(Jakarta) – Indonesian officials should uphold the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the face of renewed anti-LGBT statements and discriminatory policy proposals, Human Rights Watch said yesterday in a letter to Governor Ridwan Kamil of West Java province.

Throughout October 2018, government officials in various regencies of West Java province have publicly called for policies that would target LGBT people for arrest and “rehabilitation.” Local decrees and other official documents that Human Rights Watch reviewed propose handing over lists of allegedly gay and bisexual men to authorities, changing school curricula to teach falsehoods about and hatred of LGBT people, subjecting LGBT people to medical intervention in an attempt to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, censoring speech about LGBT rights, and other measures supposedly to combat the “LGBT threat.”

“Indonesian officials at all levels need to protect LGBT people from violence and discrimination,” said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “West Java’s governor, Ridwan Kamil, should unambiguously support the basic rights of all Indonesians, including LGBT people.” Read more via Human Rights Watch