9/18/2022
RawNews1st – Hundreds of protesters gathered on Sunday for an anti-LGBTQ march in Istanbul, a city where pro-LGBTQ demonstrations have been banned for years.
Religious, conservative and far-right groups organised the protest in the Fatih neighbourhood against what they claim is an increasing threat to traditional values in Turkey posed by LGBTQ people.
Protesters held placards reading “protect your family and your generation” and “say No to the project of a genderless society”.
Rights groups have slammed the demonstration as well as the decision by Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council to allow the airing of a commercial supporting the protest on the grounds of “public interest”.
The advertisement was produced by the Unity in Ideas and Struggle Platform, a group of about 150 right-wing NGOs, and showed videos and pictures from Pride rallies while a narrator calls on those who want to oppose the “global and imperialist lobbies who want to abolish gender, reduce the human generation, and destroy the family unit”.
In a statement, the Turkish Psychological Association also condemned the “hate-based” anti-LGBTQ gathering.
Although homosexuality has been legal in Turkey since the 19th century and there are a number of popular LGBTQ celebrities in the country, it is still not widely accepted, and members of the community frequently face targeting and harassment.
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