LGBT Activists Demonstrate Against Killings

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Platform and NGOs tried to march in İstiklal Street in protest of another transgender murder yet the police averted the protest.

More than a hundred activists carried placards, which read, "Stop transgender murders". Actress Ayça Damgacı read the press statement and noted that 29 people have been killed in last three years because of their sexual orientation.

"On March 2007 Gökçe was killed in Mersin; in 2008 five gays were murdered in Istanbul; on November 2008 Dilek İnce was killed in Ankara; Eda was killed on March 2009 in Bursa; Şükrü Gencer was killed in Edirne the same month and Melek was murdered on April 2009 in Ankara..."

Activists claimed that the state "awards" LGBT murders by applying low sentences for murderers. We're Not Man Initiative (BEDİ) activists said, "If being homophobic means being a man, we're not men."

The Platform plans to hold protests before the Prime ministry every other Thursday until hate crimes are tackled.

LGBT Rights Platform: Kaos GL Association, Lambdaistanbul, MorEL Eskişehir LGBT, Pembe Hayat LGBT, Piramid LGBT and Siyah Pembe Üçgen Association.(BÇ/AGÜ)