VZCZCXRO4252
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHAK #1683/01 3241537
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201537Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1300
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 6563
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001683 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: LGBT ORGANIZATIONS OVERCOMING CHALLENGES 
 
REF: A. ISTANBUL 169 
     ¶B. 08 ISTANBUL 452 
 
ANKARA 00001683  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender 
(LGBT) organizations in Turkey identify the major problems 
facing the LGBT community as restrictions on freedom of 
expression, unfair implementation of Turkish laws, and 
systematic abuse by security forces.  Both formal and 
informal LGBT organizations exist in cities across the 
country, although coordination between them is minimal. 
Societal discrimination is pervasive, and transgender 
individuals face the biggest problems.  Despite these 
challenges, however, LGBT community leaders in Turkey are 
diverse and active.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Groups Exist Across the Country 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) LGBT organizations, both formal and informal, are 
present in many cities across Turkey, from large metropolitan 
Istanbul in the West to the small, provincial town of Van in 
the East.  There are two groups in Ankara, Pembe Hayat ("Pink 
Life") and KAOS GL, that work on the issues of LGBT 
individuals and show strong leadership and organization.  Of 
these, KAOS GL focuses strongly on the gay and lesbian 
communities and publishes a monthly magazine to raise issues 
of concern, while Pembe Hayat focuses on the needs of the 
transgender community.  Both organizations work together to 
create yearly LGBT-rights reports.  Lambda Istanbul works 
with LGBT issues as well, and receives heavy funding from 
foreign organizations, especially from Europe, although it 
seems to suffer from a lack of strong leadership and 
organization.  Other groups in the country have complained 
that Lambda does not coordinate with them, focusing only on 
Istanbul-specific issues while ignoring the greater needs of 
the LGBT community in the rest of the country.  Lambda, for 
its part, considers itself the representative of the LGBT 
community in Turkey to the rest of the world.  Other LGBT 
groups are located in Izmir, Eskisehir, Diyarbakir, and Van. 
 
Challenges Abound 
----------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Izmir-based Siyah-Pembe Ucgen (Pink-Black 
Triangle) works with the LGBT community in Izmir and 
surrounding areas.  It works closely with the local chapter 
of the Human Rights Foundation in fighting against abuse by 
security forces, especially of transgender individuals.  The 
group has run into problems with registration as an official 
organization with the government of Izmir, which claims that 
the association should be closed because it works "against 
public morality."  KAOS GL reported similar challenges when 
it first registered, but has not had problems since.  Lambda 
Istanbul has been closed numerous times for similar reasons 
(REF B).  The Izmir Prosecutor opened a case against 
Siyah-Pembe Ucgen in November; the first hearing will be in 
February 2010. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Most groups reported a serious lack of inter-group 
cooperation and coordination.  Although most of the groups 
work on the same issues, they do not work together on issues 
of national significance.  Much of this seems to be 
personality based; people from one organization do not get 
along with others and the work of the organizations suffers. 
Another issue is that most of the groups focus strongly on 
individual cases of infringements on the rights of LGBT 
individuals, distracting them from working on broader 
underlying conditions that contribute to the prevalence of 
incidents of discrimination. 
 
¶5. (SBU) All of the organizations explained that in Turkey 
LGBT individuals often face extreme social pressure to keep 
their identities hidden from family, friends, and work 
colleagues.  The consequences of these social pressures for 
organizations is low attendance at meetings and political 
events due to fear of revealing LGBT identities at the work 
place or in public life.  One activist said, "so long as we 
remain invisible, we are spared problems."  KAOS GL reported 
high attendance for sponsored night club parties, and low 
attendance in public parades.  Pembe Hayat alleged that 
people in their organization had lost their jobs after coming 
out as gay or lesbian -- transgender individuals would not 
even receive an interview most of the time.  Organizations in 
Istanbul and Ankara report that 99 percent of transgender 
women participate in sex work at some point in their lives 
out of financial necessity. 
 
Legal Obstacles Cause Problems 
 
ANKARA 00001683  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) KAOS GL told us that one of their largest challenges 
was addressing abuse of LGBT individuals by security forces. 
Earlier in the year protestors threw stones at members of 
KAOS GL when they were giving a press conference on LGBT 
issues.  When the police arrived at the location, they 
reportedly stood by and did nothing.  KAOS GL members asked 
the police for help and the police told them that stone 
throwing was just the "consequence of their actions." 
Similar problems were reported by other groups involving the 
police. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Izmir based Siyah-Pembe Ucgen told us that many of 
their members had been prosecuted under Article 37 of the 
Misdemeanor law which punishes individuals for violating 
public morals.  According to media reports, LGBT groups and 
the Human Rights Association, Huseyin Capkin, former Izmir 
police chief and current Istanbul Police Chief continues to 
implement a "point system" to encourage police officers to 
target transgendered individuals with fines, arrests, and 
beatings.  The police base this activity on violations of 
"morals laws."  Incidents documenting cases of arrests and 
abuse of transgender women have been increasingly covered by 
the media.  Transgender women have reported numerous cases of 
arrest and fines while walking on major streets in the 
daytime and while occupied in routine tasks such as shopping 
for groceries, in some cases being fined 59 Turkish Lira 
several times in one day.  A media report indicated that one 
transgender woman in Istanbul was fined twice in the same 
day, while at a hair salon and while grocery shopping.  Pembe 
Hayat explained to us that if transgender women (male to 
female) resist the police they are generally charged with 
"resisting arrest" as well. 
 
¶8. (SBU) All the groups complained that gay men are precluded 
from participation in compulsory military service for "health 
reasons."  However, in order to prove they are gay, men are 
required to submit very explicit and embarrassing proof: 
explicit photos of themselves in overt sexual positions, a 
medical report from a doctor testifying to their 
homosexuality, and an embarrassing interview with a military 
doctor.  This preclusion can have an effect on other parts of 
their lives as well.  On May 20, Halil Ibrahim Dincdag, a 
soccer referee, was fired from his job because of his 
self-identity as gay (REF A).  According to the sport's 
regulations, anyone who fails to complete his military 
service for health reasons is unfit to perform as a referee. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) While diverse and healthy in numbers, Turkey's LGBT 
community faces difficult challenges due to a lack of 
organization and coordination and serious social pressures 
compounded by anti-LGBT government policies.  Police abuse 
targeting LGBT individuals is systematic and widespread, 
although there has been a higher amount of coverage of such 
actions in the media recently.  The good news is that the 
people working in the various organizations across the 
country are motivated and committed to making a difference 
despite the challenges facing them as they forge ahead. 
There is also increasing awareness of LGBT identity in 
Turkish society.  A few of Turkey's top entertainers are 
transgendered and the widely-seen and critically acclaimed 
film Gunesi Gordum ("I Saw the Sun") included a major subplot 
discussing the plight of the transgendered in Istanbul.  Post 
will continue to work with these organizations to find ways 
to strengthen their coordination and organizational 
structures.  A Pembe Hayat organizer described the situation 
with a few words, "Our war is to love, and we will continue 
fighting." 
 
JEFFREY 
 
           "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s 
gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"