By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East
ANKARA, Turkey – On May 29, a Turkish court ordered Lambda Istanbul, a gay association, to close, ruling that it violated public morality and family norms. The government prosecutor said that Lambda Istanbul violated a constitutional provision on the protection of the family and an article banning bodies “with objectives that violate law and morality.”
The full name of the group is Lambda Istanbul Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transvestites Solidarity Association. The alleged breach of morality and family norms occurred when Lambda refused to remove the words describing the sexual orientation or identities of the group’s members.
A member of the association, Baran Ergenc, said “If we take out the words of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transvestites then it is not an association for them.” “The court found the association’s name in violation of public morality.”
Lambda’s lawyer, Firat Soyle stated, “This is a mistake and we hope that the Appeals Court will correct it.” According to Ergenc, the group is determined to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if Turkey’s Appeals Court upholds the decision by the local court in Istanbul.
For more information, please see:
AFP – Turkish Court Slaps Ban on Homosexual Group – 30 May 2008
BBC – Turkish Gay Group Will Fight Ban – 30 May 2008
FOXNews – Turkish Court Rules Gay Group Violates Public Morality – 30 May 2008
——
GAZA CITY, Gaza – Desmond Tutu, ending a three day fact-finding mission in Gaza, called the Israeli blockade an “abomination.” Tutu traveled to Gaza on a UN fact-finding mission into the 2006 killing of 19 Palestinian civilians in Beit Hanoun by an Israeli artillery attack.
Tutu denounced international inaction to stop the Israeli blockade of Gaza. “My message to the international community is that our silence and complicity, especially on the situation in Gaza, shames us all… Gaza needs the engagement of the outside world, especially its peacemakers.”
British professor Christine Chinkin, traveling with Tutu, stated, “I think what we’ve seen shows plenty of evidence of at least the possibility of war crimes that needs much further independent investigation… I would certainly say the concept of collective punishment in a situation of occupation constitutes the notion of war crimes and possibly of a crime against humanity.”
For more information, please see:
AFP – Tutu Blasts International ‘Complicity’ Over Gaza – 29 May 2008
BBC – Tutu: Gaza Blockade Abomination – 29 May 2008
Reuters – UN Envoy Tutu Calls Gaza Blockade Illegal – 29 May 2008
——
BEIRUT, Lebanon – On May 25, General Michel Suleiman was elected to be the next president of Lebanon. He won the votes of 118 MPs in the 128-seat parliament. In an address to the parliament following his election, Suleiman stated, “I call on you all, political forces and citizens, to build a Lebanon we all agree upon, setting the interests of Lebanon above our individual interests.”
Even though the parliament agreed to elect Suleiman as the next President of Lebanon, the parliament still delayed 19 times. The delays resulted from disagreements between the March 14 majority and the Shia minority faction led by Hezbollah. The May 25 election occurred as part of the Doha agreement.
Following the election, the March 14 majority unanimously nominated Fouad Siniora to return as the Lebanese Prime Minister. On May 29, President Suleiman appointed Siniora as Prime Minister and asked him to form a government.
For more information, please see:
The Daily Star – Some analysts see Doha as Stopgap solution to Lebanon’s Crisis– 28 May 2008
International Herald Tribune – Lebanon’s Sinora Set to Lead New Government – 27 May 2008
Ya Lebanon – Hollow Victory to Lebanon – 27 May 2008
(London) Times – Gunfire Welcomes Lebanon’s New Leader, General Michel Suleiman – 26 May 2008
