A common thread ties together the anti-LGBT crackdowns in Egypt, Tanzania, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Indonesia and the Russian republic of Chechnya — many of them look like “copy cats” of each other. Is public pressure the only hope for stopping them? Continue reading
A leader of Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organization has called for a boycott of the Starbucks coffee chain because of its LGBT-friendly policies. Continue reading
Indonesia’s national police force should immediately investigate recent raids by local law enforcement on gatherings of gay men, Human Rights Watch said [June 2] in a letter to national police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian. Indonesia’s police leadership should commit to ending the targeting of sexual minorities and uphold their obligation to protect everyone’s basic rights … Continue reading
Indonesia has ramped up its repression of LGBT people, with a public caning yesterday in Aceh province and the arrests of 141 men over the weekend at an alleged “gay sex party” at a sauna in Jakarta, the nation’s capital and largest city. The raid occurred three weeks after a similar raid in Surabaya, the … Continue reading
Indonesian police are working with militant Islamists to curtail the human rights of LGBT Indonesians, Human Rights Watch says. In a news dispatch, HRW reported: Continue reading
An Indonesian militant Islamist group raided a weekend gathering in Jakarta that the group claimed was a homosexual “sex party.” Police responded to the scene, questioned 13 men and released them yesterday after concluding that they had broken no laws. The local LGBT rights group Our Voice said police should have charged the raiders from … Continue reading
LGBTI Indonesians often are at odds with conservative Muslims in their quest for recognition of their human rights. Those confrontations pose particular difficulties, because Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population — more than 200 million, an estimated 95 percent of the total population. But many disputes beyond just faith-based ones are highlighted … Continue reading
The human rights of LGBTI Indonesians remain under threat from police, politicians and religious leaders, despite activists’ protests. Police in Jakarta disrupted a closed workshop on access to justice for members of the LGBTI community. Muhammad Nasir, Indonesia’s Minister of Research, Technology, and Higher Education, said that LGBT students should be banned if they ‘engage in … Continue reading
The Jakarta Post in Indonesia, reported yesterday on the recent report by the World Health Organisation that urges nations to put key populations at the heart of their HIV/AIDS response. In the article, an activist comments there is inadequate financial resources allocated by most countries in the Asia-Pacific region. While this article does refer to MSM, it … Continue reading
