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Anti-LGBT rhetoric to spike ahead of elections

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are in for another wave of hateful rhetoric aimed at them in the public sphere, with the country set to hold its second round of concurrent elections early next year, says the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, August 12, 2016

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Anti-LGBT rhetoric to spike ahead of elections

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esbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are in for another wave of hateful rhetoric aimed at them in the public sphere, with the country set to hold its second round of concurrent elections early next year, says the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).

“Not only in Indonesia, but also in other countries, we usually see that politicians use [LGBT issues] to their advantage. It is a very easy and attractive thing to do. Unfortunately, no one stands up and says stop to the discrimination. Even the President remains silent,” HRW researcher, Kyle Knight, said.

In its report, released in Jakarta on Thursday, the HRW declared 2016 to be the gloomiest year ever for Indonesian LGBT people, who had to endure sporadic hateful rhetoric and violent attacks.

The report was based on research undertaken between Sept. 2015 and June 2016, including 70 in-depth interviews with sexual and gender minorities and human rights activists in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, cities in South Sulawesi, Sumatra and Banda Aceh.

A series of anti-LGBT public comments by government officials grew into a cascade of threats and vitriol against LGBT Indonesians by state commissions, militant Islamists and mainstream religious organizations, the report said.

Knight has described the current situation as a really new yet embarrassing episode in this country’s history. “Never before in Indonesia’s history have high-level public figures done this. In the past, the LGBT people had suffered harassment, but not to this degree.”

Political parties, particularly the Islamists, are expected to use LGBT issues to gain votes.

“Election candidates may promise many things to fulfil the demands of the majorities, which, if they are elected, can further lead to the issuance of discriminatory bylaws,” the chair of the LGBT rights organization Arus Pelangi, Yuli Rustinawati, said.

Next year, the country will hold concurrent regional elections in seven provinces across the archipelago, including Banda Aceh, which rigidly implements sharia, as well as in 18 cities and 76 regencies.

The situation in Aceh has been particularly bad as it prescribes 100 public lashes for people caught committing same-sex sexual acts. Acehnese officials have openly stoked anti-LGBT sentiment, calling LGBT people a “threat”.

The rising anti-LGBT rhetoric comes as conservatism takes hold of the country, with politicians issuing statements aimed at protecting the country from moral dangers.

Technology, Research and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir said in January that the LGBT community “corrupts the morals of the nation”.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla argued in February that “LGBT people are not consistent with the nation’s social values”. In the same month, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa accused the LGBT community of “targeting underprivileged children”.

With more scathing vitriol, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Nasir Djamil said “the LGBT community should not be allowed to grow or be given room to conduct its activities”.

The nation’s anti-LGBT movement has requested that the Constitutional Court revise the wording of certain articles in the Criminal Code to outlaw gay sex.

The Joko “Jokowi” Widodo government, however, has denied discriminating against LGBT people.

Just like any other citizen in the country, LGBT people are entitled to have their citizenship rights fulfilled, presidential spokesman Johan Budi said when asked for his response to the HRW report.

“As a citizen, any person, regardless of sexual preference, will without doubt be protected by the state in terms of their rights, including protection from violence against them. However, if LGBT people influence others to follow their cause, it cannot be justified and there is no room for [such a movement],” Johan said.

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