Indonesia’s Military to Kick Out Soldiers Discovered to Be Gay

Indonesia’s Military to Kick Out Soldiers Discovered to Be Gay
Ryan General
October 19, 2020
Indonesia’s military is set to sanction soldiers found to be members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual or Transgender (LGBT) community. 
Issue of “morality”: On Thursday, Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) spokesperson Col. Sus Aidil released a written statement highlighting the sanction and categorizing being a part of the LGBT community as immoral, reports Tempo.
  • The statement read: “The TNI applies strict sanctions to soldiers who are proven to have violated the moral law, including LGBT.”
  • The military spokesperson further cited Law No. 34 of 2004 on the TNI, saying soldiers can be subjected to dishonorable dismissal if they are proven to “have a personality or commit acts that are harmful to the TNI discipline.”
  • According to Aidil, TNI will apply the legal process in addition to the sanction of dismissal processed through a military court. 
Acting on rumors: TNI made the announcement in response to circulating rumors that LGBT groups exist within the organization.
  • Head of the Supreme Court Military Affairs Chamber, May. Gen. (ret.) Burhan Dahlan brought up the issue of having LGBT groups in the military and police during a discussion.
  • Dahlan reportedly warned against the LGBT groups being headed by “a sergeant, with members containing lieutenant colonels.“
  • “This is unique, but this is indeed the reality,” he was quoted as saying.
Recent ruling: A chief private, identified only as P, was recently declared guilty by a military court of violating Article 103 of the Military Criminal Code on disobedience to service orders after he was discovered of having sexual relations with a subordinate.
  • P was dishonorably dismissed from the military and sentenced to one year in prison by the Semarang Military Court, The Jakarta Post reported.
  • Amnesty International Indonesia has since condemned the sentence, calling it “unjust and dangerous” to the community.
  • On Saturday, Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid urged the military to stop its campaign against the community.
  • “Indonesia has to repeal this archaic and discriminatory provision in the criminal code and other regulations. The government must reform when it comes to the rights of LGBT people,” Hamid said.
Feature Image via TNI AD
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