Erdogan wants to take “active” action against the LGBT community in the country

A few weeks before the elections in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued new threats to the LGBT community. However, the president accused sections of the opposition of speaking out for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

“We will actively act against perverse tendencies such as LGBT, which threaten our family structure,” Erdogan said Monday night, according to state news agency Anadolu.

LGBT is the English abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. The variants LGBTQ, LGBTQI or LGBTQIA+ are also often used. Each letter represents a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.

Erdogan, his ruling AKP and their partner, the ultra-nationalist MHP, openly flaunt their homophobic and anti-transsentment stances and appeal to ultra-conservative constituencies. Thousands across the country took to the streets in 2022 to demonstrate their rejection of the LGBT community. The government justified its withdrawal from the 2021 Istanbul Convention on the Prevention of Violence against Women by saying the agreement normalizes homosexuality.

For years, human rights activists have criticized an increasingly hostile climate, increasing hate speech and oppression of LGBT people in Turkey.

In the May 14 elections for the presidency and parliament, Erdogan will run together with Islamist parties, among others. You, but also the Saadet party, which belongs to the largest opposition alliance, openly speak out against LGBT. (cpf/sda/dpa)