Lawmakers in the Muslim Indonesian
province of Aceh on Saturday approved a law that punishes gay sex by
public caning.
The 69-member assembly unanimously
approved the measure after hours of lengthy debate, the AP reported.
“It's discriminatory and saddening,”
said King Oey, a gay rights activist. “We urge people who are
concerned with human rights will not sit by silently.”
The law makes anal sex between men and
the “rubbing of body parts between women for stimulation”
punishable by up to 100 public lashes with a thin rattan stick. The
caning is meant to humiliate, rather than cause physical pain.
Ninety-nine percent of Aceh residents
are Muslims but the law also applies to non-Muslims and foreigners.
Amnesty International called for the
law's repeal.
“The criminalization of individuals
based on their sexual orientation is a huge blow for equality in
Indonesia,” said Richard Bennett, the group's Asia-Pacific
director.
The move is part of the province's
implementation of Islamic Sharia Law started in 2006 and allowed by
the central government as part of a peace deal to quell a growing
separatist movement.