The Indonesian parliament approved legislation today (Tuesday) that will outlaw sex outside of marriage as part of an update to the country's criminal code.
Human rights groups protested against the amendments and condemned the suppression of civil liberties in the world's largest Muslim country.
"We tried to settle the important issues and the disputes during the discussions. However, it is time for us to make a historic decision and leave the colonialist criminal code that we inherited, behind," said Yasona Lawley, Minister of Justice and Civil Rights to the Parliament.
The Indonesian Parliament in Jakarta (Photo: Reuters)
The Indonesian Parliament in Jakarta (Photo: Reuters)
Some of the new sections exclude from the law having sex outside of marriage, as well as cohabitation of unmarried couples.
A spokesman for the new law's implementation team, Albert Arias, defended the amendments to the law, saying it would protect the institution of marriage.
An update of Indonesia's criminal code was set back in the colonial era under Dutch rule.
Human rights organizations now claim that the new amendments highlight the extreme direction towards which the country, which was previously known for its religious tolerance, is moving.
"We are going backwards...oppressive laws need to be abolished, but the new law proves that the arguments of academics abroad are correct, and our democracy is deteriorating," said Amnesty Indonesia director Osman Hamid.
news
world news
Asia and the Pacific
Tags
Indonesia
Jakarta
marriage
