Hasya Nindita, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid believes that the remarks by Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria and the Central Jakarta Social Office about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) groups at the Citayam Fashion Week (CFW) are discriminative.
"State officials have again made discriminative statements which have the potential to cause the persecution of minority groups", said Hamid in a press release on Friday July 29.
Hamid said that expressing ones identity and gender are not a criminal act but rather are self-expression which is protected by national as well as international law.
"All citizens, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or other status, have the equal rights as other citizens", asserted Hamid.
According to Hamid, the authorities should in fact be protecting them from discrimination, not instead making statements which can trigger discrimination and persecution.
Earlier, Patria wrote a posting on his official Twitter account about safeguarding children from LGBT people during the Citayam Fashion Week.
"We are obliged to protect children from the promotion of LGBT, including at Citayam Fashion Week", wrote Patria on Wednesday July 27.
Patria also made an appeal that the Citayam Fashion Week not become a place to promote LGBT. "Don't let it become a place for LGBT", he said when speaking to reporters at the Jakarta City Hall on Wednesday.
He also asked that children who are frequenting the Citayam Fashion Week be on alert for the spread of LGBT. Because, according to the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry (PPPA), there is a tendency for the spread of LGBT at the existential youth platform held in the Sudirman Central Business District.
"Also what is of concern according to the PPPA Ministry, and from the MUI (the Islamic Ulama Council), [who] stated that there is tendency for LGBT, we must be on guard, later don't let them be infected, or something like that", said Patria.
On Monday July 15 meanwhile, the head of the Central Jakarta Social Office, Abdul Salam, said that his office will "take action" against men who wear clothing like women at the Citayam Fashion Week.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Amnesty International Sebut Ucapan Wagub DKI soal LGBT di Citayam Fashion Week Diskriminatif".]
