TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry representative provides a diplomatic response to the planned visit of U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Persons Jessica Stern.

Stern's plan to visit Indonesia was recently met with rejection from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

The Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said on Friday, December 2, 2022, that the Ministry will seek further confirmation regarding Stern's visit and was hesitant to provide further comment. Faizasyah then compared the condition with a scenario where colleagues meet with each other.

He explained an analogy where two friends would determine the location and time in advance that would fit the schedule of both parties. Apart from that, he also said that activities regarding the person's visit would certainly have to be disclosed prior to arriving at the meeting and if this friend brings a gift, such a token of appreciation must coincide with the host's preference.

"Because apart from visiting, it would be nice if this friend, as a guest, discloses who they plan to meet with. In turn, we respect and cherish our friend who plans to visit," said Faizasyah in a press conference on Friday, December 2, 2022.

"As a good friend, surely we will bring something that [the host prefers] and not bring something that the host dislikes or are not interested in," Faizasyah said. "For example, if our friend cannot consume non-halal foods. If we bring a gift, it would be unreasonable to bring something that does not fit with the culture and tradition of our host friend," Faizasyah added.

The United States Department of State announced Jessica Stern's plan to visit Indonesia which will take place from December 7 until December 9, 2022. This news was initially responded to by MUI deputy chairman Anwar Abbas who declared that the organization – which is one of Indonesia's two major Muslim organizations – firmly rejects Stern's visit.

Tempo had reached out to the United States Embassy in Jakarta for a response but has yet to receive an answer up to the publication of this article.

The United States government, through its official website, wrote that apart from visiting Indonesia, a few days earlier the special envoy on LGBTQ would also visit Vietnam and the Philippines upon discussing the issue of elevating

Jessica Stern was directly appointed by President Joe Biden as the Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Persons on February 4, 2021.

DANIEL AHMAD

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