Days after a long-running Indonesian television comedy aired last month, its producers got a letter from the broadcast commission warning that a male character in the show was “dressed and behaving like a woman” and could violate broadcasting standards.
“We evaluated the show ... we immediately reminded our staff to be careful, because we are minimizing LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] content on our network,” said Anita Wulandari Prasojo, head of marketing and public relations at Trans7, the private television station that aired the show Opera van Java last month.
She might have to do more than that. Indonesia’s legislature is considering national legislation that would ban LGBT content from TV screens by the end of the year.
The draft bill would revise the broadcasting law to scrub content with “LGBT behavior.”
Broadcasts and advertisements that show “lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transgender behavior” would be banned. It does not explicitly define “LGBT behavior.”
Lawmakers told reporters that the ban could include dramas with gay characters, traditional folk or comedic performances with cross-dressing or “effeminate” men, and broadcasts advocating LGBT rights.
It would be the latest measure targeting the LGBT community in a rising tide of hostility in the world’s third-largest democracy.
Indonesian police last week briefly detained 51 people, including eight foreigners, at a “gay spa” in Jakarta, one of several raids targeting the LGBT community.
“LGBT is not criminal, but if it enters the public sphere, if it’s broadcast to the public, then of course it must be regulated,” said Legislator Bobby Rizaldi, who was involved in drafting the law.
“LGBT is an abnormality,” Legislator Hanafi Rais said. “It is destructive for our younger generations. If the content has no educational qualities and is only for commercial or advertising purposes, then we must reject it.”
If the content is aimed at “fixing the abnormality,” then it would be allowed, he added.
The UN human rights office on Friday condemned anti-gay crackdowns in Indonesia, Egypt and Azerbaijan.
“Arresting or detaining people based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity is by definition arbitrary and violates international law,” UN human rights spokesperson Rupert Colville told reporters.
In May, police detained 141 men at another gay sauna and reportedly strip-searched them before marching them almost naked from the venue into police vehicles.
Photographs were then shared on social media in what activists considered an abuse of power and violation of privacy.
Police have used a controversial anti-pornography law that outlaws any physical display of sexual relations to justify the raids. Advocates say the law is too sweeping and can be abused to target the LGBT minority.
Homosexuality is not a crime in Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, except in Aceh Province.
Programs like Opera van Java are a regular fixture on Indonesian TV. Drawing on the nation’s traditional performance arts and folk tales, they often depict transgender characters.
The transgender community, known locally as waria — a contraction of the Indonesian words for woman and man — is largely accepted in most parts of the country.
The entertainment industry fears the proposed broadcasting restrictions could end up further discriminating against LGBT people.
“This is a serious issue that can impact our industry because it will stifle creativity,” said Nanda Persada, head of the Indonesian Association of Managers for Artists.
Artists have been told in programming meetings at private TV stations not to be “over-the-top,” Persada said.
Prominent gay rights activist Dede Oetomo said the draft law was misinformed and did not take into account local cultures.
“It just shows the ruling elite has lost touch with our traditions,” Oetomo said. “It’s already difficult to be LGBT here ... but in the long run, we will continue to protest and fight,” he said.
The draft legislation is pending approval from a plenary session of the legislature later this year.
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