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[UPDATED] The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission on Thursday slammed the blocking of its Web site by some Indonesian Internet providers for having “pornographic elements.”

In a statement issued on Thursday, Cary Alan Johnson, executive director of the US-based non-profit organization, called the move an attack to freedom of expression.

“This is not the first time that attempts to organize and educate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies have been met with state censorship. All too often, governments use the charge of pornography as a smokescreen to attack freedom of expression,” he said in a statement.  

“Oppressive governments can’t stop the tide of LGBT voices — whether they are on the Internet, in the media or on the streets. IGLHRC stands with human rights defenders in Indonesia in their struggle to keep the Web free for dialog on basic human rights issues.”

The group said they were first alerted of the issue on Feb. 1 by an LGBT human rights defender in Indonesia who sent them the following message: “The IGLHRC Web site has been banned by Telkomsel and IM2, mobile phone operators, in Indonesia. According to a spokesperson for the internet service provider IM2, the order came from the Minister of Communication and Information who … banned [the Web site] due to its content, which they determined contains pornography.” 

When the Jakarta Globe tried to access the site www.IGLHRC.org from a mobile device running on the Telkomsel network at around 9 p.m., the following message appeared: “Situs yang hendak anda buka tidak dapat diakses karena mengandung unsur pornografi.” (“The site you are trying to open cannot be accessed because it contains pornographic elements.”)  

At about 11:30 p.m., the site was already accessible on the same device. 
 
The IGLHRC statement said the site was also blocked by other operators, but the Globe was able to access the site on mobile devices running on the Indosat and XL networks.

The statement went on to say that First Media was the only operator that consistently refused to ban the site. 

In response, Ricardo Indra, Telkomsel spokesman, told the Globe: "Telkomsel blocks pornographic Web sites based on a list of URL addresses recommended by the Communication and Information Ministry, which monitors and updates regularly a list of these pornographic sites."

"Telkomsel adheres to the regulations set by regulating bodies and the government regarding the blockage of the Web sites."

According to its Web site, IGLHRC is “a leading international organization dedicated to human rights advocacy on behalf of people who experience discrimination or abuse on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.”

Communication and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring ordered the blocking of pornographic sites in late 2010. Last week, ministry spokesman Gatot S. Dewa Broto said more than 983,000 Web sites containing pornography had been blocked.