“Faggots, do not organize in Malatya or else it will be bad!”

Yıldız Tar, “İbneler, Malatya’da Örgütlenmeyin Kötü Olur” (“Faggots, do not organize in Malatya or else it will be bad!”), KaosGL.org, 2 May 2014, http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=16484

On April 29, in Malatya, “unidentified individuals” assaulted and threatened a gay youth: Do not organize in Malatya or else the result will be bad!”

Attacks continue against  LGBTI people’s (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex) struggles for freedom, equality and existence.

A member of the Malatya Youth Initiative Against Homophobia and Transphobia was assaulted by “unidentified individuals” on April 29th in Malatya. The assailants seized the gay youth’s phone and threatened them: “Do not organize in Malatya, if you go further, we are not responsible for what happens.”

“Do not organize in Malatya; we are not responsible for what happens!”

Emir Çoban, the threatened person’s roommate and member of the Malatya Youth Initiative Against Homophobia and Transphobia, told kaosGL.org what happened:

“My roommate left work to go home on April 29th. On his way home, at around 10:00 pm, they blocked his way. They held his arms; they asked for his phone and money. My roommate gave it to them. They then threatened my roommate. They said, “Do not organize in Malatya; if you go further, we will not be responsible for what happens.”

There are no police in Malatya who can take their statement!

The assaulted youth hid for a while. He then went to the Prosecutor’s Office to file a criminal complaint. However, the Prosecutor’s Office sent him to the police station, and from there they sent him to another police station. There are no police in Malatya who will take his statement!

“You are a faggot, leave my house!”

Before the assault, Emir was kicked out of his home for being gay. When the landlord looked him up online and found out his sexual orientation, he called Emir and said: “You are leaving that house right away! You will never enter that house. You are a faggot, an ass, an assgiver, you!”

Not being content with kicking him out,  the landlord forcefully entered the apartment when he was not home and vandalized his belongings.

“We were at the square on May day, On with the struggle!”

Despite all that has happened, Emir has not given up the struggle. He is hopeful. He tells us what he experienced on May 1st:

“We were homeless for a while; we slept on the street. But we did not stop our preparations for participating on May day. We were [the only] two people in the square at first. Just as we were trying to decide whether to march or not; I said to my friend: “March, girl!” We opened our flags and sauntered along. They stopped us at the entrance to the square. We were wondering what was going on when they announced our names from the stage. Clapping, howling… They invited us to the stage. I forgot everything at that moment.”

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