Pride In Turkey

Pride march in Turkey leads to violence by the police. They don’t look the other way when violence happens but actually they are the instigators.

Turkish police teargas Pride march in Ankara, detain 36
Reuters
By Reporting by Mert Ozkan Writing by Ece Toksabay Editing by Peter Graff
July 5, 2022


Turkish police used teargas and pepper spray to halt an LGBTQ+ Pride march in the capital Ankara on Tuesday, detaining at least 36 people after authorities banned such marches in cities across the country for security reasons.

Reuters journalists saw police pepper spraying activists and dragging them across the ground before handcuffing them and putting them in buses. UniKuir, an Ankara based group of LGBTQ+ activists, said at least 36 people were detained.

[...]

Thousands of people used to attend annual Pride marches on Istanbul's main Istiklal Avenue, but in recent years the government led by President Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party has toughened its stance on gay rights.

Being LGBTQ+ is not a crime in Turkey but if you get attacked don’t expect the police to anything and it may even get a police officer who is attacking a trans person.

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Turkey: Mass Arrests, Anti-LGBT Violence at Pride
Respect Free Expression, Assembly; Stop Crackdown on LGBT Rights Activists
Human Rights Watch
June 30, 2022


Turkish police attacked and arrested hundreds of people at the Istanbul Pride March on June 26, 2022, in a sweeping display of violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities also arrested journalists reporting on the event.

[…]

“The Turkish government’s crackdown on Istanbul Pride is the latest in a brutal campaign against LGBT rights activism and freedom of expression,” said Kyle Knight, senior LGBT rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Turkish authorities have a responsibility to protect LGBT people and journalists alike, but instead the authorities have acted with aggression and cruelty.”

It is not just Pride marches but also LGBTQ centers…

The crackdowns at this month’s Pride events follow a series of efforts by Turkish officials to quelch LGBT rights activism.

Turkish authorities are pursuing two lawsuits against the Association for Supporting Tarlabaşı Community Center (TTM), an organization that serves women and children, after they organized an event to address issues related to LGBTI+ children in June 2021. Following this event, conservative media outlets opened a smear campaign against TTM, claiming it was perverse and corrupting children.

Gee, where have we heard “it was perverse and corrupting children” oh I know! It was the Republican party convention in Texas!