LGBT MOVEMENT IN TURKEY IN 2006
October 2006
(This report is prepared by KAOS GL for ILGA Europe’s Annual Conference)
Kaos GL was established in 1994 as an informal group, and the group has been publishing a magazine, Kaos GL, from the outset. It was the first association in Turkey to promote LGBT rights and the first to attain legal NGO status.
We were granted legal NGO status last year, having applied to the Interior Ministry for such status on July 15, 2005. We believed that this legal status would provide us more visibility and self-confidence and would also improve our working relationships with governmental and non-governmental organizations. The ministry approved the petition and forwarded it to its local branch in Ankara, which functions under the mayor of Ankara.
However, the mayor of Ankara issued a statement on September 15, 2005, rejecting the petition. The mayor stated that Article 56 of section 4721 of the Civil Code forbids "establishing any organization that is against the laws and morality rules", and he maintained that the name and the purpose of our organization are contrary to this article. He made an official demand to the Ankara Prosecution Office to ban Kaos GL. But the prosecutor’s office rejected the mayor’s demand on October 12, 2005, allowing the KAOS Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association to remain in operation. The prosecutor’s ruling stated that the American Psychiatric Association did not rate homosexuality as a disorder and that the words "gay" and "lesbian" were widely used in daily life and scientific research.
Unlike many other countries, Turkey has never criminalized nor made homosexuality illegal, but there are no laws to protect gay men and lesbians from discrimination and hostility. Therefore, this ruling was an historic landmark. It was the first time that a prosecutor’s office decided that homosexuality was not immoral. This decision will be an important defense in the future when we face discrimination against LGBT people.
Becoming a legal NGO has been our most important achievement to date in pursuing LGBT rights, because it established a precedent that the tenth article of the Constitution, which guarantees the principle of equality, extends to LGBT organizations. Our success inspired Lambda Ýstanbul LGBTT Association, Gökkuþaðý (Rainbow) LGBTT Association in Bursa and Pembe Hayat (Pink Life) LGBTT Association in Ankara to apply to the Interior Ministry to gain their own NGO status. Unfortunately, they all received the same adverse treatment from the government, but they are still persevering. Moreover, as a result of our precedent, we are confident that these organizations cannot be legally shut down.
Beginning in April 2006, there have been physical attacks against transvestites and transsexuals living in Eryaman, a neighborhood outside Ankara where some transvestites and transsexuals also work in the sex trade. Some victims went to the police and filed a formal complaint against the attackers. However, the police did not do anything to protect them, even when they personally witnessed such attacks. The perpetrators attacked some of the transvestites and transsexuals in their homes and even shot one of them in the arm. These attacks continued until all of the transvestites and transsexuals were forced to move to other cities or neighborhoods to escape the terror. Today, no transvestite or transsexual is living in Eryaman.
These attacks have led to two legal cases. Lawyers, who are also Kaos GL members, took the initiative and filed a complaint to the prosecutor’s office, demanding that these cases be tried on the basis of Article 77 of the Penal Code, which cites crimes against humanity. The prosecutor is still examining the case files.
These attacks were not simple criminal acts. They were intended to force transvestites and transsexuals to move other places. Furthermore, the victims think that governmental forces assisted the attackers. Similar attacks are going on in other neighborhoods of Ankara, Bursa and Ýstanbul. If we don’t force the government to investigate the Eryaman cases, the attackers won’t be punished, and if we don’t force the government to take preventive measures to stop these attacks, they will increase.
-On June 18, 2006, Kaos GL, Lambda Istanbul, Gokkusagi and Pembe Hayat organized a protest march against these attacks in Ankara. Although Kaos GL first marched as an openly LGBT organization on March 8, 1996, and also joined the May 1, 2001, march in Ankara, this was the first specifically LGBT march in Ankara.
