T

he Joko “Jokowi” Widodo administration continues to issue policies aimed at denying the existence of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in the country despite its pledge to protect the rights of the vulnerable group.

After banning software applications designed for LGBT groups on the false allegation they are used to prey on children, the government has made it clear that it does not view homosexuals as role models.

The Youth and Sports Ministry has banned members of the LGBT community from entering the Pemilihan Duta Pemuda Kreatif 2016 (Creative Youth Ambassador Selection 2016), which is, according to its website, held to select youths from all provinces across the country to promote creativity as a way to improve competitiveness.

Other groups banned from the selection include people who have an affiliation with a political party and drug users.

The ministry stated that contestants must be “physically and mentally healthy, as well as not engaged in any promiscuity, including those who are members of the LGBT community.” It even required contestants to submit a clearance letter from a doctor on their sexual orientation.

After being asked about the requirement, the ministry changed the wording by taking out the phrase “LGBT” as “it may hurt some people”, but made it clear that the ban was still in place.

The ministry “can conclude whether or not the contestants are LGBT people” by interviewing them one by one, the ministry’s deputy for creative youth enhancement Eni Budi Sri Haryani told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

She did not elaborate how, only saying: “We will not select sick people to become the creativity ambassadors. How can we choose those who are LGBT people or who are drug users for the big duty?”

Musician Berkah Gamulya, whose band Simponi often advocates protection for minority groups such as the LGBT community and children prone to sexual violence, lambasted the ministry’s move to ban LGBT people from entering the selection, saying it was “a discriminative policy” that could curtail creativity in the country.

The ministry put out an “outrageously primitive” requirement for the selection, Berkah said, referring to the ban on LGBT people.

“It could make Indonesia lag further behind countries that treat people in the creative industry equally without discriminating them by their race or sexual orientation.”

LGBT rights activist Hartoyo said it was likely that the ministry did not gather enough information before setting out the requirements, considering the fact that a lot of LGBT people were the main drivers in numerous fields in the creative industry, such as fashion and beauty art.

Hartoyo, director of Suara Kita, an NGO focusing on the promotion and protection of LGBT rights, said he and several activists were mulling over whether to ask the ministry to explain its rationale behind what he called the “strict and discriminatory” requirements of the selection.

Hartoyo added that it was not only the ban on LGBT people that activists considered an injustice. “The ministry requires youths to be physically and mentally healthy if they want to enter the selection. What about people with disabilities? There are also lots of them who are active in art and other activities that use creativity.”

LGBT people in Indonesia have been facing attacks since early 2016, following a series of anti-LGBT remarks and discriminatory actions by government officials.

Following the attack, the LGBT community turned toward the medical community, hoping that their scientific explanations could set the record straight that homosexuality is not a contagious disease, as feared by the government and conservatives.

But instead, the Indonesia Psychiatrists Association (PDSKJI) labeled homosexuality and bisexuality as mental disorders, which it says can be cured through “proper treatment.” The claim has been widely criticized by international medical circles.

The criticism was especially aimed at renowned psychiatrist and PDSKJI member Fidiansjah, who paraphrased diagnostic guidelines to support his statements that homosexuality was a mental health disorder.

While the Health Ministry had not issued an official statement, the ministry’s health service accreditation and quality director, Eka Viora, said that homosexuality is not a psychological disorder.

Eka, who used to serve as the ministry’s director of mental health, said that LGBT people are just like other at risk marginalized groups, such as migrants, prison inmates and people living with HIV/AIDS.

“Because they are discriminated and ostracized, they are therefore at risk. So it’s not that they are having mental disorders, but that they are more prone to having mental disorders if they don’t have the support system,” said Eka, who is also the current head of the PDSKJI.

Eka, however, stressed that what she was saying is not the official stance of the Health Ministry.