Erdoğan Hints at 'Changes' in Bar Associations After LGBTI+ Row with Religion Authority
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The government is poised to make a new regulation regarding the election processes in occupational organizations, President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said today (May 5).
Referring to a recent public dispute between the Directorate of Religious Affairs and lawyers and rights defenders over LGBTI+ rights, the President said they witnessed "reckless attacks on Islam in the person of the President of Religious Affairs."
After Ali Erbaş, the head of the religious affairs, said in a Friday sermon in late April that people must "fight the evil of homosexuality," which he claimed causes hundreds of thousands of people to contract HIV every year.
Along with many lawyers and rights defenders, the Ankara Bar Association and the Diyarbakır Bar Association denounced Erbaş due to "hate speech." As senior government officials defended the religious affairs head, prosecutors currently investigate both bar associations for "degrading religious values."
"This example alone has shown the urgency and importance of the regulation regarding the election methods of professional organizations, especially the bar associations and the medical chambers," Erdoğan told his party's central executive committee in a teleconference meeting.
He recalled that his party worked on the issue in the past years and said the party must restart working and submit a draft bill to the parliament as soon as possible.
Coronavirus normalization
The President also said that they wouldn't "rush the normalization steps" from the coronavirus outbreak and make sure that hygiene rules are followed. If the businesses do not obey the ruled after reopening, they might tighten the rules again, he remarked.
As part of the "normalization schedule" that Erdoğan announced yesterday (May 4), the government lifted travel restrictions for seven cities and is poised to reopen cafes, shopping malls and barbershops. (EMK/VK)