian Television Association together explained the move in an open letter sent out last week, in which they said the songs are demeaning to women. ''The songs are meant to put down women and their dignity,'' KAA President Ieng Sithol told Kyodo News on Monday. ''As lovers of the arts, artists should act properly or we will be criticized by the public.'' He said artists have been instructed not to perform or sing the three songs at concert performances or on radio and television. The associations also advised radio and television stations to examine the content of songs before allowing them to be performed, while it asked songwriters and musicians to exercise better judgment. Some music lovers have called it unfair that the banned songs all target female singers, while similar songs sung by men are still allowed, such as ''How beautiful! Whose Wife is She?'' and ''Even If She is Someone Else's Wife, That's OK.'' In response, Ieng Sithol said his association will continue examining songs that may undermine social morals and human virtue, regardless of whether they are sung by men or women. In 2006, Cambodia passed a law on monogamy that says if married any Cambodian citizen takes a second spouse or lover, it will be viewed as a criminal act. Adulterers can be fined from $50 and $250 and spend between a month and a year in jail, according to the law.
KyodoMarch 17, 2008
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