Turkey's LGBT History - 2006
March 2006. Second legally registered LGBT organization established in Bursa
Rainbow Solidarity and Cultural Association for Transgenders, Gays and Lesbians was established in the city of Bursa, becoming the second legally registered LGBT organization in Turkey.
April 2006. Repression Against Transgendered People Continues
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.
May 2006. Ankara Hosts Its First International LGBT Event - International Gathering Against Homophobia"
Kaos GL's “International Gathering against Homophobia" took place in Ankara between May 17 and May 21, 2006. Events included seminars, workshops and film shows to raise awareness against homophobia in all walks of life.
May 2006. Another Turkish gay rights group risks closure in the city of Bursa
On March 3, 2006 Rainbow Solidarity and Cultural Association for Transgenders, Gays and Lesbians was established in the city of Bursa, becoming the second legally registered LGBT organization in Turkey. However on May 24, 2006 the governor's office of Turkey's western Bursa province has filed a complaint with the Republic Prosecutors Office demanding the closure of The Rainbow Association (Gokkusagi Dernegi) which aims to protect gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender from discrimination and violence.
June 2006. The 13th Annual LGBT Pride Events in Istanbul
The 13th annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride events took place in Istanbul between June 23 and July 2, 2006. 2006 was the first year that gay pride events took place for longer than a week.
June 2006. "Pink Life" The First Turkish Transgender Association Founded
The "Pink Life" support association was formed in capital Ankara on June 30, 2006 in wake of a growing number of attacks and discrimination targeting the country's transgendered community.
June 2006. First LGBT March for a Specific LGBT Issue
Kaos GL, Lambda Istanbul, Gokkusagi and Pembe Hayat organized a protest march against the attacks aganist transgender people in the Eryaman district of Ankara on June 18, 2006. 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.
July 2006. Kaos GL Magazine is Banned and Confiscated
On July 21, 2006, Turkey’s only LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) magazine, published by the Ankara-based gay organization Kaos GL, was confiscated by police before it could be distributed to bookstores and kiosks. The 28th issue of the quarterly Kaos GL magazine, which bears the same name as the association that sponsors it and has been continuously published since 1994, was seized on a court order sought by the national government’s prosecutor in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, under a law for "protection of general morality."
August 2006. Gay march cancelled in Bursa, Turkey
The Rainbow Association (Rainbow Solidarity and Cultural Association for Transgenders, Gays and Lesbians) of Bursa, Turkey’s third-largest city with a population of 2 million, had called a demonstration for Sunday, August 6, 2006 to protest an attempt by the governor of Bursa to shut down the association under the same "general morality" statute. But before the LGBT group could hold its march, the association’s headquarters, where the gay protesters had assembled and which also serves as a gay cultural center, was besieged by a stone-throwing, homophobic mob of 500, trapping some 100 gays, lesbians and transgendered inside as the anti-gay hooligans chanted. Police have been forced to cancel the demonstration after anti-gay protesters took to the streets to scupper the march.
October 2006. Request to ban a second Turkish gay rights group rejected in Bursa
An official demand to ban another gay rights association in the city of Bursa was rejected by a prosecutor on October 6, 2006, allowing the Rainbow Solidarity and Cultural Association to continue to operate, reports. The decision was hailed by gay rights activists as a big step in combating discrimination in the country, which hopes to join the European Union.
November 2006. Request to ban the first Turkish transgender rights group, Pink Life, rejected in Ankara
Turkey's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transsexual Solidarity Association formally founded the "Pink Life" support association in capital Ankara on June 30, 2006 in wake of a growing number of attacks and discrimination targeting the country's transgendered community. However it faced the risk of closure. But the official demand to ban “Pink Life” was rejected by a prosecutor Kursat Kayral on November 2, 2006, allowing the association to continue to operate.
December 2006. Gay publisher faces jail in Turkey
On December 13, 2006 a criminal court case has been filed in Ankara, Turkey against the chief editor and owner of Kaos GL Magazine, the only LGBT Turkish magazine published since 1994. Umut Guner, owner of the magazine and vice president of Kaos GL Association, is being accused of publishing pornographic issues based on Turkish Penal Code, Article 226. If he were convicted, he could face a three-year jail sentence.
