Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo spoke out for the protection of LGBT in his country after months of anti-LGBT feeling, including directives and comments from government members and institutions.

“There should be no discrimination against anyone,” Jokowi told the BBC. “The police must act [to protect them].”

However, Jokowi did qualify his statements to the BBC by stating that “in terms of our beliefs, [LGBT] isn’t allowed, Islam does not allow it.”

Last week, Indonesia’s Youth and Sports Ministry told LGBT that they could not apply for the country’s Creative Youth Ambassadors competition.

“Jokowi’s long-overdue statement in support of LGBT nondiscrimination is a breath of fresh air as Indonesian officials and politicians continue their abusive and ill-informed homophobic onslaught,” Kyle Knight, LGBT researcher at Human Rights Watch, told TIME.

Knight warned that more needed to be done to ensure the safety of LGBT in the country and foster equality. “A logical next step would be to repeal discriminatory anti-LGBT directives [by government institutions].”