Latest Anti-Gay Surge in Turkey Against Another LGBT Organization
October 23, 2009
Kaos GL Press Release
Black Pink Triangle Association in Izmir is the fifth LGBT (lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender) organization that faces closure threat from the
Turkish government. The first hearing will take place on February 19,
2010. The reason for closure threat is once again being against the law
and morality.
According to the information provided to the association, the Governors
Office of the City of Izmir is demanding closure of the Black Pink
Triangle Association.
Black Pink Triangle Association members stated that: "The prosecutor's
demand for closure of our association is clearly a violation of civil
rights. Establishing an organization a constitutional right and they want
to take that right from us.
When Black Pink Triangle Association was founded on February 20, 2009, all
the necessary legal documentation was filed to the Governors Office.
On May 26, 2009 the association received a notification from Governors
Office requesting the organization to correct some of the mistakes on the
application form. However the Governors Office also demanded correction
of some of the founding statues of Black Pink Triangle Association
claiming that the associations objections are against Turkish "moral
values and family structure.
Although the mistakes in the application form were corrected, the
Association refused to change the statues as per Governors request. They
also stated that Kaos GL (an LGBT organization in Ankara) and Lambda
Istanbul (an LGBT organization in Istanbul) have exact same statues and
after long legal battles they were able to exist as legal and legitimate
institutions.
On October 16, 2009, following the receipt of Black Pink Triangle
Associations response, Governors Office filed a lawsuit against them and
demanded closure of the institution.
Black Pink Triangle Associations lawyer Ceylan Elif Ozsoy stated to Kaos
GL that she found the action disturbing. She also pointed out the similar
actions were taken against Kaos GL, Pink Life and Lambda Istanbul
organizations and they failed.
Turkish authorities have targeted other LGBT organizations in the past as
well:
In September 2005, the Ankara Governors Office accused the Ankara-based
group KAOS-GL of establishing an organization that is against the laws
and principles of morality. Similarly, the Ankara Governors Office
attempted in July 2006 to close the human rights group Pembe Hayat (Pink
Life), which works with transgender people, claiming to prosecutors that
the association opposed morality and family structure. In both cases,
prosecutors dropped the charges.
In December 2006, the Ankara-based editor of Kaos GL, Turkey's only
magazine for LGBT people, 29-year-old gay activist Umut Guner, was
indicted under a vague statute banning "obscene" material, and faced up to
three years in prison. Authorities seized the magazine's entire press run.
Guner was acquitted later.
In another series of legal attacks on LGBT organizations and publications
in Turkey, on May 29, 2008 a court in Istanbul, the nation's largest city,
ordered the dissolution of Lambda Istanbul. Founded in 1993, the group is
Turkey's oldest LGBT organization, and has organized Gay Pride marches in
that city every year since 2003. On January 2009, the 7th Judicial Office
of the Supreme Court of Appeals has overturned the ruling of Istanbuls
3rd Civil Court of First Instance, which had decided to close down the
Lambda Istanbul Association for a violation of general morals.
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Kaos GL is a LGBT organization and a legally registered non-governmental
organization that publishes a bi-monthly magazine to completely cover
Turkey. Please refer any questions to: news@kaosgl.com and refer to the
web site for information: http://news.kaosgl.com/
