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More than 10K participate in anti-LGBTQ rights march in Turkey

Organizers called for protection of children from ‘LGBTQ terrorist propaganda agenda’

Published

4 years ago

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Anti-LGBTQ+ protestors gather in Saraçhane Park in Istanbul on Sept. 18, 2022, to listen to Kürşat Mican and other anti-LGBTQ+ rally organizers. (Photo courtesy of Kürşat Mican/Twitter)

Despite heavy downpours mixed with light rain showers, more than 10,000 anti-LGBTQ protestors gathered in this ancient city and principal seaport of Turkey on Sunday, protesting what organizers said was to protect their children from the “LGBTQ terrorist propaganda agenda.”

Billed as the “Great Family Walk” lead organizer Kürşat Mican, speaking to the crowds gathered, demanded that the Turkish government ban all LGBTQ activities and shut down all LGBTQ organizations. The organizers were also demanding that Turkey’s parliament ban what they called LGBTQ “evil,” which they claimed pervades Netflix, social media, arts and sports in the country.

Gathering at Saraçhane Park, protestors carried signs with the slogan “protect your family and generation,” the speakers, in addition to Mican, told the crowd that they were taking action to combat the “LGBT lobby,” which they alleged “has become a global problem.”

In a tweet Monday, Mican wrote (translated from Turkish): “The fact that tens of thousands of people from all walks of life came together to put a stop to #LGBTdayatması (#LGBTimposition) and draw attention to the danger is an indication of how much our ‘Necip Nation’ values (a reference to Necip Fazil Kisakürek, Turkish poet, novelist, playwright, and Islamist ideologue) his family and generation. No lobby can bring this strong will to its knees, biiznillah! (Will of Allah.)

The anti-LGBTQ rights were organized by Mican, Ersin Çelik and non-governmental organizations. The march, in which 150 NGOs participated, had a great impact organizers claimed.

Ersin Çelik, a writer for a conservative, Islamist Turkish daily newspaper, Yeni Şafak, has been fighting against LGBTQ rights and making efforts to what he has said on his social media accounts is to “protect young people and children from this trap,” called for the march on his social media account.

Mican and other organizers had also circulated a video prior to Sunday’s rally that showed clips from previously LGBTQ Pride parades, which was then also broadcast as a public service announcement by Turkish state media, prompting an angered response from the country’s LGBTQ advocacy groups and activists.

Others who supported the rally included a popular female Turkish writer known by her pseudonym of Tahteşşuûr who tweeted: “LGBT looking for children to recruit! God damn you. #LGBTdayatması (#LGBTimposition.)”

This year, hundreds of LGBTQ people, allies, and supporters took to the streets of Istanbul this past June in defiance of the Turkish government’s ongoing 2014 ban of LGBTQ Pride parades and Pride Month festivities. Protestors violently clashed repeatedly with police and security forces in various neighborhoods located around the Bol Ahenk Sokak and other sections of the central downtown areas.

Government security forces arrested more than 373 people and the largest Turkish LGBTQ activist group, the Ankara-based Kaos GL, documented the arrests and clashes which occurred prior to the 5 p.m. planned parade kick-off in a series of Twitter posts.

Turkish Media Independent Media/News Outlet Ahval has reported that Turkey’s LGBTQ groups accuse the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of waging a “hate campaign” against them, encouraging violence against a vulnerable community.

Turkey has ranked second worst country in the European Union for LGBTQ people, scoring only above Azerbaijan, according the 2022 “Rainbow Europe” ranking compiled by Brussels-based ILGA-Europe.

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Turkey

House Democrats urge White House to confront Turkish government over anti-LGBTQ crackdown

More than 60 lawmakers signed letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Published

1 week ago

on

October 2, 2026

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(Photo by Lora Sutyagina/Bigstock)

More than 60 House Democrats on Thursday called upon the Trump-Vance administration to confront the Turkish government over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.

Turkish authorities last month detained dozens of people during raids that targeted the country’s LGBTQ community, advocacy groups, and HIV/AIDS service organizations. Journalists were among those taken into custody outside an Istanbul courthouse on Sept. 15 during a protest against the raids that are part of the government’s “My Family Is Safe” campaign.

Council for Global Equality is among the groups that organized a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in D.C. on Sept. 18.

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U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Sept. 21 during a U.N. LGBTI Core Group event that took place on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly specifically referenced Turkey.

The Core Group is a group of U.N. member states that have pledged to support LGBTQ and intersex rights.

The U.S. withdrew from the Core Group after the Trump-Vance administration took office. The White House has not publicly commented on Turkey’s anti-LGBTQ crackdown.

