Luiz 4,253 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 JAKARTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Indonesia said on Thursday there was "no room" for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement in the country, after Human Rights Watch criticized the government for failing to protect the group that has come under unprecedented attack. The LGBT community is largely tolerated in Indonesia, especially in urban areas. But LGBT people suffered a sudden public backlash when a central government minister said in January that LGBT people should be barred from university campuses. The comment "grew into a cascade of threats and vitriol" against LGBT Indonesians, fuelling increased hostility from family and neighbors and fostered stigmatization, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released on Thursday. But the government hit back at the criticism. "As a citizen, whoever the person is will have his rights protected, without looking at his sexual preference," presidential spokesman Johan Budi told Reuters in a text message. "But if LGBT means a mass movement to influence other parties to become like them, then there's no room here." Dede Oetomo, one of Indonesia's most prominent LGBT activists and founder of LGBT rights group GAYa NUSANTARA said Budi's remark did not come as a surprise but it showed "the president doesn't understand human rights". At the height of the anti-LGBT backlash, the authorities banned TV and radio programs from broadcasting LGBT-related information and a minister said the LGBT movement was being used by outsiders to brainwash Indonesians. An Islamic boarding school for transgender women was also forced to shut down. Kyle Knight, HRW's researcher on LGBT issues, said the authorities' failure to act had created a "social sanction from the highest level" for attacks and hate speech. "It gives a sense that you can do it with impunity," Knight told a news conference in Jakarta. SHATTERING TABOOS Homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, and the barrage of criticism against LGBT has been seen as a test of the country's largely tolerant attitude toward the group. "I don't feel safe with seeing all the 'end LGBT' statements on social media. I feel like a dog," an unidentified 25-year-old gay man interviewed by HRW was quoted as saying in the report. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-rights-lgbt-idUSKCN10M19T?il=0 I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miel 15,009 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 While not the least tolerant country on LGBT issues, boy do they have some work to do. Like, the whole "anybody under our country is protected, no matter their sexuality" is a nice sentiment, but it can also be erasing and a means of bypassing issues. My family's from that part of the world, so I'm boutta throw some hands at that government #partynauseous 3 points in and ready for more Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
En_Sabah_Nur 9,366 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 35 minutes ago, Miel said: While not the least tolerant country on LGBT issues, boy do they have some work to do. Like, the whole "anybody under our country is protected, no matter their sexuality" is a nice sentiment, but it can also be erasing and a means of bypassing issues. My family's from that part of the world, so I'm boutta throw some hands at that government #partynauseous Like just saying #AllLivesMatter Egypt. W Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeka 12,372 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Not as bad as Malaysia and their conversion therapy camps, but still not doing your best Indonesia. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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