'Our struggle is bigger than his words': LGBTI+ groups react to Erdoğan's victory speech

Click to read the article in Turkish

LGBTI+ organizations have expressed their concerns over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's anti-LGBTI+ statements following his victory in yesterday's election.

Addressing his supporters from atop a bus in İstanbul after his win became clear, Erdoğan accused opposition parties one by one, calling them "pro-LGBT."

"Is the CHP pro-LGBT+? What about the HDP, and the İYİ Party? What about those smaller parties with them? Can they infiltrate the AK Party, MHP, or other members of the People's Alliance?

"We consider the family sacred, and no one can insult it. Violence against women is forbidden, it is haram, and no one should dare to attempt it. We will suffocate them."

During his "balcony speech" at the Presidential Complex in Ankara later, Erdoğan did not explicitly mention the LGBTI+ community but used the term "perverted movements."

Throughout his election campaign, Erdoğan maintained similar rhetoric.

"An election period full of LGBTI+ hostility"

In a joint statement, the 17 Mayıs and Kaos GL associations said, "Even though they presented closing us down as a promise, we have come out once, and we will never close again."

"As in every election period, we witnessed a process full of LGBTI+ hostility during this election. They talked about us. They tried to devalue our lives with insults. However, our lives and our will are valuable, powerful.

"The 13th President, in his speech in İstanbul, once again targeted us. We are not accustomed to it, we don't accept it, but we haven't forgotten that our struggle is bigger than these words.

"As 17 May and Kaos GL associations, we will continue to empower the LGBTI+ community and fight for the equality and freedom of LGBTI+s. We will evaluate the lessons from the elections and create a roadmap for the new period, sharing it with the LGBTI+ public and the entire society.

"As lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans, and intersex individuals, we will overcome these dark days with the struggle that began the moment we were born. We will continue to draw strength from one another. We will persist in the fight, solidarity, and love. We will protect our loves, our lives, and each other. Even though they present closing us down as a promise, we have come out once, and we will never close again.*

"The liberation of LGBTI+s will liberate the entire society!" (TY/VK)

*The statement employs a wordplay with the Turkish word "açılmak," which holds a dual meaning of "coming out" and "opening."