Rainbow Solidarity and Cultural Association for Transgenders, Gays and Lesbians was established in the city of Bursa, becoming the second legally registered LGBT organization in Turkey.
April 2006. Repression Against Transgendered People Continues
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.
May 2006. Ankara Hosts Its First International LGBT Event - International Gathering Against Homophobia"
Kaos GL's “International Gathering against Homophobia" took place in Ankara between May 17 and May 21, 2006. Events included seminars, workshops and film shows to raise awareness against homophobia in all walks of life.
May 2006. Another Turkish gay rights group risks closure in the city of Bursa
On March 3, 2006 Rainbow Solidarity and Cultural Association for Transgenders, Gays and Lesbians was established in the city of Bursa, becoming the second legally registered LGBT organization in Turkey. However on May 24, 2006 the governor's office of Turkey's western Bursa province has filed a complaint with the Republic Prosecutors Office demanding the closure of The Rainbow Association (Gokkusagi Dernegi) which aims to protect gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender from discrimination and violence.
June 2006. The 13th Annual LGBT Pride Events in Istanbul
The 13th annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride events took place in Istanbul between June 23 and July 2, 2006. 2006 was the first year that gay pride events took place for longer than a week.
June 2006. "Pink Life" The First Turkish Transgender Association Founded
The "Pink Life" support association was formed in capital Ankara on June 30, 2006 in wake of a growing number of attacks and discrimination targeting the country's transgendered community.
June 2006. First LGBT March for a Specific LGBT Issue
Kaos GL, Lambda Istanbul, Gokkusagi and Pembe Hayat organized a protest march against the attacks aganist transgender people in the Eryaman district of Ankara on June 18, 2006. 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.
July 2006. Kaos GL Magazine is Banned and Confiscated
On July 21, 2006, Turkey’s only LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) magazine, published by the Ankara-based gay organization Kaos GL, was confiscated by police before it could be distributed to bookstores and kiosks. The 28th issue of the quarterly Kaos GL magazine, which bears the same name as the association that sponsors it and has been continuously published since 1994, was seized on a court order sought by the national government’s prosecutor in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, under a law for "protection of general morality."
August 2006. Gay march cancelled in Bursa, Turkey
The Rainbow Association (Rainbow Solidarity and Cultural Association for Transgenders, Gays and Lesbians) of Bursa, Turkey’s third-largest city with a population of 2 million, had called a demonstration for Sunday, August 6, 2006 to protest an attempt by the governor of Bursa to shut down the association under the same "general morality" statute. But before the LGBT group could hold its march, the association’s headquarters, where the gay protesters had assembled and which also serves as a gay cultural center, was besieged by a stone-throwing, homophobic mob of 500, trapping some 100 gays, lesbians and transgendered inside as the anti-gay hooligans chanted. Police have been forced to cancel the demonstration after anti-gay protesters took to the streets to scupper the march.
October 2006. Request to ban a second Turkish gay rights group rejected in Bursa
An official demand to ban another gay rights association in the city of Bursa was rejected by a prosecutor on October 6, 2006, allowing the Rainbow Solidarity and Cultural Association to continue to operate, reports. The decision was hailed by gay rights activists as a big step in combating discrimination in the country, which hopes to join the European Union.
November 2006. Request to ban the first Turkish transgender rights group, Pink Life, rejected in Ankara
Turkey's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transsexual Solidarity Association formally founded the "Pink Life" support association in capital Ankara on June 30, 2006 in wake of a growing number of attacks and discrimination targeting the country's transgendered community. However it faced the risk of closure. But the official demand to ban “Pink Life” was rejected by a prosecutor Kursat Kayral on November 2, 2006, allowing the association to continue to operate.
December 2006. Gay publisher faces jail in Turkey
On December 13, 2006 a criminal court case has been filed in Ankara, Turkey against the chief editor and owner of Kaos GL Magazine, the only LGBT Turkish magazine published since 1994. Umut Guner, owner of the magazine and vice president of Kaos GL Association, is being accused of publishing pornographic issues based on Turkish Penal Code, Article 226. If he were convicted, he could face a three-year jail sentence.