Church protests erotic posters

TALLINN - Any tourist during the past two weeks is sure to bring back at least one visual memory of the city: perhaps it would not be of Nevsky Cathedral, but of a flashy cartoon drawing of a woman's bottom with decorative red straps smacked at eye-level on nearly every telephone pole in town, announcing the arrival of the festival "L'Erotique."

The ubiquitous "L'Erotique" advertisements have also caught the attention of local leaders, who aren't as thrilled with them.

The Estonian Council of Churches (EKN) is preparing an official appeal against the sex fairs and media representation of them, according to EKN secretary Erik Joks.

"We saw the sexual revolution happen in the West long ago. We have seen the consequences: prostitution, AIDS, drugs…Why should we make the same mistake?" he said.

Joks described the appeal as a simple declaration to the nation to use restraint. He said the EKN, which unites eight religious organizations, does not advocate censorship laws, nor does it want sex education programs removed from schools.

"We want to support people who care about morality and human dignity," said Joks.

Joks expressed special concern for prime-time national news broadcasts which devote substantial air time to covering the sex fairs and other risque topics.

While religious protesters prepared their appeal to deliver to Parliament, the president and the prime minister, the National Language Board searched for a way to assert its power to suppress the posters, but their efforts still did not ultimately remove them from the rows of poles.

Instead, over the weekend, hundreds of "L'Erotique" banners were ordered to be covered with black strips proclaiming "censorship," in the Estonian language, of course.

Ilmar Tomusk, director of the language board, claimed "L'Erotique" was not a registered foreign word to use for advertising purposes, which goes against Estonian language regulations. Companies must register their foreign language slogans, such as Nike's "Just do it," or Barclay's "Art is everywhere."

Tomusk denied any connection with Christian groups using the language board as a guise to remove the posters.

Hallika Harro, lecturer of media law and ethics at the University of Tartu, explained that media censorship laws regarding obscene materials has not been a heavily debated topic in the Estonian government.

"In the early 1990s, we had so-called pornography everywhere. It was very free. Later it calmed down," said Harro. "I think [erotic material] should not be put in very visible places. But there are much more serious problems."

Kalle Zepp, Sakala Center's chairman of the board, said L'Erotique is legal and so it must go on as planned at the center from March 30 to April 1.

"This is no different from a jazz concert or a party meeting, they are all the same to us.… We just rent the rooms," he said.