Mediterraneo: HOMOSEXUALS IN TURKEY: Istanbul week for gay rights

http://www.ilmediterraneo.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1657&lang=en&Itemid=7

Wednesday, 24 June 2009 ANKARA - Eleven have been killed in 'hate crimes' against homosexuals in the last six months in Turkey, and so the seventeenth LGBTT (Lesbians, Gay, Bi-Sexuals, Transsexuals and Transgender) Pride Week has kicked off in Istanbul in a climate of sadness and rage. The event was organised by the LambdaIstanbul association, which in January risked being shut down due to accusations of offense to "public morality". There have been many assemblies, round table discussions and cultural events with a large number of participants - including the Turkish writer Elif Shakaf - to prepare for Gay Pride, the event which on Sunday will start at Taksim Square and end on the banks of the Bosporus via Beyoglu, long known as the centre of Istanbul night life - which many transsexuals have recently been forced to leave after raids carried out by the forces of order. Defending onés rights in a demonstration has become necessary, Ismail Alacaoglu, one of the leaders of the LGBT Kaos GL association, told ANSA: "violence targeting us is on the rise because our visibility has increased. We were expecting this and are afraid that it will continue, but the time has come for us to take to the streets, since we no longer want to hide." (ANSAmed).