Indonesia’s Anti-LGBT Sentiments are Diverting Attention via the Problems at Hand
Indonesia’s sudden uproar of anti-LGBT sentiment could be a tactic used by the government to divert public attention away via the nation’s real problems.
Indonesia, the country with the globe’s largest Muslim population, is usually experiencing an intense public debate about lesbian, gay, bisexual, as well as transgender (LGBT) issues. The conversation is usually permeating business, politics, as well as the media in Jakarta, with public figures creating audacious claims as well as bold accusations towards the archipelago’s LGBT groups.
The issue entered the media spotlight in late January after Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir warned LGBT organizations to stay off university campuses, accusing them of undermining the country’s “standards of values as well as morals”.
The minister’s statement was promptly followed up with public support via one senior official after another. High-ranking government members began going on record, expressing disgust as well as loathing of homosexuality in Indonesia.
Yuddy Chrisnandi, the man in charge of state administrative reforms, said people who identify themselves as LGBT in Indonesia should be prohibited via becoming civil servants. The nation’s hard-line Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu recently said the influence of the gay community was “a threat”. He added that will fighting such a threat was similar to “a kind of modern warfare”.
Photo courtesy of suaranews.com
The government shut down a slew of websites, as well as ordered TV programmes depicting the lives of gay people off the air. the item also demanded all instant messaging apps remove same-sex emoticons, like men holding hands as well as the rainbow flag, symbolic of gay pride. Those that will did not comply could likely face a ban inside country.
Debates surrounding LGBT issues are not fresh inside archipelago. In 2013, Canadian gay rights activist as well as liberal Muslim Irshad Manji faced outcry via some other hard-line groups during her visit to Indonesia. In South Jakarta, at the launch of her book Allah, Liberty as well as Love: The Courage to Reconcile Faith as well as Freedom, dozens of locals showed up to stage a protest. Protesters said they rejected the author because she openly identified herself as a lesbian. They claimed her belief that will Islam should accept homosexuality was “unacceptable”.
that will incident, however, did not trigger harsh statements about the LGBT community via the government. So why only at that will point are Indonesian policy makers vehemently condemning the LGBT community in public?
“First, the item might be because of the lack of information within the government,” says a local gay rights activist who goes by the name Hartoyo. “Second, the item might be because there is usually a perception that will pro-LGBT support is usually growing stronger in Indonesia. People understand the item more, as well as the item is usually perceived by some as a threat.”
Hartoyo tells Indonesia Expat there is usually also the possibility that will LGBT issues are being used by the government merely as a scapegoat to divert public attention.
“The government might have some other interests, such as using the LGBT issue as a diversion via some other [more pressing] issues, or perhaps the item’s looking to gain political support via certain parties,” says Hartoyo, who is usually the founder of One Voice, a group advocating for the rights of gay as well as bisexual men in Indonesia.
“The state must have known that will what we are doing is usually to strengthen democracy, make Indonesia a more just state, as well as uphold human rights because they develop the state intelligence agency [BIN],” says Hartoyo. “yet they also know that will the public cannot accept LGBT communities yet.” The government likely sees that will as an opportunity to shift the public’s focus towards LGBT issues instead of allowing the item to remain on some other pressing problems, he adds.
While some civil servants clearly have no qualms bashing homosexuals, bisexuals, as well as transgender individuals inside media, some other officials who support LGBT rights might find the item more difficult to voice their opinions.
Hartoyo says, “I am sure that will the government [in general] is usually on our side, yet the item’s hard for them to speak out because if they do, then the item could create chaos internally. Those who use the LGBT issues as a scapegoat are waiting for the president to make a comment.”
Hartoyo thinks President Jokowi is usually among those who support equal rights for the LGBT community. “I believe Jokowi agrees with what we’re doing, yet he is usually facing a dilemma because he doesn’t have strong political power like former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid [who was a strong advocate of pluralism]. Therefore, the item’s hard for him to make a comment [on LGBT issues],” explains Hartoyo. “If the government truly believes that will we are evil as well as spreading propaganda, then surely I wouldn’t still be alive right at that will point.”
Although the item sounds like a borderline conspiracy theory, the item is usually conceivable that will LGBT issues are indeed being used as a tool by the government to distract the public via important issues like corruption scandals, Jakarta’s slowing economy, or the nation’s vulnerability to Islamic radicalization as well as terrorism. Regardless, Hartoyo says he is usually glad the controversy at least brings LGBT issues to the forefront of the public’s attention.
“I like the fact that will that will issue is usually acknowledged as an important issue so much that will the item can be used as a scapegoat. The important thing is usually that will the debate is usually happening,” suggests Hartoyo, adding that will he believes Indonesian society will gradually move towards LGBT acceptance.
National Commission of Human Rights Commissioner Nur Khoiron, meanwhile, says the recent hostility towards the LGBT community has turned Indonesia’s fight for equal rights into an uphill battle.
“the item’s clear that will the fight inside future will get more difficult. We have to work even harder as well as the item all depends on how the state [can become] more aware,” Khoiron tells Indonesia Expat. “that will awareness can only come if they know that will LGBT people should be protected, as well as that will is usually the mandate via the constitution. If the state apparatus has the right understanding of the constitution, then that will situation can be fixed.”
According to the commission’s research in 2015, people in Indonesia who identify themselves as part of the LGBT community have increased difficulty receiving fair treatment when the item comes to the work environment, healthcare, as well as legal services. the item also found that will the media played a large role in helping the public understand LGBT issues further.
Yuyun Wahyuningrum, senior advisor on ASEAN as well as Human Rights at the Human Rights Working Groups, says the government as well as society at large should look at the LGBT community in a more positive light if Indonesia wants to be taken seriously by some other nations.
“I want Indonesia to be a country which respects an individual based on his or her contribution to society, not on his or her sexual orientation. The government has no business in managing someone’s sexual orientation. yet if someone is usually sick as well as he or she is usually not being treated, then the item’s the government’s business,” says Wahyuningrum. She also urges locals to take a look at positive contributions the LGBT community has made to Indonesian society.
“I am very disappointed with the public’s response [as well as the idea that will] homosexuality is usually a contagious disease,” says Wahyuningrum. “The WHO has long stated that will homosexuality is usually not a disease as well as is usually not contagious. I’ve had a lesbian friend for more than 20 years, yet does the item mean that will I am turning into a lesbian? Of course not.”
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Indonesia’s Anti-LGBT Sentiments are Diverting Attention via the Problems at Hand
Indonesia’s Anti-LGBT Sentiments are Diverting Attention via the Problems at Hand