In her article at DW Turkish, Aynur Tekin shows the contention around the anti-LGBTI+ demonstrations in Turkey and underlines that the community feels under threat.
LGBTI+ opponents will hold a mass march in Istanbul, Turkey for the second time on Sunday. Human rights defenders state that these actions will increase the current state of hate speech against LGBTI+ people.
The marches had been going on for a couple of years and were occurring under the title “the Big Family Gathering.” Multiple rallies were held in many cities such as Ankara, Konya, Izmir and Diyarbakır and this will be the second time that it will take place in Istanbul.
Aynur Tekin’s article underlines that the demonstrators are claiming that “LGBTI+ propaganda” is being imported to Turkey from Western countries and claim that children and young people are encouraged to be homosexual.
Right defenders are worried as the announcement of the event is being broadcasted on television channels with public spot approved by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK). News calling for the march in Saraçhane are being shown on many media platforms, including public broadcaster TRT and Anadolu Agency. Reacting to the use of public resources to announce the march, human rights defenders comment that “a hate crime is being committed by the state.”
So, how do LGBTI+ people fight for their rights in an environment where attacks have become public? SPoD General Coordinator Ogulcan Yediveren answers this question in the article as follows:
“The state is completely against us. It is obvious that with the changes it will make in the legal framework, it will turn the law into a tool for violence against us. We are trying to establish more ties with each other and strengthen existing relations as much as possible. Apart from this, how can we develop ties with other social movements and organizations outside our own neighborhood? “
Another reflection is from Tülay Savaş from the LGBTI+ Families and Relatives Association. She states that this march fuels “hate speech”:
“I am also a mother whose child is an LGBTI+. This march fuels the existing discrimination and hate speech against LGBTI+ people and their families. The constitutional rights of these individuals are being violated in a state-sponsored manner, we do not accept this.”
See the full version of the article in Turkish here.