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Genetically Modified Tomato Awards Presented: 140Journos, Istanbul University…

12th Genetically Modified Tomato Awards were  distributed at the ceremony on Thursday. Boysan Yakar, Zeliş Deniz and Mert Serçe, the activists who lost their lives last year, were also commemorated in the ceremony.

Source: “Hormonlu Domatesler Sahiplerini Buldu: 140Journos, İstanbul Üniversitesi…”, BİA Haber Merkezi, June 24, 2016, http://bianet.org/bianet/lgbti/176181-hormonlu-domatesler-sahiplerini-buldu-140journos-istanbul-universitesi

12th Genetically Modified Tomato Awards found their new winners on Thursday in a ceremony at Şişli Urban Cultural Center.

There were stage performances at the ceremony and the entire audience danced to commemorate the three activists who lost their lives last year, Boysan Yakar, Zeliş Deniz and Mert Serçe.

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Yeni Akit daily received the majority of the votes in the media category with its headline “The number of deaths increased to 50 at the bar visited by the perverted homosexuals” following the Orlando attack, but since the newspaper has continuously perpetrated hate speech with its news and won the award repeatedly, it was given the “Lifetime Genetically Modified Tomato” award.

In the “media” category the award was merited by 140 Journos, which used a transphobic language while covering last year’s Trans Beauty Pageant, and announced its nomination for Genetically Modified Tomato Awards upon the criticism it received. Other nominees in this category were Sabah daily, Cem Keçe and Hürriyet Aile, Hayrettin Karaman of Yeni Şafak, Milat daily and its reporter Enes Babacan, Vahdet daily, Milli Gazete and Yeni Akit.

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LGBTI Activist Boysan’s Mother Follows Son’s Footsteps in the US

Source: “Annesi ABD’de, Boysan’ın İzinde”, (““His mother following in Boysan’s footsteps in the US”), GZone, 21 October 2015, http://gzone.com.tr/abdde-boysan-yakarin-izinde/

Sema Yakar, one of the founders of LISTAG (Families of LGBTs in Istanbul) and mother of LGBTI activist Boysan Yakar who died in a tragic traffic accident in early September, stated in an October 2015 interview with GZone that she would continue Boysan’s unfinished projects:

Boysan always took notes; kept notebooks not to forget what was on his mind. That day I went to the City Council meeting at the City Hall with his notebook. I turned the last page he wrote on and dated the next page. “You left, but we are here and we will keep going,” I said. His notebooks will not remain half-finished. We will keep writing.

I will keep marching on for this fight. As long as I do, Boysan and Zeliş will see me.

Yesterday, Sema Yakar shared pictures from the Washington D.C. offices of the Human Rights Campaign where Boysan had worked in June and a picture of herself in front of the building giving the same pose as Boysan once had.

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We have lost LGBTI Activists Boysan Yakar and Zeliş Deniz

Boysan Yakar, LGBTI activist and advisor to Şişli Mayor, Zeliş Deniz, feminist LGBTI activist, and Mert Serçe have passed away in a highway car crash.

Source: BK, “LGBTİ Aktivistleri Boysan Yakar ve Zeliş Deniz’i Kaybettik,” (“We have lost LGBTI activists Boysan Yakar and Zeliş Deniz”), BiaNet, 6 September 2015, http://bianet.org/bianet/lgbti/167397-lgbti-aktivistleri-boysan-yakar-ve-zelis-deniz-i-kaybettik

The crash occurred on the Çanakkale – Istanbul Highway in Bolayır, Gelibolu. Yakar, Deniz and Serçe who were all in the same vehicle lost their lives as well as two other persons who were in the other vehicle involved in the collision.

Şişli Mayor İnönü: “We will miss you and need you very much in the future Boysan”

Şişli Mayor Hayri İnönü, whom the 31 year old activist Boysan was an advisor to, tweeted; “we have lost our colleague Boysan Yakar to a traffic accident. My condolences to his family and all of us. We will miss you and need you very much in the future Boysan…”

Boysan Yakar

Boysan Yakar, an advisor to Şişli Mayor Hayri İnönü, was among the CHP city councilman candidates during the Municipal Elections of March 30, 2014.

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Yakar had the following to say about his candidacy in an interview with Bianet Women and LGBTI issues editor Çiçek Tahaoğlu:

“I believe that especially politicians were not ready for LGBTIs in Turkey to be so conspicuous until today. But we are part of the people and we live among the people. Contrary to popular opinion, we walk the city during the day as we need to. We live in this country but as a direct target to various discriminations and hateful actions. Our organized effort for equal rights have been continuing for more than 20 years and we expect our legal rights to be granted and our demands to be taken seriously. I think the politicians should just trust us. We are sure we will handle government duties and municipal duties at least as well as we do everything else we put our minds to!”

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Yakar’s family, also members of Listag (LambdaIstanbul Family Group), were featured in the documentary “Benim Çocuğum” (My Child).

Zeliş Deniz

Zeliş Deniz, an LGBTI activist and feminist, was also an active member of such organizations like Istanbul LGBTT Solidarity Association and LambdaIstanbul.

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She was photographed during the International Women’s Day Walk on March 8th, 2014 where she stood against riot police with her purple flag.

Rainbow and Feminist Flags on LGBTI Activists’ Coffin Cause for Tip Off by “Informant Neighbor” and Police Questioning

Stepping into action in light of a tip off given by “neighbors” about a rainbow flag draped over the caskets of LGBTI activists Boysan Yakar and Zeliş Deniz, who lost their lives in a traffic accident, police went to the mourners’ home wanting to take a statement.

