Turkey's transsexuals face increasing violence
05/10/2006
By
ILGA-Europe
Belgin still vividly remembers the night, more than a quarter of a century ago, when police herded her
and dozens of other transsexuals and transvestites on to a train as part of a campaign to clean up Istanbul.
"We did not know where the train was taking us. The police beat us and locked us up in the wagons.
They gave us no water or food," she said, evoking scenes reminiscent of World War Two.
The roundup took place just before the 1980 military coup in Turkey which led to the suspension of democracy and the jailing of hundreds of thousands of people for their political views. Some were executed. Many people fled abroad.
Since then, Turkey has taken big strides forward in human rights, scrapping the death penalty and
clamping down on torture, with an eye on future membership of the European Union. But Belgin says it
still fails to protect people like her.
"I first wore this dress in 1970. Not much has changed since then," said Belgin, a retired prostitute who
now works for Lambda Istanbul, a group that campaigns for the rights of transsexuals, transvestites,
gay men and lesbians.
Rights groups say transsexuals face increasing violence and this reflects a wider trend in Turkish society --
the growing influence of Islam in daily life since the centre-right AK Party, which has Islamist roots, came
to power in 2002.
"Now the police raid their bars and take these people into detention more frequently," said Huseyin
Ayyildiz, branch secretary of the Human Rights Association in Istanbul.
He said this reflected the AK Party's promotion of more Islamist-minded police officers keen to defend conservative family values.
PIOUS CLIENTS
The intolerance is not restricted to transsexuals or homosexuals, the
rights groups say.
"Businesses are having difficulty getting licenses to sell alcohol,"Ayyildiz said. Islam prohibits alcoholic
beverages.
In the capital Ankara, Deniz, a transvestite who works as a prostitute,complained that many clients were ignoring her calls.
"Most of my clients are pious Muslim men and they are very afraid that the police will publicize their names," said Deniz, who also declined to give her full name.
Belgin said Turkish men were guilty of hypocrisy.
"Men who secretly come to us at night for sex jeer at us on the streets," said Belgin, 53. She said she
had to work as a prostitute because prejudice prevented her finding another job.
She said many of her friends had been murdered over the years and violence against transsexuals, most
of whom work in the sex industry, showed no sign of abating.
"Some people talk about human rights. I have never seen them," she said. "Here you can kill a dog or a transsexual. There is no difference.
"The murders of my friends have never been resolved. The police turn a blind eye in such cases."
Like homosexuality, having a sex change operation is legal in Turkey but there are no laws to protect transgender people from discrimination as there are in some Western countries.
PUBLIC MORALITY
A tradition of tolerance for cross-dressing and same-sex liaisons that
existed in the old Ottoman Empire has long faded.
In August, efforts by transsexuals to set up an association in the
western, conservative-minded town of Bursa were blocked by the authorities on grounds of protecting
"public morality."
Over the years, many transsexuals have moved from the provinces to
Istanbul, a sprawling metropolis which at least provides anonymity and a network of support. Belgin sees
little change in police attitudes.
"There was a police chief (in the past) who was known as bone-breaker Cetin because he did not leave transsexuals before breaking their bones," she said.
Another liked burning the arms of transsexuals with a cigarette lighter.
"He would then ask how they would endure the fires of hell in the after-life if they cannot stand this,"
Belgin said.
And now? "They come with hate and feelings of revenge and do not hide their aim of cleansing Beyoglu
(hub of Istanbul's night life) of its transsexuals."
Turkish police spokesman Ismail Caliskan rejected the accusations that the police breach human rights.
"The police have always been a target of such accusations ... (human rights groups and transsexuals)
always say 'the police beat us'. These claims are not true," he told Reuters.
Reuters
By Selcuk Gokoluk
Original Link:
http://today.reuters.com/news/art...px?type=inDepthNews&storyID=2006
-10-03T120245Z_01_L07871288_RTRUKOC_0_US-TURKEY-TRANSSEXUALS.xml&WTmodLoc=Ne
wsHome-C3-inDepthNews-3
--
Kaos GL is a LGBT organization and a legally registered non-governmental
organization that publishes a bi-monthly magazine to completely cover
Turkey. Please refer any questions to: news@kaosgl.com and refer to the
web site for information: http://news.kaosgl.com/
and dozens of other transsexuals and transvestites on to a train as part of a campaign to clean up Istanbul.
