Country of origin information report Turkey March 2007

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20.07 In a recent press release ‘Cancellation of the LGBT March in Bursa’ by the international Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) accessed on 22 August 2006, it was reported that:

“Our legal march has been suspended with the reason of an illegal aggressive protest! Our legal demonstration with a legal permission on 06.08.2006, called Homosexuals do have Associations; in front of the city museum has been hindered. With our friends from the organizations of Lambdaistanbul, Kaos GL, Pembe Hayat and from other cities who came to support the demonstration we have organized, we were surrounded by some aggressors and stuck in our building of Rainbow Association. About one hundred transvestites, transsexuals, gays, lesbians and bisexuals coming from Istanbul Ankara and Bursa have been cursed and have not been let out of the building, moreover our building has been stoned. While aggressors were using even carring guns with fake bullets the officials who confirmed the legal permissions only watched our fundamental human right to peacefully march and demonstrate being violated. In that sense the civilian authorities are collaborators of the illegal lynch atmosphere experienced outside the building.” [27c]
20.08 As reported on the website of the Kaos GL on 4 October 2006:
“Belgin still vividly remembers the night, more than a quarter of a century ago, when police herded her and dozens of other transsexuals and transvestites on to a train as part of a campaign to clean up Istanbul. We did not know where the train was taking us. The police beat us and locked us up in the wagons. They gave us no water or food, she said, evoking scenes reminiscent of World War Two… Rights groups say transsexuals face increasing violence and this reflects a wider trend in Turkish society -- the growing influence of Islam in daily life since the centre-right AK Party, which has Islamist roots, came to power in 2002.Now the police raid their bars and take these people into detention more frequently, said Huseyin Ayyildiz, branch secretary of the Human Rights Association in Istanbul. He said this reflected the AK Party's promotion of more Islamist-minded police officers keen to defend conservative family values.” [96d]
20.09 As reported on 9 December 2006 on the website of the Kaos GL News:
“A criminal court case has been filed in Ankara, Turkey against the chief editor and owner of Kaos GL Magazine which is the only LGBT Turkish magazine that has been published since 1994. Umut Guner, who is the owner of the magazine on behalf of Kaos GL and vice president of Kaos GL Association, is being accused of publishing pornographic issues based on Turkish Penal Code, Article 226. If he is convicted, he may face up to three years of jail sentence. Turkish Penal Code, Article 226, Part 2 says: A person who broadcasts or publishes obscene images, printed or audio material or who acts as an intermediary for this purpose shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of six months to three years.” [96c]
20.10 The KAOS website however stated that the Turkish government provides neither positive programs to employ women, nor shelters for lesbians who are subjected to violence. Although some women’s shelters still exist, most have been closed due to financial problems. [96e]