The Jakarta Globe reported that some 100 members of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front arrived at three foreign-run venues participating in Indonesia’s gay and lesbian film festival at mid-day on Tuesday to demand that the venues stop participating in the festival.
The report quoted Q! Film Festival director John Badalu who had confirmed the demonstrators had moved from the Centre Culturel Francais (France) to the GoetheHaus (Germany) and on to the Erasmus Huis (Holland), where films and other events are also expected to be take place. The group had also written to other venues including theatres, bars and galleries to protest their participation.
According to the Jakarta Post, Salim Alatas, chairman of the Jakarta chapter of FPI, said organisers of the festival have 24 hours to cancel the festival.
"We do not want this place to be set on fire because of the moral decadence," Salim was quoted by kompas.com as saying during the rally at the Goethe Institute on Jl. Sam Ratulangi in Menteng.
The Islamic Defenders Front or Front Pembela Islam (FPI) was also responsible for disrupting the ILGA ASIA conference in Surabaya and Human Rights training event at Depok near Jakarta earlier this year.
The FPI warned in a statement on its website that it was fighting to stop the campaign of "adultery, homosexuality and lesbianism in Indonesia" disguised as the gay and lesbian film festival. It added that they deemed the film festival to be a tool to convert Indonesian youth to become gay and lesbian.
It further said that should foreign venues and organisations parties continue to cooperate with liberal groups to make a mockery of the tenets of Islam, the defenders of Islam would have to do what they can to defend their morals and their country.
Organiers cannot be reached for their comment at press time but the official Twitter update at 4.40pm on Tuesday says the event tonight would go ahead as planned.
Meanwhile, Vivanews reported that the Jakarta Police said it would take stern measures against FPI's threat to burn and destroy the venues that are hosting the festival.
The Q! Film Festival, which kicked off last Friday, is expected to run till October 3 in Jakarta before travelling to Surabaya, Malang, Yogyakarta, Bali and Makassar (South Sulawesi) in October.