Arghea Desafti Hapsari – Unlike their US counterparts, Indonesian Military (TNI) members and National Police officers have no official don't-ask-don't-tell (DADT) policy that restricts attempts to reveal the sexual orientation of gay personnel or applicants.
Stories of TNI members or police officers engaging in gay sex in conflict areas in the archipelago have become public knowledge despite intense denials from the authorities.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) Indonesians have traditionally been labelled as handicapped; openly gay people have been banned from serving in the TNI and the police.
Both institutions place a premium on martial virtues such as physical and moral strength, discipline and loyalty. Although without legal justification, the institutions discriminate against the rights of gays by banning them from public service.
"Everyone is 'normal'. There's not a single one of us who is different," said National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana in an interview over the telephone before he hastily hung up. "We only accept men or women as our personnel, nothing in between."
Hartoyo of the gay advocacy and education group Our Voice said the police and the TNI knew very well that they had many gay people serving.
"The generals in the police have often told me about their members who are gay. Mostly they see gay men as not macho and imperfect," he said, adding that those who were unmarried found promotion difficult.
National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said homosexuality was an issue of morality and religion.
"It comes back to each person's choice and decision. The police force has yet to have a regulation that firmly controls homosexuality. We hold to the principle that if one violates decency norms, no matter straight or gay, one can face punishment," he said.
He also said there was a disciplinary tribunal in place that could recommend the dismissal of an officer discovered to violate the norms.
"Anyone can hide their sexual orientation. But if they are proven to have violated decency norms as stipulated by the Criminal Code and the police's disciplinary regulations and code of ethics, they have to face the consequences," he said. He added that the National Police had a great respect for individual privacy and human rights.
The TNI has a slightly different policy. Although gay soldiers are believed to have existed as early as the fourth century within ancient Greece's Sacred Band of Thebes, Indonesia remains in denial of the existence of gays in the TNI.
TNI spokesman Col. Cpl. Minulyo Suprapto said there had never been a known gay or lesbian TNI member. "So I cannot say if they have been discharged from the TNI," he said.
"I don't recall if there has ever been any discussion on regulating homosexuality in the Indonesian Military," he said. He added the TNI, nevertheless, had never explicitly banned LGBT members or applicants.
Most gay people would find it hard to try to join the TNI, with or without legal protection.
"Gay soldiers are likely to be challenged when told to draw up in line or to stand straight," Minulyo said. "In the initial selection of soldiers we have medical tests, which also include psychology assessments. Through those tests, we hope to eliminate [homosexuals]."