-On July 24, 2006, issue 28 of Kaos GL magazine was confiscated on the same day it was printed by the Twelfth Ankara Justice Court, because the court deemed its content to be ‘pornographic’. The issue in question examined pornography, and contributors to the issue are considered experts in their fields. We appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court approved the lower court’s decision. Since further domestic appeals are not available, we will apply to the ECHR. If the ECHR decides against Turkey, this will support the LGBT rights struggle in Turkey.
-On August 6, 2006, LGBTT People against Discrimination in Bursa marched in order to protest demands to close down LGBT associations and the banning of Kaos GL magazine. The mayor granted permission for the march, but the police officially stopped it after fans of the Bursa Sports Team attacked the LGBT marchers. Their reason was that they could not protect the marchers. This event received wide media and press attention, and the march at least served to increase the visibility of LGBT people in a non-metropolitan city like Bursa.
We want to acknowledge the support we received from many national and international women’s and human and LGBT rights organizations during all these events, especially Lambda Ýstanbul, Feminists From Ankara Group, Amargi, Human Rights Association, Foundation For Women’s Solidarity, ILGA, ILGA Europe, COC Netherlands, and GLADT-Berlin-Brandenburg Turkish LGBT Association.
There were also some good things that happened this year. In May 2006, Kaos GL organized the first International Anti-Homophobia Meeting in Ankara. Many international activists and famous gay and gay-friendly artists, academicians, and authors from Turkey participated. We discussed strategies to advance LGBT rights, and we shared our experiences.
We also improved our cooperation with the other NGOs this year. In 2005, Kaos GL began participating in Rainbow Project, which is supported by Global Fund and concerns sexual health. The Ministry of Health is working with Kaos GL on this project, making this the first official collaboration between the government and Kaos GL. In addition, we completed a project with RFSL, a Swedish organization supported by the Olof Palme Center. The project’s goal was to improve our skills in the area of LGBT publishing. It consisted of two workshops, one each in Ankara and Stockholm.
In September 2006, we organized an LGBT Network meeting in Ankara, which brought together LGBT organizations and non-affiliated LGBT people from cities throughout Turkey. An organization called Civil Society Development Center sponsored the meeting. As a result of this initial forum, continuing meetings will be held to solidify a network among LGBT organizations in Turkey. We hope that this will catalyze the formation of many new LGBT organizations throughout Turkey and that the cooperation among existing LGBT organizations will flourish.
Finally, we recently initiated a new project whose purpose is to evaluate all new Turkish legislation through LGBT eyes. As LGBT people, we are constantly confronted with the concept of “social morality” in law, which is often misapplied in order to discriminate against us. Its deployment largely neutralizes the fact that homosexuality is not forbidden under Turkish law. We aim to uncover morality concepts that are embedded in legislation and to negotiate with parliament to prevent the resultant discrimination against LGBT people. We expect that national women’s and human rights organizations will help us execute this project, and, of course, we will welcome international support.
These experiences have demonstrated that improving our visibility and winning our legal rights confer power and change society’s decisions about LGBT people. Gaining legal status has increased LGBT people’s self-confidence and our ability to work on projects with the government and with other institutions. In addition, our successes have led to an improvement in the way LGBT people are presented in the media.
We feel that the work we have done with other NGOs and the government is very important for our struggle. The feminist movement, in particular, provided a lot of support to LGBT people, and it is noteworthy that we began to work together against discrimination. The backing we have received from other groups abroad has also been invaluable. For example, when the government tried to close down Kaos GL Association, ILGA, ILGA Europe, COC Netherlands made an announcement to protest government action. The European Commission also sent a notice to Turkish Government about this. This vocal support definitely helped us gain legal status, and it was, of course, a huge step forward for LGBT rights in Turkey. International groups have also have also conferred the benefits of their own experience and have helped us strategize about how to wage the continuing struggle for LGBT rights. Sharing experiences with our foreign counterparts is very important to us.
We continue our daily struggle for equal rights and increasing LGBT visibility. We will remain focused in the areas mentioned above, and we will continue to seek out support both nationally and internationally. We are always open to new opportunities for cooperation with other organizations that can enhance our skills and improve the situation for the LGBT community in Turkey.
