09/01/2025 | Writer: Yıldız Tar
DEM Party Group Deputy Chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit reacts to HÜDA PAR's Şahzade Demir calling LGBTI+'s “perverts” and targeting LGBTI+ organizations: It does not fit neither humanity nor conscience!
The General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey convened under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Gülizar Biçer Karaca. LGBTI+ persons were also targeted during the debates at the General Assembly.
IYI Party's Akburak started the debate by targeting LGBTI+'s
The debate was initiated by the speech of Istanbul MP Burak Akburak from the opposition nationalist IYI Party. Referring to Netflix and daytime talk shows, Akburak used the expressions “LGBT propaganda and the imposition of sexlessness”, which are also frequently used by the government, and said:
“On digital platforms like Netflix, LGBT elements are present in almost every piece of content. On these platforms, sexlessness and homosexuality are implanted in the minds of young people. At the same time, daytime shows try to normalize relationships and moral degeneration against our family values. This content negatively affects our children and young people and erodes the fundamental values of the Turkish family structure.”
Akburak also referred to the Year of the Family declared by President Erdoğan and said, “Our President declared this year as the ‘Year of the Family’ and suggested 3 children to strengthen the family structure. How will this goal be realized when our society is faced with such corrupt programs and digital content?”
Islamist HUDA PAR's Demir calls LGBTI+s perverts, calls for closure of LGBTI+ organizations
HUDA PAR Antep MP Şahzade Demir, who took the floor in the plenary session, continued where Akburak left off and called LGBTI+'s “perverts”. In his speech, Demir targeted both the Istanbul Convention and LGBTI+ organizations:
“Within the framework of harmonization laws with the European Union, the first LGBT association, a perverted organization, was established in 2004, and with the legalization of their perverted activities, their organization gained momentum throughout the country. With the signing of the Istanbul Convention, the perverted LGBT ideology has permeated all mechanisms of the state under the title of “gender”. This perversion, which has penetrated into the capillaries of society, draws our youth into its own quagmire and destroys the family institution. Perverted mobs are able to propagandize perversion on social media, and perversion invades every area that appeals to children, from cartoons to internet games. The state, which is responsible for protecting the family and public morality, should see perverted LGBT propaganda as a matter of survival, ban it and block access to such content on digital platforms.”
CHP's Başarır defended the Istanbul Convention
The first response to Demir came from Ali Mahir Başarır, Group Deputy Chairman of the main opposition CHP. Başarır criticized calling the Istanbul Convention “perverted” with the following words:
“An MP, Gaziantep MP Şahzade Demir, whose presence I noticed for the first time, spoke about the Istanbul Convention, which was ratified by this Parliament, and Turkey was one of the first countries to sign it, it was ratified in this Parliament, and then it was abolished by a midnight decree. It is shameful that he now calls this “perversion” and says insulting words about this convention. If there is any perversion, it is these comments about this convention. The Istanbul Convention is the liberation and protection of women and individuals, it is modernity. Now, an MP will come here, he will take LGBT and bring it to heresy.”
DEM Party's Koçyiğit defended LGBTI+ rights
Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, Group Deputy Chairperson of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, reacted harshly to Demir. Reminding that protests were organized against the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, Koçyiğit said:
“Withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention is a manifestation of a misogynist policy that has been unjust and unlawful from the very beginning. Look, in this country, after the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, an average of 3 women lose their lives every day; there is a genocide of women, a genocide of gender. Women are beheaded and thrown off the city walls, young children fall victim to murders and massacres of unknown nature. From Rojin Kabaiş to Gülistan Doku, many young women are disappeared and made unsolved.”
Koçyiğit expressed their opposition to the targeting of LGBTI+'s with the following words:
“In a place where such violence against women covers all areas of life, calling the Istanbul Convention “perversion” and expressing this by targeting LGBT+ people is not an attitude that fits neither humanity nor conscience; we never, ever accept this attitude, especially in Parliament.”
Stating that the Istanbul Convention is “a right won with women's lives and blood”, Koçyiğit said, “The Istanbul Convention keeps women alive. We women will continue to fight everywhere for the re-enactment of that convention.”
Tags: human rights, women, media, family
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