[Kabar-indonesia] Indonesian gov't to evaluate discriminatory bylaws

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post
Thursday, November 2, 2006

Govt to evaluate discriminatory bylaws

Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Breaking a long silence on the issue, the Justice and Human
Rights Ministry promised Wednesday to review regional bylaws
accused of discriminating against minority groups.

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.

"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.

Minority groups have demanded that the government revoke
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.

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 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.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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