Istanbul Gay Pride: my diary of a powerful LGBT civil rights march

Last year Istanbul Pride was violently dispersed. This year it was banned altogether.

I dedicate this post to all the activists who struggle for human rights in Turkey. In solidarity with LGBT people in Istanbul.

I was lucky enough to be in Istanbul on 29 June 2014, with my Armenian friends. We witnessed and participated in perhaps the biggest and unfortunately the last peaceful Pride event happened there.

It was a great inspirational Pride event, a powerful civil rights march. Very political. Very colourful. Very diverse. Like in previous years, there was an abundance of posters in Armenian too.

There was police presence there too, but in contrast to last two years, police was there to protect, not to attack.

Participants of the march were quite critical against increasingly autocratic Erdogan rule. I witnessed quite a few anti-Erdogan messages, slogans and anti-Erdogan mocking during the march. No surprises that Turkey president Erdogan could not bear such displays of freedom, and started crackdown on Istanbul Pride using the full force of his repressive regime.

Below is my photo story from June 2014. I highly recommend Adrineh’s blog post reflecting the event too: A World of Pride or More Like Hüzün?

[...] I was lucky this year to be in Istanbul for gay pride. It was my first time in the city that is so close to Yerevan and yet so far. My girlfriend and I, along with a couple of our gay Armenian friends, planned a short, four-day visit not only to see the city, but also to be there for the pride march. Because unlike other cities where I’ve been that celebrate Pride (Toronto, Montréal, New York, Reykjavik, Dublin), it wasn’t a parade but a march. And there’s a clear difference between the two.

It reminded me of the origins of Pride, of what was fought for and what was gained. And it reminded me of how far we still have to go. […]

Just thousands and thousands of people of all stripes marching, holding signs in Armenian and Turkish (probably in Kurdish too) and so many rainbow flags. […]

And the music that stayed with me the most was the beat of the drums. Men and woman playing various types of drums at different points in the march. This is the sound of a struggle, and this is how you know that what we saw, what we were swept up in (my gay Armenian friends and I) was a march for human rights. [...]

It is therefore with great sadness I note how quickly and to what a devastating effect the situation with human rights has been deteriorated in Turkey, with each passing day under the Erdogan rule.

And after-party:

***
See also Rainbow Istanbul, with Armenian touch

Armenian parents who support their LGBT children after coming out

I wish one day we will have similar to Istanbul’s LISTAG (Families of LGBT in Istanbul) organisation in Armenia and Diaspora, and we will see parents of LGBT Armenians publicly sharing their personal stories, challenging prevalent homophobic status quo and providing support to family and friends of other LGBT individuals.

In the meantime, great to read about Armenian parents who support their children after coming out. I want to hear and read more such stories which will help and inspire others.

This line sums up the situation perfectly: “It was not Ara’s sexual orientation that his mother was concerned about when he came out to her at the age of 21, but rather the very homophobic society they lived in.” […] Says Ara's mother: “support is the biggest gift a parent can give to their child.”

Արայի մայրն իմանալով, որ որդին գեյ է անհանգստացել էր ոչ թե որդու սեռական կողմնորոշումից, այլ որ զավակն ապրում է չափազանց հոմոֆոբ հասարակությունում, ինչը կարող է վնասել իր տղային: «Աջակցել, աջակցել, աջակցել, աջակցել, աջակցել, աջակցել»,- ասում է Արայի մայրը, -«աջակցությունն ամենամեծ նվերն է, որ ծնողը կարող է տալ իր երեխային»:

Read stories of David, Diana and Ara and their accepting parents in As You magazine (Armenian, English):

Rainbow Istanbul, with Armenian touch

Istanbul is such a contradictory city. Being part of Turkey where homophobia, hate crime and other (not only LGBT-related) human rights violations are widespread, while having openly rainbow signs, not to mention the annual gay pride march. Interlinked signs of modernity and conservatism, all in one place, a step away from each other.

When in Istanbul last June to participate in a gay pride march and to meet friends, I started noticing rainbow flags and rainbow signs in various parts of the city, and decided to make pictures of them whenever I notice.

These pics are made in the streets of Istanbul, when passing by stores, shops, bars, visiting art galleries or using metro, in mainly unexpected places.

One of the interesting  - but expected, as I learned about it before traveling to Istanbul - art related rainbow displays came in a form of “Rainbow” installation at the Istanbul Modern by Turkish-Armenian artist Sarkis Zabunyan, better known as Sarkis. While not directly LGBT-linked, I view it as part of the overall experience.

[…] the installation “Rainbow” was produced in neon and measures 7.5 meters in height and 15 meters in width. Showing a rainbow in the process of forming, the installation “Rainbow” will illuminate art and museum visitors for 365 days. “Rainbow” reminds us of the states of becoming of art as a never-ending field of thought and action. It symbolizes the endless rhythm, excitement, and joys of life. 

Sarkis defines his installation as a “rainbow gaining momentum toward the Big Bang” and adds: “Rainbow should be regarded as a miracle. Art is always about new beginnings; there are references, but in the process of creating, all of these references disappear, giving way to fresh ideas.”