“These developments warrant an urgent diplomatic response from the United States to protect the rights of freedom of expression, association, and assembly for all Turkish citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” reads the letter the lawmakers sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “We therefore urge you to use all available channels to raise these concerns directly with the Turkish government; press for the immediate release of those arrested and detained for their legitimate human rights activities; and ensure that the U.S. Embassy in Ankara closely monitors related judicial proceedings.”

“We further urge the Department to press Turkish authorities to cease efforts to criminalize LGBTQI+ organizations and advocacy and to affirm the right of all people to peacefully assemble,” it adds.

Arizona Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari and U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) spearheaded the letter. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.); Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.); Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, and U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus, are among the 65 House Democrats who signed the letter.

“The United States must be a leader in defending human rights and what is happening in Turkey demands an urgent diplomatic response. It’s absolutely appalling to see LGBTQI+ people and the organizations that stand up for their rights be targeted by the (President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan regime,” said Ansari in a press release. “I stand proudly with the LGBTQI+ community here and abroad and will continue to fight for their right to live openly, freely, and without fear, anywhere and everywhere.”

The press release notes the Human Rights Campaign, the Council for Global Equality, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America support the letter.

“Turkey’s attacks on its LGBTQI+ community are a disturbing reminder that the fight for equality and human rights does not stop at our borders. No one should be silenced or detained for simply being who they are or peacefully demanding dignity and freedom,” said HRC Government Affairs Senior Director Jennifer Pike Bailey. “We are grateful to Representatives Ansari and Titus for recognizing that the fight for LGBTQI+ equality is global and that, even amid the many challenges facing our community here at home, we cannot turn our backs on LGBTQI+ people facing persecution abroad.”

A State Department spokesperson on Friday told the Washington Blade that “as a matter of policy, we do not comment on congressional correspondence.”

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Serbia

Ana Brnabić becomes world’s first openly lesbian head of state

Former Serbian prime minister succeeded President Aleksandar Vučić on Monday

Published

2 weeks ago

on

September 30, 2026

By

Acting Serbian President Ana Brnabić (Photo public domain)

Ana Brnabić on Monday became the world’s first openly lesbian head of state after Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić resigned.

Brnabić was the country’s prime minister from 2017-2024. She was most recently the president of the Serbian National Assembly.

Vučić resigned ahead of parliamentary elections that will take place on Oct. 25. Media reports indicate Vučić could become Serbia’s next prime minister if his Serbian Progressive Party can successfully form a new government. Brnabić until then will be the country’s acting president.

Former Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who became his country’s first openly gay head of government in 2017, praised Brnabić.

“Congratulations to Ana Brnabić on becoming the world’s first lesbian head of state (president of Serbia),” said Varadkar on social media. “She visited while in her previous office and is a friend of Ireland.”

Former Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir in 2009 became the world’s first openly lesbian head of government. Former San Marino Captain Regent Paolo Rondelli in 2022 became the world’s first openly gay head of state.

Andorran Prime Minister Xavier Espot Zamora, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, and Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs are openly gay. Former Luxembourgish Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, and former Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo are also gay.  

Varadkar was Ireland’s prime minister from 2017-2020 and again from 2022-2024.

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Netherlands

Dutch prime minister visits Stonewall Inn

Rob Jetten is the Netherlands’ first openly gay prime minister

Published

3 weeks ago

on

September 23, 2026

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Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, on right, visits the Stonewall Inn in New York on Sept. 21, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Jetten's X account)

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten on Monday visited the Stonewall Inn in New York.

“The Stonewall Inn is not just a gay bar in New York, but the place where in 1969 riots took place as a reaction to years of discrimination and police violence,” wrote Jetten on X. “This is seen as the starting point of the global LGBTIQ+ emancipation and activism. Nowadays, the bar is a national monument, dedicated to the LGBTIQ+ rights movement.”

“For me, it is impressive and moving to be here tonight. And also fitting, because the defense of human rights is an important part of our foreign policy,” he added. “The Netherlands stands alongside the Stonewall Inn community when it comes to everyone’s right to live openly, safely, and with pride, no matter who you are or who you love.”

Jetten in February became the Netherlands’s first openly gay prime minister.

He opened last month’s World Pride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam. Jetten also participated in a panel with former Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, former San Marino Captain Regent Paolo Rondelli, and other current and former heads of government who are gay or lesbian.

Jetten is scheduled to speak to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.

(Editor’s note: Jetten visited New York’s LGBT Community Center with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani before he left the city.)

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