Homophobic Leaflets Distributed in Osmaniye After İzmir, Ankara

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Leaflets with homophobic hate speech messages have been distributed in Osmaniye too after capital Ankara and İzmir.

Leaflets titled “Homosexuality threat” have been dropped in mail boxes and streets, according to a report by Yıldız Tar from KaosGL.

Expressions like “homosexuality brings child abuse” were used with photos of US actor Neil Patrick Harris, his spouse and children.

Living in Osmaniye, Eray Deniz told KaosGL, “These leaflets are very dangerous for us. They trigger homophobia. I am worried of even walking on the street. This is an insulting situation. It is unacceptable”, and expressed that similar leaflets were distributed in neighboring cities too like Adana and Antakya.

They were distributed in Ankara and İzmir as well

In the previous days, leaflets reading “Homosexuality is despicableness and can be turned away by convincement” were distributed to people sitting in Alsancak, İzmir.

Leaflets reading “No to homosexuality and homosexual institutions” were left in mail boxes and streets in Esat, Ankara.

Leaflets were hung in 2015 as well

Then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and then-Minister of Interior Efkan Ala had criticized Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) LGBTI policies and said that LGBTIs causes “destruction of the people of Lut”. After that, a group called Genç İslami Müdafaa (Young Islamic Defense) hung banners on streets of Ankara, calling for the murder of homosexuals.

In the same year, police attacked Pride Parade, which was being organized without any problem for 13 years, and tried to prevent the parade. 2015 became the last year when the Pride Parade could be held.

Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Mahmut Tanal and HDP’s Beyza Üstün submitted parliamentary inquiries concerning the leaflets but the government didn’t respond to any of the inquiries.

LGBTI events were banned in Ankara in 2017

Ankara Governorship banned the events to be held by “LGBTI NGOs” indefinitely on November 19, 2017 after having banned the German LGBTI Film Days.

From that day forward, many events to be held by LGBTIs about human rights were prevented in Ankara. LGBTI associations took legal action against the ban but after all internal legal avenues were exhausted, Kaos GL Association took the “indefinite ban” to the European Court of Human Rights. (ÇT/TK)