Peace and Democracy Party

BDP MP Queries Minister About Trans Prisoner’s Condition

Kaos GL, “BDP’li Aksoy Trans Mahkumun Durumunu Bakan’a Sordu,” (“BDP MP Queries Minister About Trans Prisoner’s Condition”) kaosGL.org, 17 April 2014, http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=16358

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) MP from Ağrı District has made an inquiry on Avşa’s, a trans prisoner on hunger strike, condition to the Minister of Justice.

Halil Aksoy, a Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) MP from Ağrı, has submitted a query to the Minister of Justice, Bekir Bozdağ, on the situation of Avşa Erkuşan, a trans convict who has repeatedly been subjected to sexual harassment and assault in various prisons during her sentence and who, for the past two months, has been on a hunger strike.

Aksoy, after expressing that several human rights infringements remain in correctional institutions, mentioned that trans inmates in Bafra T-type Prison had started a hunger strike after many rights violations and sexual assaults.

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Supreme Election Committee: LGBTI Activist Çakmak Not Elected to the Beşiktaş Municipality Council

Source: Yıldız Tar, “YSK: LGBTİ Aktivisti Çakmak Beşiktaş’ta Meclis’e Giremedi,” (“Supreme Election Committee: LGBTI Activist Çakmak Not Elected to the Beşiktaş Municipality Council,”) kaosGL.org, 03 April 2014,  http://www.kaosgl.com/sayfa.php?id=16232

According to the Supreme Election Committee’s official results, LGBTI activist Sedef Çakmak was not elected to the municipality council in Beşiktaş.

The Supreme Election Committee (YSK) started to release the official results of the local elections. According to the official results, none of the LGBTI activists who were candidates in the local elections won membership to the municipality council.

Though the unofficial results had revealed that Sedef Çakmak won membership to the Beşiktaş Municipality Council, she had been left outside of the council. She was in the 27th position and 26 candidates from the Republican People’s Party won seats in the Beşiktaş council.

The result that Çakmak had won a seat in the council was reported to be due to miscalculations. This means that none of the LGBTI candidates entered councils.

Who were the LGBTI candidates?

Can Çavuşoğlu had declared his mayoral candidacy for Giresun’s Bulancak municipality. He then withdrew his candidacy.

Mersin 7 Colors LGBT member Tuna Şahin was a candidate for the Yenişehir Municipality Council from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). BDP did not pass the election threshold in Yenişehir.

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) lists included SPoD LGBT’s Sedef Çakmak at the 27th position in Beşiktaş and Çelik Özdemir at the 12th position in Beyoğlu. CHP placed 26 members in Beşiktaş and 10 members in Beyoğlu Municipality Councils. Therefore, neither of the candidates were elected.

Boysan Yakar, candidate in Şişli, was not shown as a candidate by the CHP and was put on the substitute list. Öykü Evren Özen was shown as a candidate for the CHP in Bursa Osmangazi. She was not elected either. Mersin Newspaper editor and LGBTI activist Baki Uguz was in the 2nd position for the Democratic Left Party (DSP) in Mezitli Municipality Council. DSP did not pass the election threshold.

5 LGBTI activists were candidates for municipality councils from the People’s Democratic Party (HDP). Trans activist Şevval Kılıç was in the 2nd position for Istanbul’s Şişli council, Hevi LGBTI trans activist Asya Elmas was in the 2nd position for Istanbul’s Kadıköy council, Istanbul LGBTT Association member Ebru Kırancı was in the 4th position for Istanbul’s Beyoğlu council, and trans activist Niler Albayrak, previously subjected to attacks in the Avcılar-Meis Housing Complex was in the 2nd position for Istanbul’s Avcılar council.

Pink Life LGBTT Association’s Abdülhalim Karaosmanoğlu was a candidate for Ankara’s Çankaya municipality council for the HDP. HDP could not pass the election threshold in these five places and none of the activists won seats in the councils.

Scarlett Rainbow activist Tunca Özlen was a candidate for Ankara’s Çankaya municipality council from the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP). TKP did not pass the election threshold.

 

“They are showing orgies at coffeehouses”

Abbreviations: Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Justice and Development Party (AKP), Republican People’s Party (CHP), Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)

Source: Bülent Sarıoğlu, “Kahvede çoklu seks izletiyor,” (“They are showing orgies at coffeehouses,”) Hürriyet, 3 December 2013, http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/25264344.asp

The Constitutional Reconciliation Commission’s 25-month work has finally ended. The “colorful” bickerings of the Parliamentarians regarding education in native language, citizenship, the characteristics of the Republic, rights of sovereignty, general morality, honor, gay marriage, and FEMEN have been documented in the records. Some quotes from the records:

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“Hopefully, one day, we will have a gay prime minister”

Source: Aydil Durgun, “Umarım bir gün eşcinsel bir başbakanımız olacak,” (“Hopefully, one day, we will have a gay prime minister,”) Milliyet, 20 October 2013, http://www.milliyet.com.tr/-umarim-bir-gun-escinsel-bir/pazar/haberdetay/20.10.2013/1779011/default.htm

Asya Özgür from the newly founded LGBT Political Representation and Participation Platform (LGBT Siyasi Temsil ve Katılım Platformu): “We want to see an LGBT who is out in the parliament. Hopefully, one day, we will have a gay prime minister.”

As the local elections approach, mayoral and council candidates are finalizing their preparations and of course Istanbul is in the news. Several LGBT organizations and associations in Istanbul explained, “We decided that this can not happen without us!” and founded the LGBT Political Representation and Participation Platform. We heard the details about the platform from its members Sezen Yalçın, Boysan Yakar, Asya Özgür and Deniz Şapka.

How did this platform emerge?

Sezen Yalçın: Right after Gezi, we came together and talked about what we wanted to do; it emerged from that. The LGBT movement has always been involved in the political sphere. There was a great deal of interest in our first meeting. This excited all of us and we kept organizing the meetings. We thought about what we could do to make it possible for one of us to run as a candidate and what we would demand from the locals. After we saw the local reaction at Gezi, we thought we can make our voices heard.

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What is Deemed a “Crisis” in the New Constitution Debates is Homosexuals’ Right to Life

Source: Kaos GL, “Yeni Anayasa Yazımında “Kriz” Adı Altında Tartışılan Eşcinsellerin Yaşam Hakkıdır,” (What is Deemed as a “Crisis” in the New Constitution Debates is Homosexuals’ Right to Life,) 22 May 2012, http://www.kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=11417

Kaos GL released a statement about the discussions on including the “sexual orientation and gender identity” phrases in the “equality” article of the New Constitution on 22 May 2012.

LGBTs ask for guarantees for their right to life

Kaos GL, in collaboration with all LGBT associations, insists on getting the reality of “sexual orientation and gender identity” recognized in the New Constitution.

If the terms “sexual orientation and gender identity” that describe the existence of LGBT people are not being added to the “equality” article of the constitution, LGBT people will continue to be evaluated as “everybody” or “the other” or “and the like” and politics of denial will remain.

The “crisis” in the Constitutional Reconciliation Commission during the discussion of “equality” item is a crisis of determining who will be accepted as a “citizen” and who is going to be respected as “human.” The objection to “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” signs that LGBT people will not be accepted as citizens.

LGBT people’s right to life is ignored by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), though the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Republican People’s Party (CHP) recognize it.

If the government does not recognize LGBT people and does not ensure their human rights, it will support the current discrimination under the name of ‘’the New Constitution’’ and will open the way to discrimination and hate crimes that LGBT people are already subjected to.

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