LGBTI NEWS TURKEY Week in Review: April 20-26, 2015

April 21, 2015, Pro-Kurdish and minority rights HDP pledges to eliminate discrimination against LGBTIs

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) announced its election manifesto which places a strong emphasis on anti-discrimination protections and social policies for LGBTI people.

April 21, 2015, Turkish popular opposition promises to fight anti-LGBT discrimination

The Turkish main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) announced its manifesto for the June 7 elections, promising to fight discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

April 22, 2015, The Constitutional Court affirms [lesbian] sexual relation visuals as ‘perversion’”

Turkey’s Constitutional Court decided against the repeal of the law concerning “unnatural sexual behavior.” Homosexuality is still seen as a perversion.

April 22, 2015, “Flash lesbian decision by the Constitutional Court”

The request to cancel the article of The Turkish Penal Code (TPC), which prescribes punishment against distributors of pornographic movies that involve “unnatural ways of sexual relationship such as anal, oral, gay, lesbian,” was discussed [in court].

April 23, 2015, We ask MP Candidates: Will you defend LGBTI rights in the Parliament?

As the parliamentary elections in Turkey approach, The Istanbul-based LGBTI advocacy group, Social Policies, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Studies Association (SPoD) has called on candidates, political parties, and party leaders to work towards the active inclusion of LGBTIs in decision- and policy-making mechanisms. SPoD has prepared an “LGBTI Rights Pledge,” the full text of which is presented below, and has circulated it to be signed by all parliamentary candidates.

April 24, 2015, The HDP Istanbul candidates sign the LGBTI Rights Pledge

SPoD LGBTI is circulating an LGBTI Rights Pledge, part of the “LGBTI in the Parliament” campaign, for signatures in the run-up to the June 7th parliamentary elections in Turkey. The first signatories to the Pledge are HDP’s women candidates who proclaimed “We are the Rainbow.”

April 25, 2015, Deputy Prime Minister claims lesbians [and Kurds] not part of society!

The Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Yalçın Akdoğan:

“The HDP [general elections] declaration mentions Kurds 8 times, lesbians 9 times. Is this the Turkish society?”

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