First legally registered LGBT organization established in Istanbul
02/03/2007
By
Kaos GL
An official demand to ban another gay rights association in the city of Istanbul was rejected by a prosecutor on February 2, 2007, allowing the Lambda Association to continue to operate. The decision wasn’t considered suprising given the fact that there are three legally registered LGBT organizations already which are: Kaos GL in Ankara, Pink Life in Ankara and Rainbow Association in Bursa.
THE HISTORY OF LAMBDA ISTANBUL:
The Turkish LGBT human rights movement became more visible during the 1990s. The most notable event was an attempt to organize an LGBT pride conference in Istanbul in 1993.
The pride conference, named the Christopher Street Day Sexual Liberation Activities, was originally scheduled for July 2-6, 1993, but was banned at the last minute by the governor of Istanbul, apparently on the grounds that it would be contrary to Turkey's traditions and moral values and that it might disturb the peace. This was despite the fact that the Interior Ministry had previously provided the organizers approval to conduct the event. The governor allegedly sent his agents to hotels in Istanbul, instructing them not to provide lodgings to the participants. The next day, Turkish authorities detained 28 foreign delegates. At the time of their arrest, most of the detainees were in transit to a press conference in protest of the ban. They were detained for over five hours, threatened with possible strip searches and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests, and deported on a Turkish airliner to Germany.
The most striking result of this event was the immediate establishment of Lambda Istanbul, which, to this day, remains one of the most active LGBT organizations in Turkey. Immediately after the Istanbul city government banned the conference, a group of gays and lesbians, formerly named "Gokkusagi" (Rainbow), renamed themselves as “Lambda Istanbul”. The group’s first activity was to work with other organizations seeking to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Working with Turkey’s AIDS Prevention Society, Lambda Istanbul prepared the first safer sex brochure that directly addressed gay men. Lambda Istanbul became a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) in 1993.
After 14 years of activitism, Lambda Istanbul finally became a legally registered LGBT organization.
THE HISTORY OF LAMBDA ISTANBUL:
The Turkish LGBT human rights movement became more visible during the 1990s. The most notable event was an attempt to organize an LGBT pride conference in Istanbul in 1993.
The pride conference, named the Christopher Street Day Sexual Liberation Activities, was originally scheduled for July 2-6, 1993, but was banned at the last minute by the governor of Istanbul, apparently on the grounds that it would be contrary to Turkey's traditions and moral values and that it might disturb the peace. This was despite the fact that the Interior Ministry had previously provided the organizers approval to conduct the event. The governor allegedly sent his agents to hotels in Istanbul, instructing them not to provide lodgings to the participants. The next day, Turkish authorities detained 28 foreign delegates. At the time of their arrest, most of the detainees were in transit to a press conference in protest of the ban. They were detained for over five hours, threatened with possible strip searches and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests, and deported on a Turkish airliner to Germany.
The most striking result of this event was the immediate establishment of Lambda Istanbul, which, to this day, remains one of the most active LGBT organizations in Turkey. Immediately after the Istanbul city government banned the conference, a group of gays and lesbians, formerly named "Gokkusagi" (Rainbow), renamed themselves as “Lambda Istanbul”. The group’s first activity was to work with other organizations seeking to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Working with Turkey’s AIDS Prevention Society, Lambda Istanbul prepared the first safer sex brochure that directly addressed gay men. Lambda Istanbul became a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) in 1993.
After 14 years of activitism, Lambda Istanbul finally became a legally registered LGBT organization.
