Turkish Interior Minister Deems LGBTQ+ Rights “Cultural Terrorism”

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu called the LGBTQ+ community “propaganda of a terrorist organization.”

“There is cultural terrorism. The propaganda of a terrorist organization, which tries to make people forget their values, their religion, unity, parental love and family loyalty. It is exactly Europe's policy, exactly America's policy of divide and rule,” Soylu said while speaking to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) members in the northwestern province of Bilecik.

“What will happen? They will bring LGBT to Turkey. Forgive me, men will marry men, women will marry women. It just suits (main opposition CHP leader) Kılıçdaroğlu. What a shame. It lacks all values. They are trying to create a policy based on an understanding that will alter almost all of our values so that they can win the hearts of the Europeans and the West,” Soylu further said, according to Dura R..

Turkish government officials often call the LGBTQ+ community “perverted”, and hate crimes often go unpunished. Many LGBTQ+ individuals say that the country is getting more and more difficult to live in.

The AKP has had a particularly firm stance against LGBTQ+ people. They have been especially harsh since the Gezi Park protests of 2013 and the coup attempt of 2016. The annual LGBTQ+ Pride parade in Istanbul and other major Turkish cities has been banned since 2016. Those that have marched regardless have been met with police violence.

Lately, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for a constitutional amendment on the right to wear headscarf and family issues.

“The concept of family is indispensable for us. Because a strong nation comes from a strong family. Lately they have introduced LGBT into society, trying to degenerate our family structure,” Erdoğan said on October 7.

Erdoğan stated that this constitutional amendment will protect families from what he called "perverse trends,” targeting LGBTQ+ groups. “Family consists of the union of man and woman,” he claims.

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