Gay Star News, UK

Turkey progress report slammed - no progress for gay rights

Turkish activists claim: Turkey's own progress report to the European
Union ignores repeated critique of the country's failure to protect
LGBT people

04 January 2013 | By Dan Littauer

[Photo: Ali Erol of KAOS GL says Turkey's EU progress report shows no
progress in regards to its LGBT citizens]

Activists slammed Turkey's progress report to the European Union (EU),
saying it totally ignores the EU’s recommendations regarding LGBT
rights

Turkey’s minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis
said the report is ‘not just a reaction’ but indicates the
government’s ‘commitment to reform’.

Turkish LGBT activists, however, pointed out that the report ignores
the problems and demands of gay people and justifies previous and
current criticism expressed by the EU Commission.

In its 2012 Progress Report on Turkey, the EU Commission called upon
the Turkish government to protect its LGBT citizens from
discrimination and violence.

The report stressed that Turkey’s current draft bill of
Anti-Discrimination and Equality does not comply with the EU standards
as it does not prohibit discrimination against LGBT people, which
continues unchallenged in the country.

The EU commission was particularly critical of Turkey’s exclusion of
‘sexual orientation’ from the draft anti-discrimination law.

Bagis however slammed the reported saying it was ‘subjective, biased,
unfounded, and [full of] bigoted attitudes’.

Quoting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bagis stated that the
government sees EU Accession of Turkey as a top priority.

‘However, EU has damaged its own credibility with Turkey report’, he added.

Turkey’s own progress report, claimed Bagis, shows that it is in-line
with EU standards.

Nevertheless the report totally ignored the LGBT issues.

On the contrary, according to the Turkish government’s report, the
draft of the Law on Combating Discrimination and Equality is presented
as if it combats all types of discrimination, totalling ignoring the
critique mentioned above.

Ali Erol, founder and chair of KAOS GL, an Ankara based LGBT advocacy
group said Turkey’s report omits any mentions of the terms ‘sexual
orientation’, ‘gender identity’ or ‘sexual identity’.

Instead, ‘sex’ was referenced in passing in three contexts associated
with ‘violence’, ‘exploitation’ and ‘abuse’.

Turkey’s own report stated that country’s new constitution process is
a ‘positive contribution to the EU accession’.

However the AK controlled government totally ignored and vetoed
<http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/turkey-rejects-protection-gay-rights140912>
any inclusion of legal equality and recognition of the Turkish LGBT
rights in the constitution as demanded by other political parties.

Erol stated: ‘Although the government of Turkey claims that they have
their own report took into account of EU’s previous criticisms and
recommendations; it is sadly understood that they do not take into
account of EU Commission’s yearly calls for the elimination of
discrimination against LGBT people in Turkey’.

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