T

he government has again pitted itself against minority groups after a series of faux pas and hostile remarks from high-ranking officials toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

In an unprecedented move after a strong reaction to an LGBT study group at a university campus recently, the government has released restrictions for the LGBT community across the country, without considering the possibility of increased public panic that could lead to the persecution of more members of the minority group.

The latest attempt was to stop an awareness program run by the UN Development Program Indonesia, which aims to empower LGBT people in the country.

'€œ[Freedom of] sexual orientation is a civil liberty. If it is violated then violations of other rights will follow. [The government'€™s campaign to limit the LGBT movement] will bring much suffering for LGBT people due to increased public paranoia,'€ human rights watchdog the Setara Institute'€™s chairman Hendardi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

LGBT activities on campuses came into the spotlight recently when conservative media coverage attacked the Support Group and Resource Center on Sexuality Studies (SGRC) at the University of Indonesia (UI), highlighting its LGBT Peer Support Network, a counseling service run in cooperation with melela.org, an online platform for LGBT individuals and their supporters to share their experiences.

The group also encourages discussions and studies on topics surrounding gender and sexuality.

Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir and Culture and Education Minister Anies Baswedan were among top politicians who later denounced LGBT people in Indonesia.

The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) last week discouraged broadcasters, television and radio stations from running programs promoting the activities of the LGBT community.

In addition, the government also forced LINE, a Japanese-Korean communication application, to remove LGBT-themed stickers from its Indonesian version.

The restrictions echoed the government'€™s often half-baked solutions for religious minority groups in the country, such as Shiites and Ahmadis.

Earlier this month the government failed to prevent the removal from their homes of 20 Ahmadis in Srimenanti, Bangka, by the local administration. Vice President Jusuf Kalla has denied that the government aims to restrict LGBT people, saying it respected citizens'€™ rights to sexual orientation.

But he said exercising those rights should not include campaigns as such actions contradicted the country'€™s long-standing religious and cultural norms.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan concurred with the government'€™s stance to block funding for LGBT campaigns, while maintaining that citizens'€™ rights were not violated by doing so.

He added that LGBT people deserved to receive the same treatment before the law and equal employment opportunities.

'€œ[Workplaces] should not scrutinize [their workers'€™ sexual preferences]. It is not important to identify who is LGBT and who is not. As long as they can perform professionally, why should [their sexuality] be a problem?'€ Luhut said.

In addition to campaigns against LGBT people, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is set to announce on Wednesday an edict to ban Muslims from joining LGBT groups or movements.

Bonar said it was unrealistic to expect LGBT people to achieve the level of recognition that they had in the US, which has legalized same-sex marriage.

'€œBut the least the government can do to protect the minority group is to not issue any policies or regulations that discriminate against LGBT people,'€ he said.
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