By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Authorities in Indonesia have summoned a United Nations official for expressing concerns over the newly-ratified revisions to its criminal code, which among other things bans sex outside marriage.
The official, Valerie Julliand had said the new criminal code poses a threat to civil liberties, Indonesian foreign ministry said on Monday.
Julliand also said the revised laws could result in the erosion of press freedom, privacy and human rights in the world’s third-largest democracy.
Teuku Faizasyah, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said the ministry summoned Julliand, a U.N. resident coordinator in Jakarta over the comment, saying the organisation should have consulted with the Indonesian government before airing its misgivings.
“They should have come to consult, just like other international representatives. We hope they do not hasten to express views, or when there’s not enough information,” he said.
Indonesia’s parliament had last week approved an overhaul of its criminal code, prohibiting sex outside marriage and cohabitation between unmarried couples, among other controversial revisions. Officials say it aims to uphold “Indonesian values” in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
The government has allayed concerns expressed by tourism associations that the new laws, especially those on sex outside marriage or cohabitation, may scare away tourists from its shores.
Indonesia’s deputy justice minister, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej told reporters on Monday the code “does not disturb” the interests of foreign investors or tourists so long as authorities adhere to national guidelines, adding the government would spend the next three years ensuring adherence.
Wayan Koster, the governor of the island of Bali, the centre of Indonesia’s tourism, in a statement on Sunday noted the new laws, which will come into force in three years, could only be applied if there was a complaint by a parent, spouse or child.