(This report is prepared by KAOS GL for ILGA Europe’s Annual Conference)
Kaos GL was established in 1994 as an informal group, and the group has been publishing a magazine, Kaos GL, from the outset. It was the first association in Turkey to promote LGBT rights and the first to attain legal NGO status.
We were granted legal NGO status last year, having applied to the Interior Ministry for such status on July 15, 2005. We believed that this legal status would provide us more visibility and self-confidence and would also improve our working relationships with governmental and non-governmental organizations. The ministry approved the petition and forwarded it to its local branch in Ankara, which functions under the mayor of Ankara.
However, the mayor of Ankara issued a statement on September 15, 2005, rejecting the petition. The mayor stated that Article 56 of section 4721 of the Civil Code forbids "establishing any organization that is against the laws and morality rules", and he maintained that the name and the purpose of our organization are contrary to this article. He made an official demand to the Ankara Prosecution Office to ban Kaos GL. But the prosecutor’s office rejected the mayor’s demand on October 12, 2005, allowing the KAOS Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association to remain in operation. The prosecutor’s ruling stated that the American Psychiatric Association did not rate homosexuality as a disorder and that the words "gay" and "lesbian" were widely used in daily life and scientific research.
Unlike many other countries, Turkey has never criminalized nor made homosexuality illegal, but there are no laws to protect gay men and lesbians from discrimination and hostility. Therefore, this ruling was an historic landmark. It was the first time that a prosecutor’s office decided that homosexuality was not immoral. This decision will be an important defense in the future when we face discrimination against LGBT people.
Becoming a legal NGO has been our most important achievement to date in pursuing LGBT rights, because it established a precedent that the tenth article of the Constitution, which guarantees the principle of equality, extends to LGBT organizations. Our success inspired Lambda Ýstanbul LGBTT Association, Gökkuþaðý (Rainbow) LGBTT Association in Bursa and Pembe Hayat (Pink Life) LGBTT Association in Ankara to apply to the Interior Ministry to gain their own NGO status. Unfortunately, they all received the same adverse treatment from the government, but they are still persevering. Moreover, as a result of our precedent, we are confident that these organizations cannot be legally shut down.
Beginning in April 2006, there have been physical attacks against transvestites and transsexuals living in Eryaman, a neighborhood outside Ankara where some transvestites and transsexuals also work in the sex trade. Some victims went to the police and filed a formal complaint against the attackers. However, the police did not do anything to protect them, even when they personally witnessed such attacks. The perpetrators attacked some of the transvestites and transsexuals in their homes and even shot one of them in the arm. These attacks continued until all of the transvestites and transsexuals were forced to move to other cities or neighborhoods to escape the terror. Today, no transvestite or transsexual is living in Eryaman.
These attacks have led to two legal cases. Lawyers, who are also Kaos GL members, took the initiative and filed a complaint to the prosecutor’s office, demanding that these cases be tried on the basis of Article 77 of the Penal Code, which cites crimes against humanity. The prosecutor is still examining the case files.
These attacks were not simple criminal acts. They were intended to force transvestites and transsexuals to move other places. Furthermore, the victims think that governmental forces assisted the attackers. Similar attacks are going on in other neighborhoods of Ankara, Bursa and Ýstanbul. If we don’t force the government to investigate the Eryaman cases, the attackers won’t be punished, and if we don’t force the government to take preventive measures to stop these attacks, they will increase.
-On June 18, 2006, Kaos GL, Lambda Istanbul, Gokkusagi and Pembe Hayat organized a protest march against these attacks in Ankara. Although Kaos GL first marched as an openly LGBT organization on March 8, 1996, and also joined the May 1, 2001, march in Ankara, this was the first specifically LGBT march in Ankara.
-On July 24, 2006, issue 28 of Kaos GL magazine was confiscated on the same day it was printed by the Twelfth Ankara Justice Court, because the court deemed its content to be ‘pornographic’. The issue in question examined pornography, and contributors to the issue are considered experts in their fields. We appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court approved the lower court’s decision. Since further domestic appeals are not available, we will apply to the ECHR. If the ECHR decides against Turkey, this will support the LGBT rights struggle in Turkey.
