Indonesian city pushing for anti-LGBT law

A police officer escorts two men accused of having gay sex into a holding cell prior to their trial at sharia court in Banda Aceh ( AP )

Nearly two million people live in Depok

An Indonesian city of nearly two million people is planning an anti-LGBT law.

The city council of Depok, not far from the capital Jakarta, is following other regions legislating against LGBT people amid nationwide anti-LGBT hysteria.

Homosexuality is not currently illegal in most of the country. But in some areas, it is illegal under Sharia Law.

City Council member and opposition party politician Hamzah told local media all parties in the city supported the draft law.

But, exact details of the law were unclear, according to Suara.

Hamzah told the news site the regulations were based on philosophical and sociological concerns.

He said it ran contrary to Pancasila, the foundational philosophy of the country.

Hamzah also reportedly referenced data from the Depok City AIDS Commission. He claimed there was an increase in the number of gay men and the number of people living with HIV in recent years.

‘So it seems to continue’ renowned Indonesian LGBTI rights activist Dede Oetomo said of the backsliding in LGBTI rights.

‘At the moment I don’t see anything that could stop it’ he told Gay Star News.

Indonesian anti-LGBTI hysteria

Last month, the head of Indonesia’s population and family planning agency has labeled LGBTI citizens the ‘main enemy of national development’.

Nofrijal encouraged regional leaders to help fight the LGBTI ‘disease’.

Religious and political leaders have been whipping up hatred against the LGBTI community for the last three years.

The crackdown has seen police raids on LGBTI clubs and saunas, publications, and even HIV charities.

Local leaders have also introduced a number of by-laws to ‘drive out’ their LGBTI populations. Authorities also use archaic pornography laws to prosecute.

A mayor in West Sumatra also said he was using the military to search for and arrest LGBTI people.

That’s why most remain in the closet, living in fear.

Source: Gay Star News, Rik Glauert, July 23, 2019

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