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Tourist dream destination Bali — the island in southern Indonesia attracts surfers and party-goers from all over the world.
Nowhere in the largest Muslim country in the world is it as liberal as here.
But in the future it will be forbidden by law in Indonesia to have sex outside of marriage - the end for the travel stronghold?
Alexey Zolotatev, tourist
"This law is a massive violation of fundamental rights, so yes, if they apply (the law), I will get married immediately."
Wu Bingnan Tourist
»I come to this beautiful island as a tourist. If I can't, you know, stay in the hotel room with my girlfriend, I'll think twice about coming here."
In concrete terms, the law, which is due to come into force in 2025, means that sex outside of marriage is punishable by up to a year in prison, unmarried people are no longer allowed to live together – and that also applies to traveling couples.
However, there is a loophole: the couple would have to be reported by relatives, which is unlikely for tourists.
Nonetheless:
Purwa Sidemen, Hotel and Restaurant Association Bali
“For hoteliers in Bali, regulations prohibiting unmarried couples from staying in a hotel room are bad news and could result in financial losses. This is about moral questions and they are rightly answered by individual belief.«
Damage to the image of tourism is probably still the harmless effect: Amnesty International condemns the law as a "heavy blow to human rights".
For people from the LGBTIQ scene, too, it exacerbates the already repressive legal situation, which already prohibits same-sex marriages.
But there is resistance, like here in front of the parliament in Jakarta:
Adhitiya Augusta Triputra, activist
“They passed a law that is not democratic, controls our private lives and doesn't care about public affairs. It's a setback for our country that fought for reform and now we're moving backwards."
Muhammad Afif Abdul Qoyim, activist
“The public should know that any of us can be charged under this law for the smallest of acts and that anything we do is potentially criminalized.”
In 2019, a similar legislative project failed due to nationwide protests - now it has been passed.
It remains to be seen whether it will also be implemented on a broad scale, but it opens the door for selective denunciation and arbitrariness.
