JakartaGlobe-March 30, 2022
The mayor of Bogor in West Java has been denied participation in a conference organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after it was learned that the city government had passed a law that calls transgender and gays “sexual deviation”. Mayor Bima Arya is due to speak at the Indonesia Civil Society Forum discussing inclusive democracy in Jakarta on Thursday. But the organizers decided to cancel the invitation after they were alerted about the city ordinance on “Prevention and Countering of Sexual Deviation” issued recently by the Bogor government. Article six of the ordinance singles out homosexuality and transgender as sexual deviation and could potentially discriminate against people based on their gender identity and sexual orientation. “We have recently become aware of Bogor ordinance number 10/2022 entitled Prevention and Countering of Sexual Deviance. “Having a government official involved in the passage of an ordinance that is contrary to our values of inclusion, tolerance, and opportunity speak at a conference to advance inclusive democracy in Indonesia, would send a message that contradicts the United States’ core principles on diversity and human rights,” Cohen wrote to the organizers. Co-organizer MADANI, a non-profit development organization, also sent a separate letter to Bima notifying his cancellation as a panelist at the conference. Read more at: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/bogor-mayor-dropped-from-usaid-conference-over-controversial-city-law
