NEWS

TURKEY ‘Race code’ to be abolished in education

The procedure of investigating the ‘race code’ of students in state records for students applying to non-Muslim schools is to be abolished. A public mandate has been prepared to end the procedure that received a very strong reaction. According to the public mandate that will be published in the Official Gazette in the coming days, headmasters will have the authority over school registrations. Schools will now also have the right to recommend teachers of cultural courses in Turkish to the Ministry of National Education.
ARMENIA Armenia: LGBTI community forced to conceal identity to avoid trouble

Nvard Mafaryan, Pink Armenia Project Coordinator, travelled from Armenia to Istanbul to take part in the panel titled “LGBTI Struggle in Neighbouring Armenia” organized on the occasion of the 23rd LGBTI Pride Week, and spoke to AGOS about the LGBTI community in Armenia that is trying to protect its existence against the homophobia of the State and media, and the intersections between the rights’ struggles in Armenia and Turkey. The conversation then inevitably led to the continuing protests in Yerevan.
TURKEY Mithat Sancar: Tel Abyad is a continuation of Kobani

The victory YPG and Burkan al-Furat won in the Tell Abyad region of Syria has become a topic of broad debate both because of the refuge influx into Turkey, and the heavy defeat suffered by ISIS. We talked with HDP Mardin MP Mithat Sancar, who follows developments in the region closely, about the importance of saving Tell Abyad from ISIS, and the accusations directed at YPG.
TURKEY The secret everyone knows in Diyarbakır

The tension in Diyarbakır has increased once again following first the bombings at a HDP rally, and then the murder of 4 people. Helsinki Citizens Assembly Member Nalan Erkem and Mazlumder Diyarbakır Board Member Reha Ruhavioğlu, who were in the commission that visited the city for observations, have recounted the situation in the city. According to eyewitnesses, a jihadist streak has become more prominent in the region for months, and although everyone including the police has been aware of this, no one has acted to prevent the events.
HUMAN RIGHTS Trans Pride Week begins

The beginning of the 6th Trans Pride Week, which will conclude with a rally in Taksim on June 21 was announced yesterday at a press conference. Speaking at the press conference, Istanbul LGBTI activists said, “We need a law against hate and violence”. The 23rd Istanbul LGBTI Pride Week will begin next Monday.