Nude photos that were allegedly taken on Mount Gede in West Java have triggered outrage in Indonesia, prompting the management of the popular volcanic attraction to issue an official statement demanding an apology from the concerned parties.
The photos, which showed two men striking some poses au naturel, first circulated among mountain climbing community accounts on Instagram, such as @mountnesia and @exploregunung, yesterday evening. However, both have since taken down their respective posts on the matter.
As expected, the photos have sparked outrage and condemnation among the public.
Wahju Rudianto, who heads the management of Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park (TNGGP), said in an official statement today that the photos were taken in an area called Alun-alun Suryakencana, which is deemed sacred by the people of West Java, especially in Cianjur. Gunung Gede covers two regencies in the province, namely Sukabumi and Cianjur.
“In the standard operating procedures of mountain climbing, climbers are prohibited from committing acts that violate decency, disturb others, [deemed] unpleasant and immoral, or other similar acts,” Wahju said.
The statement also mentions the Instagram accounts of the two men believed to have been the original posters of the photos and demanded them to take down the photos and issue a public apology to the people of West Java on their social media accounts. At the time of writing, their accounts appear to have been set to private.
Wahju said that his team will coordinate with authorities to see if the two men have committed violations under Indonesia’s Information and Electronic Transactions Act (UU ITE) or pornography laws.
Meanwhile, Cianjur Police Chief Moch. Rifai said that the police are tracking the men’s social media accounts, while also waiting for TNGGP to file a formal complaint. Rifai said that if they catch the two men, police will question them to find out their motive, as the photos have “disturbed” the residents of Cianjur.
Located near Bogor and Sukabumi, TNGGP is one of the oldest national parks in Indonesia. Other than Mount Gede, Mount Pangrango is also located within the areas of TNGGP. Since its establishment in 1980, TNGGP has mainly functioned to protect and conserve the mountain’s ecosystem and flora.
Alun-alun Surya Kencana, where the nude photos were taken, is the largest area on Mount Gede and is famous for its vast meadow and edelweiss flowers.
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