-On August 6, 2006, LGBTT People against Discrimination in Bursa marched in order to protest demands to close down LGBT associations and the banning of Kaos GL magazine. The mayor granted permission for the march, but the police officially stopped it after fans of the Bursa Sports Team attacked the LGBT marchers. Their reason was that they could not protect the marchers. This event received wide media and press attention, and the march at least served to increase the visibility of LGBT people in a non-metropolitan city like Bursa.
We want to acknowledge the support we received from many national and international women’s and human and LGBT rights organizations during all these events, especially Lambda Ýstanbul, Feminists From Ankara Group, Amargi, Human Rights Association, Foundation For Women’s Solidarity, ILGA, ILGA Europe, COC Netherlands, and GLADT-Berlin-Brandenburg Turkish LGBT Association.
There were also some good things that happened this year. In May 2006, Kaos GL organized the first International Anti-Homophobia Meeting in Ankara. Many international activists and famous gay and gay-friendly artists, academicians, and authors from Turkey participated. We discussed strategies to advance LGBT rights, and we shared our experiences.
We also improved our cooperation with the other NGOs this year. In 2005, Kaos GL began participating in Rainbow Project, which is supported by Global Fund and concerns sexual health. The Ministry of Health is working with Kaos GL on this project, making this the first official collaboration between the government and Kaos GL. In addition, we completed a project with RFSL, a Swedish organization supported by the Olof Palme Center. The project’s goal was to improve our skills in the area of LGBT publishing. It consisted of two workshops, one each in Ankara and Stockholm.
In September 2006, we organized an LGBT Network meeting in Ankara, which brought together LGBT organizations and non-affiliated LGBT people from cities throughout Turkey. An organization called Civil Society Development Center sponsored the meeting. As a result of this initial forum, continuing meetings will be held to solidify a network among LGBT organizations in Turkey. We hope that this will catalyze the formation of many new LGBT organizations throughout Turkey and that the cooperation among existing LGBT organizations will flourish.
Finally, we recently initiated a new project whose purpose is to evaluate all new Turkish legislation through LGBT eyes. As LGBT people, we are constantly confronted with the concept of “social morality” in law, which is often misapplied in order to discriminate against us. Its deployment largely neutralizes the fact that homosexuality is not forbidden under Turkish law. We aim to uncover morality concepts that are embedded in legislation and to negotiate with parliament to prevent the resultant discrimination against LGBT people. We expect that national women’s and human rights organizations will help us execute this project, and, of course, we will welcome international support.
These experiences have demonstrated that improving our visibility and winning our legal rights confer power and change society’s decisions about LGBT people. Gaining legal status has increased LGBT people’s self-confidence and our ability to work on projects with the government and with other institutions. In addition, our successes have led to an improvement in the way LGBT people are presented in the media.
We feel that the work we have done with other NGOs and the government is very important for our struggle. The feminist movement, in particular, provided a lot of support to LGBT people, and it is noteworthy that we began to work together against discrimination. The backing we have received from other groups abroad has also been invaluable. For example, when the government tried to close down Kaos GL Association, ILGA, ILGA Europe, COC Netherlands made an announcement to protest government action. The European Commission also sent a notice to Turkish Government about this. This vocal support definitely helped us gain legal status, and it was, of course, a huge step forward for LGBT rights in Turkey. International groups have also have also conferred the benefits of their own experience and have helped us strategize about how to wage the continuing struggle for LGBT rights. Sharing experiences with our foreign counterparts is very important to us.
We continue our daily struggle for equal rights and increasing LGBT visibility. We will remain focused in the areas mentioned above, and we will continue to seek out support both nationally and internationally. We are always open to new opportunities for cooperation with other organizations that can enhance our skills and improve the situation for the LGBT community in Turkey.