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Criminal code revamp plan sends chill through Indonesia's LGBT community
Source: Reuters
#WORLD NEWS FEBRUARY 9, 2018 / 12:40 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Criminal code revamp plan sends chill through Indonesia's LGBT community
Kanupriya Kapoor, Agustinus Beo Da Costa
9 MIN READ
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Zulfikar Fahd, an openly gay man, says he flew from Indonesia to Canada late last month and claimed asylum on grounds that he faced discrimination and persecution in his home country, which is poised to criminalise same-sex relations and consensual sex outside marriage.
Fahd, 30, who had worked in public relations, said he had already given up hope that the police would provide him protection against Islamic fundamentalists who have fomented hostility towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in this Muslim-majority country, which is also the world’s third-largest democracy.
Police have stood by while vigilantes have stormed “gay sex parties”, and have themselves broken up gatherings at spas and hostels, charging some with violating strict pornography laws, and prompting many others to go underground. The authorities have also been clamping down online, blocking many LGBT sites or getting LGBT apps removed by host companies, including dating apps.
Until now, homosexuality has not been regulated by law in Indonesia, except in the ultra-conservative Aceh province where Islamic law bans same-sex relations.
But as lawmakers look to shore up conservative votes ahead of elections, parliament appears on the verge of revising the national criminal code to impose restrictions on same-sex relations and consensual sex between men and women outside marriage.
-snip-
Criminal code revamp plan sends chill through Indonesia's LGBT community
Kanupriya Kapoor, Agustinus Beo Da Costa
9 MIN READ
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Zulfikar Fahd, an openly gay man, says he flew from Indonesia to Canada late last month and claimed asylum on grounds that he faced discrimination and persecution in his home country, which is poised to criminalise same-sex relations and consensual sex outside marriage.
Fahd, 30, who had worked in public relations, said he had already given up hope that the police would provide him protection against Islamic fundamentalists who have fomented hostility towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in this Muslim-majority country, which is also the world’s third-largest democracy.
Police have stood by while vigilantes have stormed “gay sex parties”, and have themselves broken up gatherings at spas and hostels, charging some with violating strict pornography laws, and prompting many others to go underground. The authorities have also been clamping down online, blocking many LGBT sites or getting LGBT apps removed by host companies, including dating apps.
Until now, homosexuality has not been regulated by law in Indonesia, except in the ultra-conservative Aceh province where Islamic law bans same-sex relations.
But as lawmakers look to shore up conservative votes ahead of elections, parliament appears on the verge of revising the national criminal code to impose restrictions on same-sex relations and consensual sex between men and women outside marriage.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-lgbt-insight/criminal-code-revamp-plan-sends-chill-through-indonesias-lgbt-community-idUSKBN1FT2IO
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