Relevant Ministries Urged to Respond to Campus Social Dynamics and Issues

The Gerakan Sipil Nusantara (GESNUS) has reminded the government to remain vigilant regarding two crucial issues in the public sphere: the expanding role of the military into the civilian realm and the handling of controversial social agendas within academic environments.

The Coordinator of Gerakan Sipil Nusantara, Agus Setiawan, asserted that the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology must be at the forefront of responding to social dynamics on campus, including LGBT issues.

“The issue of LGBT is the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology to be at the forefront in preventing the spread of such issues in academic spaces, so that the military does not need to intervene under the pretext of non-military threats, which would lead to the normalisation of the military in the civilian sphere,” Agus stated in a press release on Monday (31/8).

Agus highlighted the importance of maintaining the professionalism of the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces) as a national defence institution in accordance with democratic mandates, while simultaneously ensuring that academic spaces remain free from indoctrination or the silencing of discussions. He urged the Indonesian nation to learn from history so that the boundaries of military authority do not obscure the role of civilian institutions that hold democratic mandates in governance.

Furthermore, Agus assessed that social issues, such as LGBT campaigns or advocacy within higher education environments, must be subject to open testing and academic accountability, without imposing doctrines or labelling those with differing views as intolerant groups.

“Universities are not places to impose any social doctrine. Universities are academic spaces that must provide opportunities for students to ask questions, criticise, research, and hold differing opinions,” Agus emphasised.