Ads Top

Anti-LGBT Protest Held in Istanbul Despite Pride Ban


 


Thousands attended an anti-LGBT protest in Istanbul on Sunday, denouncing gay 'propaganda' in the country – where in reality LGBT events are prohibited.

 

Islamist and conservative groups organised an anti-LGBT protest in Istanbul on Sunday, named “Big Family Gathering”, claiming that family values are under attack in Turkey.

 

“Our red line is families. They are attacking us through this,” Abdurrahman Uzun, an Islamist author and one of the organisers said in Istanbul’s Sarachane Square.

 

He warned that, “these [LGBT] communities will gather all over Turkey in the coming days,”

 

In reality, LGBT parades and events have been banned in Turkey for years reflecting the increasingly hard-line Islamist policies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

 

Organisers of the weekend rally also collected signatures from attendees for a declaration, entitled “Protect your family and generation, say stop to heresy”.

 

Critics of the protest deemed it a hate crime.

 

“’Big Family Gathering’ is openly being supported by the state. Moreover, when compared to other countries, Turkey is a country where more homophobic and transphobic acts of violence take place. In other words, this action has a high probability of triggering violence,” well-known lawyer Kerem Altıparmak wrote on Twitter.

 

The anti-LGBT protest was also criticized by many artists and singers.

 

“Protesting against our emotional and sensual worlds is against nature! The mentality [of the protesters] is terrible,” said pop-star Aleyna Tilki on Twitter.

 

Tilki’s concert was then cancelled by Osmancik municipality due to her statements “that are incompatible with our culture”.

 

Turkey was the first, and one of the few, Muslim-majority countries to allow Pride events and marches.

 

However, in recent years, the events and marches have often been banned and police have used force to disperse them.

 

At the latest Pride Parade in Istanbul, in June, 373 people were detained and several people including journalists were attacked by the police.

 


 

 

 Read More Here: Balkan Insight

Powered by Blogger.