Source: “‘Muhbir komşu’ işbaşında: Tabuta örtülen gökkuşağı bayrağına ‘yasa dışı’ ihbarı”, (“The ‘Informant Neighbor’ is back at work: ‘Illegal’ tip off given about rainbow flag wrapped around casket”), Diken, 10 September 2015, http://www.diken.com.tr/muhbir-komsu-isbasinda-tabuta-ortulen-gokkusagi-bayragina-yasa-disi-ihbari/

We are coming because of the tip off

Ayşe Yıldırım, a writer with Cumhuriyet, explained what happened in her column today: “The garden gate was opened. Three civilian men with radios and papers in their hands came inside. It was around 11:00 in the morning. “Is the family of the funeral here?” they asked everyone sitting in the garden. The crowd pointed to Neriman Deniz. When the three men came came towards Neriman, because of the radios in their hands, she thought, “They are either police who came to express their condolences from the municipality or police who are going to give some information about the crash.” One of the men took out his ID and said, “I am a police officer, we are coming because of a tip off.”

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According to Yıldırım, the police said that they had come after getting a tip off that the funerals had been performed with an illegal organization’s flag. Neriman Deniz, who asked whether the feminist movement’s flag and the LGBTI movement’s rainbow flag were considered illegal, got “no, of course not,” as an answer.

Those flags were at Şişli Mosque, the police were there too

When Neriman Deniz asked, “Well then, why have you come?” the police said that they had taken action because of a tip off received from a neighbor. As a response, she said, “Do you all have no intelligence information at all? The television networks and newspapers covered the funeral. Did you not see that either? How can you come up to a wounded mother, to a house in mourning like this?”

When the police asked, “Wasn’t this the accident in Gallipoli?” Neriman Deniz said this in reaction: “You know that, but you do not know what flags were at the funeral. Those flags were at Şişli Mosque and the police were there too. The real terrorist in Turkey is the state, it is ISIS, let the police deal with them.”

Is it a crime to be a leftist in this country?

Following Neriman Deniz, the police this time headed towards Zeliş Deniz’s sister, and indicated that they had gotten a complaint about the funeral being performed with a PKK Flag. They then asked for Neriman Deniz’s ID to record a statement, but were forced to leave the house when the family said, “We will not give it to you, inform your superiors.”

Neriman Deniz, who was clearly very upset and angry about the police’s approach, showed her reaction by saying, “In the middle of the casket there was an LGBTI flag, at the head there was a socialist feminist flag and a purple kerchief, and at the foot there was a red flag. It was embroidered with roses and pictures. Is it a crime to be a leftist in this country? They cannot come into my house like this.”

Istanbul Memorial for Boysan, Zeliş, and Mert on 13-14 September

An Istanbul memorial for Boysan Yakar, Mert Serçe and Zeliş Deniz will be held on 13-14 September.

Source: “Boysan, Zeliş ve Mert için İstanbul’da anma”, “Memorial for Boysan, Zeliş, and Mert in Istanbul”, KaosGL.org, 10 September 2015, http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=20153

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An Istanbul memorial will be held for our Boysan Yakar, Mert Serçe, and Zeliş Deniz who we lost in a traffic accident.

Lambdaistanbul LGBTI made a call to Istanbul’s LGBTI organizations and activists to visit Boysan Yakar and Zeliş Deniz at their gravesites on 13-14 September and food will be distributed after.

The memorial program will begin at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery at 14:00 on Sunday, 13 September at Boysan’s grave. After the one hour memorial, Şişli Municipality buses will take participants to the Yeni Kanarya Cemetery to commemorate Zeliş Deniz at 15:00. The first day of the memorial will end with a visit to Zeliş Deniz’s family.

On Monday, 14 September at 18:30, participants will meet at Boysan Yakar’s home and go to Zeliş Deniz’s mother’s house for dinner. On the same day at 20:00, Şişli Municipality will distribute food to those in need at Elmadağ Park and Şişli Merkez Neighborhood Park in memory of Boysan, Zeliş, and Mert. At 21:30, Ayşe Tükrükçü from the Istanbul Initiative “Çorbada Tuzun Olsun” that serves soup to the homeless will distribute soup and helva, prepared after a person’s passing, in memory of Boysan, Zeliş, and Mert.

For more information, please see: https://www.facebook.com/events/430100477180823/

Turkey’s LGBTI Movement Loses Two of Its Dear Activists: Rest in Peace Boysan Yakar and Zeliş Deniz

LGBTI activists Boysan Yakar and Zeliş Deniz lost their lives in a traffic accident in Çanakkale, in western Turkey. 

Source: Kaos GL, “Boysan Yakar ve Zeliş Deniz’i kaybettik”, (“We have lost Boysan Yakar and Zeliş Deniz”), kaosGL.org, 6 September 2015, http://kaosgl.org/anasayfa.php

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5 people lost their lives and 1 critically wounded in a 3-car-collision in Çanakkale province’s Gelibolu district.

According to Hürriyet daily, the identities of the 5 people who lost their lives in the tragic accident were confirmed in Gelibolu State Hospital. The accident took place in the Gelibolu district’s Bolayır area on the Çanakkale-Istanbul highway.

Kemal Tahiroğlu (52) survived the accident but is critically wounded and getting treatment in the intensive care unit of the Çanakkale State Hospital. Tahiroğlu was driving the car with license plate 06 DD 9736 in which two people lost their lives. They are Ali Çiftçi (37) and Sadık Toker (43).

Boysan Yakar, LGBTI activist and Advisor to the Şişli Mayor, was driving car with license plate 34 BS 9699. The identities of the three people who lost their lives are Boysan Yakar (31), feminist and LGBTI activist Zeliş Deniz (33) and Mert Serçe (27).

As Kaos GL and LGBTI News Turkey, we wish our condolences for the whole LGBTI community, Yakar and Deniz’s friends and family.

More translations to follow. Rest in peace.