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Lady Gaga sends love to Indonesian fans

Dunya News

Lady Gaga told fans she was devastated at having to cancel her sold-out show in Indonesia.

Controversy over the concert is a blow to the predominantly Muslim countrys reputation as a tolerant, pluralist society that respects freedom of expression.Some fans accused police who refused to issue a permit over concerns about security of buckling to the will of a small group of thugs.We had to cancel the concert in Indonesia, the 26-year-old pop diva tweeted to her followers Sunday night after promoters acknowledged concerns about her own safety and that of her Little Monster fans if the show went ahead.Im so very sorry to the fans & just as devastated as you if not more, she wrote. You are everything to me.Indonesia, a secular nation of 240 million, is often held up by the U.S. and others an example of how democracy and Islam and can coexist. In many ways they are right. Since emerging from dictatorship just over a decade ago, sweeping reforms have resulted in direct elections, while vastly improving human rights and freeing up the media.But a small extremist fringe has become more vocaland violent in recent years, attacking Christians and members of other religious minorities, transvestites, atheists and anyone else deemed immoral.The most notorious, the Islamic Defenders Front, said Lady Gagas clothes and provocative dance moves would corrupt the youth. They vowed to turn out at the airport by the thousands if Lady Gaga arrived. Others said they bought tickets so they could wreak havoc from inside the 52,000-seat stadium in the capital, Jakarta.Police responded by denying the necessary permits. Then, after public outcry, they said theyd reconsider but only if Lady Gaga agreed to tone down her act.Instead, she pulled the plug on what was supposed to be the biggest stop on her Asian tour.