Caribbean Net News: Public outrage in Suriname over GSM porn videos

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Citizens in Suriname of all walks of life have expressed their anger over a recent wave of short pornographic videos being distributed via GSM mobile phones especially among teens and youths.

Police meanwhile have launched a massive hunt for the individuals who might have initiated this. In Suriname distribution of pornographic material is prohibited by law and regarded as a criminal offence.

Members of Parliament have called upon the government to ban cell phones from schools in order to control what is being sent to school children via cell phones.

Justice Minister Chandrikapersad Santokhi on Friday, in a response to questions from Members of Parliament, disclosed that several individuals have already been questioned by the police. However no arrests were made since none of these individuals seemed to be involved in the distribution of the movies.

Several parliamentarians lamented the degrading of moral standards and values among youths, demanding immediate action from the government to halt this disturbing development. President Ronald Venetiaan responded by saying that, especially in this case, the youth should not be given all the blame.

He stated that adults are producing the movies, so if any action should be taken it is against these individuals. �It is we as adults who are poisoning our children with filth,� said the head of state.

In one of the movies, a young Surinamese woman is having sex with four men. The man whose GSM phone was used to record this event was also grilled by detectives. According to police officers he maintained that his phone was stolen, so he didn�t know who is responsible for the distribution.

Other participants in the gang bang who were also questioned told police that the woman was a willing participant in the sex act. Police was unable to question the woman. According to her parents she moved to the Netherlands after the pictures were distributed.

Justice Minister Santokhi told parliament that, since all individuals involved in this particular movie were adults, police had no grounds to arrest them. Only if minors were engaged in the sex acts could they have been prosecuted.

Meanwhile, several school principals, teachers and teens have indicated that banning cell phones from schools is not the solution for the problem.

�You can�t stop the advancement of technology and cell phones are now part of everyday life,� one argued.

One teen suggests that parents should not buy expensive mobile phones with all kind of options and cameras for their children. �Just a cheap and simple cell phone will also do the job to stay in touch with your kids,� the 17-year-old girls suggests.

�In class the use of cellular phones during lessons or exams is already prohibited, but before or after school hours or during the breaks, you have no control at all,� said a high school principal.

In parliament, the media, especially TV stations, also came under fire for broadcasting movies and music videos showing graphic violence and sex acts and other behaviour that could have a bad influence on children and youths. Also there was a call to retract licences of shops and supermarkets that are displaying and selling pornographic DVD movies over the counter.

Minister Santokhi disclosed that the dormant Movie Labelling Board is being reactivated in order to regulate what is being aired on television.

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