While the legislature in Indonesia keeps pushing through anti-LGBT legislation and a growing homophobic zeitgeist sweeps the nation, the country’s president has stepped forward to defend the community. Joko Widodo commented yesterday that “The police must act [to protect them], and that “There should be no discrimination against anyone.”

While his comments are much needed. He backtracked a bit by saying that “in Indonesia, beliefs [generally] do not allow [LGBTI], Islam does not allow it.”

“Jokowi’s statement in defense of the rights of LGBTI people is long overdue,” Phelim Kine, for Human Rights Watch, said. “Jokowi needs the political courage to demonstrate that such “beliefs…Only by using the power of his office can Jokowi ensure that Indonesia’s LGBTI community is no longer threatened, discriminated against, or physically attacked by government officials or anyone else.”