Rights groups have condemned as illegal and discriminatory a ban on LGBTI events in the Turkish capital one week after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described empowering gay people as being “against the values of our nation”. The ban is the latest in a series of attempts by the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party to curtail the activities of Turkey’s LGBTI rights movement, and to impose what critics say is a public morality rooted in Islam. “With this announcement the civil administration is endangering public safety by turning LGBTIs and civil society organisations, who are an important part of the public, into targets instead of fulfilling its duty to ensure public security,” the statement added. However, LGBTI individuals in the country frequently complain of mistreatment including harassment, abuse and rape as well as animosity. The announcement by the Ankara governor’s office said the ban would include films, plays, exhibitions, panels and other events in an effort to protect “public order and public health and morals” as well as due to certain “social sensitivities”.

Source: The Guardian November 20, 2017 01:41 UTC