User:Lubunya/M

LGBT protests in Taksim Gezi Park

LGBTQI people experience high levels of discriminationand violencein Turkey and transgender people are especially vulnerable. Yet the lobbying efforts of LGBTQI groups to introduce gender identity and sexual identity into the Equality Clause of the constitution (Art. 10) and in other laws have consistently been rejected.

But despite the government’s intransigence, there are seeds of hope. The marked visibility of the LGBT Blok in Taksim Gezi Park and in other protests was followed by the largest ever turnout for Istanbul's 11th Pride March on 30th June. The march took place under the theme “diren” or resistance, evoking the Gezi Park diren. Solidarity with the Kurdish cause was also expressed during the Pride March – chants of "Everywhere is Taksim, everywhere is resistance!" gave way to cries of "Her yer Lice, her yer direniş!" to recognize the Kurdish demonstrators who had been killed and maimed in the Lice district of Diyarbakir while protesting the expansion of a military base just the day before the Pride March.

Despite fears expressed by LGBTQI groups about the increasingly aggressive and violent policing throughout the Gezi protests, the Pride March was peaceful. As LGBT rights activist Sezen Yalçın noted, "The day… the different groups settled into the park, the LGBT Blok (as we call ourselves) set up a booth and spent our days and nights … not only distributing food, drinks and other supplies but also making ourselves visible as LGBT people reclaiming our rights. We got in very close contact with different social groups: Muslims, radical leftists, football fans, etc. The more Erdoğan hardened his speech and his use of force against the protestors, the closer we got with different groups. It was important for LGBTs as we became part of a wider public opposition. It is true that in the last couple of years our parades were very crowded and exciting, but we were always by ourselves and once the parade ends, our sovereignty on İstiklal Avenue ended. But this year, starting with our presence at the Park, we knew that we would not be alone at Pride, and this is what happened."