LGBTIQ raids in Turkey: Repression as an indicator of the dismantling of democracy

Homosexuality is prosecuted more or less drastically in most Islamic countries. In Iran, for example, gays face the death penalty. Things haven't gotten that far in secular Türkiye yet. But secularity is eroding to the same extent as the democracy that made the pluralistic state possible. Homosexuality is not yet banned, but today's Türkiye is deliberately depriving the LGBTIQ+ community of breathing space. The mass arrests in the queer community are strategy.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been in power for almost 25 years. During this time, Turkey has changed dramatically. Just over ten years ago there were pride parades in Istanbul with tens of thousands of participants. And in 2019, the opposition politician Ekrem İmamoğlu managed to take the most important metropolis of Istanbul from Erdoğan and his AKP in democratic elections. Both are no longer conceivable today. Pride parades are banned and İmamoğlu has been in prison for over a year and has to accept one absurd verdict after another.

If tolerance towards minorities is a measure of a government's democratic spirit, the ever-increasing repression against the queer community in Turkey shows how little of this remains in the Erdoğan government. The secular opposition is trying to defend itself and even goes on the offensive at times, but Erdoğan's power structures are so massive that they have so far crushed any resistance. Democracy, minority protection and constitutional procedures have degenerated into a farce in Türkiye. The hope of ending Erdoğan's regime through elections is vanishingly small.

The taz is an independent, left-wing and opinionated daily newspaper. We have been arguing in our comments, essays and debate texts since the taz was founded in 1979. We often cannot and do not want to agree on an opinion. That's why you'll find some completely opposing positions here - all part of the very broad left-wing spectrum of opinions.

As the crowning achievement of his reign, Erdoğan wants to implement a new constitution. The secular republic is to become an authoritarian Islamic state. The recently concluded military pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan shows where the journey is headed.