"We did not know where the train was taking us. The police beat us and locked us up in the wagons.
They gave us no water or food," she said, evoking scenes reminiscent of World War Two.
The roundup took place just before the 1980 military coup in Turkey which led to the suspension of democracy and the jailing of hundreds of thousands of people for their political views. Some were executed. Many people fled abroad.
Since then, Turkey has taken big strides forward in human rights, scrapping the death penalty and
clamping down on torture, with an eye on future membership of the European Union. But Belgin says it
still fails to protect people like her.
"I first wore this dress in 1970. Not much has changed since then," said Belgin, a retired prostitute who
now works for Lambda Istanbul, a group that campaigns for the rights of transsexuals, transvestites,
gay men and lesbians.
Rights groups say transsexuals face increasing violence and this reflects a wider trend in Turkish society --
the growing influence of Islam in daily life since the centre-right AK Party, which has Islamist roots, came
to power in 2002.
"Now the police raid their bars and take these people into detention more frequently," said Huseyin
Ayyildiz, branch secretary of the Human Rights Association in Istanbul.
He said this reflected the AK Party's promotion of more Islamist-minded police officers keen to defend conservative family values.
PIOUS CLIENTS
The intolerance is not restricted to transsexuals or homosexuals, the
rights groups say.
"Businesses are having difficulty getting licenses to sell alcohol,"Ayyildiz said. Islam prohibits alcoholic
beverages.
In the capital Ankara, Deniz, a transvestite who works as a prostitute,complained that many clients were ignoring her calls.
"Most of my clients are pious Muslim men and they are very afraid that the police will publicize their names," said Deniz, who also declined to give her full name.
Belgin said Turkish men were guilty of hypocrisy.
"Men who secretly come to us at night for sex jeer at us on the streets," said Belgin, 53. She said she
had to work as a prostitute because prejudice prevented her finding another job.
She said many of her friends had been murdered over the years and violence against transsexuals, most
of whom work in the sex industry, showed no sign of abating.
"Some people talk about human rights. I have never seen them," she said. "Here you can kill a dog or a transsexual. There is no difference.
"The murders of my friends have never been resolved. The police turn a blind eye in such cases."
Like homosexuality, having a sex change operation is legal in Turkey but there are no laws to protect transgender people from discrimination as there are in some Western countries.
PUBLIC MORALITY
A tradition of tolerance for cross-dressing and same-sex liaisons that
existed in the old Ottoman Empire has long faded.
In August, efforts by transsexuals to set up an association in the
western, conservative-minded town of Bursa were blocked by the authorities on grounds of protecting
"public morality."
Over the years, many transsexuals have moved from the provinces to
Istanbul, a sprawling metropolis which at least provides anonymity and a network of support. Belgin sees
little change in police attitudes.
"There was a police chief (in the past) who was known as bone-breaker Cetin because he did not leave transsexuals before breaking their bones," she said.
Another liked burning the arms of transsexuals with a cigarette lighter.
"He would then ask how they would endure the fires of hell in the after-life if they cannot stand this,"
Belgin said.
And now? "They come with hate and feelings of revenge and do not hide their aim of cleansing Beyoglu
(hub of Istanbul's night life) of its transsexuals."
Turkish police spokesman Ismail Caliskan rejected the accusations that the police breach human rights.
"The police have always been a target of such accusations ... (human rights groups and transsexuals)
always say 'the police beat us'. These claims are not true," he told Reuters.
Reuters
By Selcuk Gokoluk
Original Link:
http://today.reuters.com/news/art...px?type=inDepthNews&storyID=2006
-10-03T120245Z_01_L07871288_RTRUKOC_0_US-TURKEY-TRANSSEXUALS.xml&WTmodLoc=Ne
wsHome-C3-inDepthNews-3
--
Kaos GL is a LGBT organization and a legally registered non-governmental
organization that publishes a bi-monthly magazine to completely cover
Turkey. Please refer any questions to: news@kaosgl.com and refer to the
web site for information: http://news.kaosgl.com/
