Meet Baris Sulu, Turkey's First Openly Gay Polil Candidate Runng for Office

Contents:

• TURKEY ELECTNS: GAY, TRANSGENR CANDIDAT SPOTLIGHT LGBT RIGHTS
• ‘WE’RE AGAST LGBT’: ERDOğAN TARGETS GAY AND TRANS PEOPLE AHEAD OF CRIL TURKISH ELECTN
• FIRST-EVER OPENLY GAY PARLIAMENTARY NDIDATE STANDS FOR ELECTN TURKEY
• MEET BARIS SULU, TURKEY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY POLIL CANDIDATE RUNNG FOR OFFICE
• MAN IS FIRST OPENLY GAY PARLIAMENT CANDIDATE TURKISH HISTORY

TURKEY ELECTNS: GAY, TRANSGENR CANDIDAT SPOTLIGHT LGBT RIGHTS

Turkey uld elect s first openly gay member of parliament next month’s electns, spe a risg ti of social nservativism the Mlim-majory four LGBT activists nng clu 37-year-old Baris Sulu, who ma history once already when he and his same-sex partner applied — unsuccsfully — for a marriage license a tt se that is still gog through the urts. Homosexualy hasn’t been illegal Turkey sce 1858 — durg the dyg days of the Ottoman Empire — but is far om accepted.

"Turkey’s ary, for which all cizens mt rry out a mandatory perd of natnal service, tegoriz homosexualy as a mental illns and until recently required timate photographic evince or fay ttimonials om anyone seekg exemptn bee of Sulu is one of four openly gay ndidat nng Turkey's June 7 parliamentary SuluBut while the cln of LGBT ndidat on the ballot paper is a sign of growg acceptance, analysts and mpaign groups say there is ltle hope of progrs towards endg wispread discrimatn or creatg legal rights for gays and lbians. “However, is a tolerant society but also a untry badly served by s ernment and s media terms of the negative stereotyp about gay people.

Istanbul’s annual gay pri march attracted more than 100, 000 participants 2014 — cludg many attendg om other untri the regn where siar events are banned. ”Referenc to gay culture are sometim censored om Wtern televisn imports and 85 percent of Turks say they would not like to have gay neighbors, acrdg to the 2014 World Valu Survey, pared to 20 percent of those surveyed the Uned Stat. Turkish Print Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds a Quran durg a polil rally on May OZER / AFP - Getty ImagThere are still stanc of vlence agast members of the LGBT muny, even as the untry seeks membership of the European Unn, which upholds equal 2008, stunt Ahmet Yildiz was shot by his father after g out as gay, a crime billed as a so-lled “honor killg.

‘WE’RE AGAST LGBT’: ERDOğAN TARGETS GAY AND TRANS PEOPLE AHEAD OF CRIL TURKISH ELECTN

“It would not directly crease tolerance for gay people Turkey, stead would be a posive externaly of what is mostly an electn about the enomy and ernance, ” he gay members of parliament “would be symbolic and important, ” he add, “but polics Turkey for the near future will still be about higher polil issu and realpolik, not dividual rights. Erdogan’s domant AKP is rooted Islam — he has appeared at mpaign ralli clutchg a Quran — but is not the sole explanatn for Turkey’s nservatism on gay rights.

If you look to civil society there are Mlims who take a very posive stance [on gay rights] and also secular people who take a very negative stance.

FIRST-EVER OPENLY GAY PARLIAMENTARY NDIDATE STANDS FOR ELECTN TURKEY

"Image source, RtersImage ptn, Print Erdogan has been acced of stokg homophobic sentiment TurkeyIn a speech July last year, Mr Erdogan acced LGBT activists of unrmg "our natnal and spirual valu" and "poisong" young latt statement follows weeks of protts at Bogazici Universy over the appotment of Prof Melih Bulu as rector.

MEET BARIS SULU, TURKEY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY POLIL CANDIDATE RUNNG FOR OFFICE

At mpaign ralli across Turkey, Print Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has missed no opportuny to attack gay and trans people. They say Erdoğan’s re-electn risks further fuellg a culture war that he and his supporters have done much to flame, empowerg stutns to crack down on anyone seen as different and to turn a bld eye to a statewi problem of vlence agast women, gay and trans people. ”An Erdoğan victory, says Akbulut, risks formalisg to policy the kd of hatred that the print has ployed on the mpaign trail, and legimisg attacks on gay rights, particularly the right to anise.

Photograph: Sedat Suna/EPAAkşener has spoken openly of Turkey’s need to return to the Istanbul nventn, but has been more ut on gay rights, statg that while she would be unhappy wh a gay child she was also agast vlence towards LGBTQ+ Women’s Platform for Equaly (EŞİK), a femist aln, found that leftwg parti were far more likely to field female ndidat, but no party managed genr pary any of s electoral lists.

“Our ears are bombard wh this propaganda, such as strange claims like if you vote for the opposn, your child will bee gay. For ee real time breakg news alerts sent straight to your box sign up to our breakg news emailsSign up to our ee breakg news emailsA man nttg Turkey's general electn is thought to be the first openly gay ndidate ever to n for the untry's Sulu, 37, is the left-wg People's Democratic Party (HDP) ndidate the north-wtern Eskisehir electoral district, the Grand Natnal Assembly electns on 7 Sulu, who has mpaigned for gay rights Turkey for 17 years, is standg on a platform of promotg lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) be the first openly gay man to n for the Turkish parliament - a untry where homosexualy is legal, but where the rights of LGBT people are not protected by law and where they face wispread discrimatn and Sulu told the Anadolu news agency that he was standg agast discrimatn, and to enurage other gay people to do the said: "I am not a secret gay. Sulu’s ndidacy is a landmark moment for the LGBTQ+ muny Turkey, where beg openly gay is still largely taboo.

MAN IS FIRST OPENLY GAY PARLIAMENT CANDIDATE TURKISH HISTORY

The LGBTQ+ muny Turkey has a reason to celebrate as the untry’s first openly gay polil ndidate, Baris Sulu, ns for office. This historic moment marks a major breakthrough a untry where homosexualy is still wily stigmatized.

While Turkey’s nstutn do not explicly ban discrimatn based on sexual orientatn, societal attus towards homosexualy rema largely negative.

For too long, beg openly gay Turkey has been nsired taboo and has led to wispread discrimatn and margalizatn. By steppg forward as an openly gay polil ndidate, Sulu is breakg down barriers and challengg the stat quo Turkish society.