The Education and Culture Minister canceled on Tuesday evening an event titled "Save Indonesian Families and Children From the LGBT Movement", which was scheduled for Wednesday morning at the ministry's headquarters in South Jakarta.

LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

Minister Muhadjir Effendy was listed as one of the speakers for the event, held by Dharma Women’s Union (DWP), an organization led by the wives of government officials.

The minister’s Special Staff of Policy Implementation Monitoring Alpha Amirrachman confirmed the cancellation on Tuesday. The event was “simply cancelled”, said Alpha in response to The Jakarta Post’s question about the reason behind the cancellation.

The poster for the event has been circulating on social media and criticized by several human rights and pro-democracy activists because the topic was seen as a threat to a minority group.

Other speakers previously planned for the event include Euis Sunarti, a Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) professor who had previously petitioned the Constitutional Court to criminalize homosexual sex, and Dewi Inong Irana, a doctor who has been outspoken about her belief that LGBT behavior spreads HIV/AIDS.

Read also: Education minister listed as speaker of anti-LGBT event

Earlier, the ministry’s spokersperson, Seno Hartono, said the minister may not attend the event because he was in Papua. (evi)