Indonesia to evaluate discriminatory bylaws

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November 02, 2006 07:03 AM

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The Indonesian government has promised to review regional bylaws accused of discriminating against minority groups, a report said Thursday.

Minority groups have demanded that the government revoke Islamic law (sharia)-inspired ordinances already adopted in more than a dozen regencies and mayoralties.

Critics have warned that the ordinances endanger the integrity of multicultural and multireligious Indonesia.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin said he would coordinate with the Home Affairs Ministry, which has repeatedly promised to look over the bylaws, reported major national newspaper The Jakarta Post.

"We will go over the legal construction, the design and the format of these ordinances, so that there will be no bylaws in conflict with the Constitution," he told reporters.

An anti-prostitution bylaw enacted by Tangerang regency in 2005 sparked protest after a woman was labeled a prostitute for being out on the street alone at night. Regions such as South Sulawesi and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam have adopted bylaws requiring state
officials to be able to read Arabic.

Activists from Arus Pelangi, a non-governmental organization that promotes the rights of homosexuals and transvestites, protested at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry in September.

They claimed their members had been discriminated against and harassed under the local laws.

The group listed at least 28 bylaws it deemed discriminatory, one of which specifically outlawed gays and lesbians. The anti-prostitution bylaw issued by the Palembang mayoralty in 2004 defined prostitution to include homosexuality, lesbianism, sodomy, sexual harassment and "other pornographic acts."

Hamid said his ministry would set a human rights standard for regional ordinances in line with the 2004 law on regional bylaws.

"We will evaluate the enacted bylaws to see if their substance is against human rights," he said.

The review, he added, would be carried out by officials at the provincial legal and human rights offices. He said the officials would be more proactive in supervising the deliberation of
regional ordinances.

The ministry also plans to hold workshops in the regions in December with local officials and regional councillors who are involved in drafting regional bylaws.

"We are forming an evaluation team. We know that the heads of legal divisions at the provincial offices are the ones who should be more proactive in evaluating regional bylaws," Hamid said.

(Xinhua/AsiaNews.Net)