Thursday, August 18, 2011

A critical moment for the LGBT community in Turkey

A critical moment for Turkey’s LGBT community
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Posted on 18 Aug 2011 at 3:20pm
Amnesty International pushes for much-needed protections in new constitution — and you can help

The upheavals of autocratic governments that started in North Africa and spread eastward into Asia have been — and are still being — well documented.

One nation about which we have heard less is Turkey. But that may soon change.

On July 29 The New York Times reported: “Turkey’s top military commanders resigned en masse on Friday.” This is perhaps the most surprising event since Gen. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk assumed power in 1923 and began converting Turkey into a secular state. Politicos quoted in the Times suggested the mass resignation was a last-ditch effort by the military to regain the power it has lost over recent years. Most thought the generals’ Hail Mary pass would fail.

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