The trans flag represents the transgender community and consists of five horizontal stripes: two light blue, two pinks, and one white in the center. "The Government has let this ignorance go on for far too long and it has put our nation in danger. Among the new additions are the blue, pink and white transgender flag emoji and the trans symbol.
#THE GAY FLAG EMOJI SERIES#
"This is just the latest in a series of incidents that have happened recently," he said. Prominent gay activist Hartoyo said the move to ban the emojis was symptomatic of a wider crackdown on LGBT rights. In January, the University of Indonesia told a support group providing sex education and counselling for LGBT students that they did not have permission to hold meetings on campus.Īnd last year Aceh, the only province in Indonesia which implements Sharia law, introduced caning as a punishment for gay sex. While homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, the topic remains a controversial subject. "We ask for your understanding because at the moment we are working on this issue to remove the stickers." "LINE regrets the incidents of some stickers which are considered sensitive by many people," the messaging app said in a statement.
LINE Indonesia has already removed its gay emojis from online stores and issued an apology.
Mr Cawidu said the ministry had contacted all companies that used such content, including Twitter and Facebook, and failure to comply with the request to remove the emojis could lead to the apps being banned in Indonesia. "Those things might be considered normal in some Western countries, while in Indonesia it's practically impossible," he said. He said of particular concern was that the colourful emojis and stickers could appeal to children. "Such contents are not allowed in Indonesia based on our cultural law and the religious norms and the operators must respect that," Ismail Cawidu, spokesman for the Communication and Information Ministry, said. The emojis, which are available on apps including LINE, Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter, depict same-sex couples holding hands and the rainbow flag, commonly used to symbolise the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.