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Anti-LGBT propaganda could amplify during regional elections: Activists
Politicians might employ propaganda maligning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people to gain support from intolerant groups in the upcoming regional election campaigns.
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A man walks past an anti-LGBT banner erected by an ultra-conservative Islamic group in Jakarta on March 17. (AP/Tatan Syuflana)
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oliticians might employ propaganda maligning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people to gain support from intolerant groups in the upcoming regional election campaigns.
With regional elections scheduled to be held in February next year, mayors and governor candidates may take intolerant positions toward LGBT people in order to gain popularity, Yuli Rustinawati, the chairwoman of LGBT group Arus Pelangi, said on Thursday.
Anti-LGBT sentiment will likely be most prominent in regions that have a poor record acknowledging the rights of minority groups.
"This is what we are afraid of. The candidates will use LGBT issues to secure votes in the upcoming election," Yuli said.
Kyle Knight, a Human Rights Watch researcher on LGBT issues, said that in election years politicians aiming to gain popularity often went after LGBT people because they were an easy target. Kyle's statement is supported by a 2015 report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on discrimination and violence against LGBT people.
In Indonesia, where a massive wave of harassment and violence directed against LGBT people appeared after some government officials publicly denigrated the minority earlier this year, feeding hatred against LGBT people in political campaigns is an attractive thing to do, he added.
"It is easy [for candidates] to say, 'oh yes, LGBT people are ruining the country, so come to my side on this issue','" Knight said. (rin)
