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rossdressers, transgenders and homosexuals — who have long been part of the nation’s pop culture — will soon no longer be seen on TV or heard on the radio.

In the latest attempt by politicians to keep the country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community out of the public space, lawmakers said they were planning to ban ads and all programs on TV and the radio featuring LGBT talents or promoting the minority group.

The House’s Commission I overseeing information, communications, defense and foreign affairs has included the ban in Article 61 Point H on the amendment of the 2002 Broadcasting Law, which stipulates that broadcasting program standards (SPS) bans the broadcasting of programs presenting LGBT behavior.

“[The regulation] aims to maintain the morals and manners of the Indonesian people, because no law in the country recognizes LGBTs,” Commission I member Dave Laksono Akbar told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Under the law, television and radio stations will be prohibited from promoting LGBT activities, such as same-sex relations, and campaigning in favor of the LGBT community.

The Golkar Party lawmaker also said the amendment might prohibit stations from presenting notable members of the LGBT community, claiming that it violated religious and cultural values.

Article 60 of the bill actually stipulates that all broadcasts should comply with the Constitution, which protects human rights and guarantees people’s freedom to discuss their opinions and express themselves. But Dave said the move to ban LGBTs from being shown on TV was necessary to protect the Indonesian youth.

“If we don’t ban LGBT broadcasting, children could adopt the behaviors and consider it as acceptable. If we’re talking about human rights, we are protecting the human rights of children and future generations,” he said.

Television or radio stations that do not comply with the regulation will get sanctions in the form of a fine or revocation of broadcasting permits.

LGBT communities have long suffered from discriminatory threats, both verbal and non-verbal. Discrimination grew stronger last year, with a number of high government officials, such as ministers, stating that the LGBT lifestyle was unacceptable, indecent and a form of disease.

Commission I chairman Abdul Kharis Almasyhari said the draft of the bill was initiated by the House and that the government had yet to deliberate it.

“There is still a long way to go to pass it into law — we still require harmonization with the Legislative Body. The content may change,” Abdul said, adding that almost all factions had agreed with the LGBT provision.

LGBT rights organization Arus Pelangi said the regulation could lead to more persecution against the LGBT people, as the House did not clearly define LGBT behavior.

“Just because a man acts like a woman doesn’t mean he’s an LGBT. There’s no clear limitation of behaviors,” Arus Pelangi chair Yuli Rustinawati said.

“It will harm the LGBT people. Until now, all information we have served was about how the LGBT people know who they are and [we] ensured them that they had the same rights as other people. We’re not spreading propaganda. This [the regulation] would be a crime against humanity,” Yuli said.

Yuli said that it had become increasingly more difficult each year for LGBTs to access protection, as rights had been violated by policies and regulations that incriminated the LGBT people.

Responding to the discriminatory articles, Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) chairwoman Asfinawati said it was unconstitutional and violated the nation’s principle of no discrimination. “In our constitution, discrimination is forbidden no matter what the reason is,” she told the Post, pointing out that homosexuality was not illegal in this country. “The articles have no strong basis in our constitution,” she said.

Furthermore, it will be extremely difficult to determine what behaviors constitute as promoting LGBT values, Asfinawati added.

“What kind of behaviors? Does a woman [being] with a woman constitute as bisexualism or lesbianism? There’s no measurement. In the end, the measurement will use perception [on what constitutes as LGBT behavior]. And the laws can’t regulate perception. How can people know if a behavior is a friendly behavior or a homosexual behavior?” she said.