News & Features

Print
News
25 May 2018

ASEAN Parliamentarians Call for End to Anti-LGBT Violence in Indonesia

by Fridae Editor

Members of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights warn of 'dark forces of intolerance' in the island nation.

 

Representatives from the regional organisation ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) have demanded Indonesia's government work harder to prevent abuses against minorities—particularly the LGBT community.
Asian Correspondent reported that the parliamentarians "warned of 'dark forces' of intolerance" in the country after a four-day fact-finding visit to Yogyakarta earlier this month.
While Indonesia has a reputation for being accepting of differences, violence against the LGBT community has been on the rise.
In 2015, a group attempting to commemorate the Transgender Day of Remembrance was attacked by counter-demonstrators, and a boarding school for trans youth has also faced threats from hardline Islamic groups.
"All sectors of society must work together to push back against the rising tide of intolerance in Yogyakarta and across all of Indonesia," Eva Kusuma Sundari, an Indonesian MP who participated in the APHR delegration, said in a statement. "We need to put human rights at the centre of efforts to address religious hatred and vigilantism."
Indonesia has also seen LGBT phone apps censored and police raids on "gay parties," according to Asian Correspondent.
The country's legislature is currently debating whether to criminalise homosexuality.

Representatives from the regional organisation ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) have demanded Indonesia's government work harder to prevent abuses against minorities—particularly the LGBT community.

Asian Correspondent reported that the parliamentarians "warned of 'dark forces' of intolerance" in the country after a four-day fact-finding visit to Yogyakarta earlier this month.

While Indonesia has a reputation for being accepting of differences, violence against the LGBT community has been on the rise.

In 2015, a group attempting to commemorate the Transgender Day of Remembrance was attacked by counter-demonstrators, and a boarding school for trans youth has also faced threats from hardline Islamic groups.

"All sectors of society must work together to push back against the rising tide of intolerance in Yogyakarta and across all of Indonesia," Eva Kusuma Sundari, an Indonesian MP who participated in the APHR delegration, said in a statement. "We need to put human rights at the centre of efforts to address religious hatred and vigilantism."
Indonesia has also seen LGBT phone apps censored and police raids on "gay parties," according to Asian Correspondent.
The country's legislature is currently debating whether to criminalise homosexuality.

LGBT, Indonesian