PM Writes a Letter to Sex Workers before the Elections

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu sent letters to non-governmental organizations and Red Umbrella Sexual Health and Human Rights Association (Kırmızı Şemsiye Derneği) before the re-elections on November 1.

PM’s letter mentions about “the importance Justice and Development Party (AKP) gave to strengthen the cooperation with non-governmental organizations” and the actions performed by AKP since 2002.

President of Red Umbrella Organization, Kemal Ördek, verbalized Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) communicated with him before but he received a letter from AKP for the first time:

 “I think, Prime Minister sent a single letter with the same format and same content to all non-governmental organizations in Turkey. This letter can seem elegant, but a 13-year-old government which hasn’t cared about the human rights of sex workers and LGBTI people in Turkey wasn’t elegant, at all. We know it. Before the elections, similar letters come from different political parties and organizations, already. The important thing is paying attention to receivers ‘politically’ and actualizing the thing written on that letter.

 “AKP hasn’t taken us into consideration, not once. It didn’t hear our requests. On the contrary, they despised sex workers and LGBTI people and they pointed us as a target as you knew before the June 7 general elections. It is nonessential to send letters ‘by courtesy’ while sex workers and LGBTI people are exposed to extreme violence each day, I suppose. I wish they could understand LGBTI people and sex workers sincerely and try to solve our problems and so we can take these letters seriously. Unfortunately, expectation versus reality!” (ÇT/BD)

 Click here to read the article in Turkish