Local Gains in LGBTI Activism – Turkish Experience
Presentation by Turgay Bayındır
Outline
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Context: 25 years of LGBTI Activism in Turkey and The Gezi Protests (June 2013)
June 30, 2013: Biggest ever LGBTI Pride March in Istanbul with over 50,000 participants
Formation of new LGBTI groups and organizations both in and outside Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir,
Diyarbakır
August, 2013: Activists from LGBTI organizations in Istanbul and independent LGBTI activists
come together to form the LGBT Political Participation, Representation and Demands Platform
in preparation for the local elections of March 30, 2014.
Two main expectations from the campaign: 1. To have out LGBT candidates for municipal
posts (mayor and/or city council members). 2. To get the parties to write LGBTI-inclusive
election campaigns
For the first goal, SPOD (an Istanbul based LGBTI organization) organized the Local
Government Politics School on November 11-17, 2013 with LGBTI activists participating from
10 different cities in Turkey.
One of the outcomes of this week-long school was the drafting of the 'Demands of LGBTIs
from Local Governments' document which was publicized with endorsement from 14 LGBTI
organizations in Turkey.
Intensive work and lobbying the next two months saw 12 out LGBTI candidates entering into
the lists of 5 different parties (HDP, BDP, CHP, DSP, TKP) for Municipal City Council
positions. 7 of these were from Istanbul, 2 from Ankara, 2 from Mersin, 1 from Bursa.
Also, the draft of the 'Demands' document was turned into an 'LGBTI-Friendly Municipality
Protocol' which was taken to many mayoral candidates. 40 Mayoral candidates signed this
protocol, effectively promising that if they become the Mayor, they would pursue LGBTIfriendly policies.
4 of these candidates won the elections (Aykurt Nuhoğlu – Kadıköy/İstanbul, Murat Haznedar –
Beşiktaş/İstanbul, Hayri İnönü – Şişli/İstanbul and Yüksel Mutlu Akdeniz/Mersin, becoming
the first mayors in Turkish history winning elections with LGBTI-inclusive campaigns.
None of the LGBTI candidates for City Council positions got elected. However, Sedef Çakmak
was elected as the first alternate for the Beşiktaş Municipal City Council, and approximately a
year after the elections, a seat was opened in the City Council and therefore Sedef Çakmak
became the first out LGBTI person in an elected position.
After the elections, Şişli Mayor Hayri İnönü hired former candidate Boysan Yakar as an Advisor
to the Mayor, and Beşiktaş Mayor Murat Haznedar hired former candidate and elected first
alternate Sedef Çakmak as an Advisor to the Mayor. They became the first out LGBTI
individuals hired to (local) government positions. (April 2013) Similarly, Yüksel Mutlu, CoMayor of Akdeniz Municipality in Mersin hired former candidate Elif Tuna Şahin for a
secretarial position within the municipality.
The last 16 months since the elections have seen the establishment of an LGBTİ-inclusive
health services center at Şişli Municipality, the establishment of and Equality Department
within the municipality, the formation of an LGBTI-council within Kadıköy Municipality's City
Council.
Sadly, our friend Boysan Yakar, who has done a lot of work at Şişli Municipality as Advisor to
the Mayor died in a car accident this September. The municipality honored him with a
ceremony and handled all the funeral undertakings.