(Nicosia, 02/11/16) The attack to the “Aunt Mediha, I’m gay” and “Uncle Kamil, I’m a lesbian” billboards in Nicosia, Kyrenia, Famagusta, Iskele and Karpasia are unacceptable.
In the scope of the 2014 dated changes to the Penal Code, it is illegal to psychologically or physically discriminate gay, bisexual and trans individuals in our country. Queer Cyprus has been working since 2007 to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex individuals exercise equal rights and live in our society without facing any discrimination just like any other individual. One of the projects that the association has been working on is the Unspoken Project.
The two-year Unspoken Project being carried out by CCMC, Queer Cyprus Association and Thomson Foundation began in November 2016 and aims to strengthen the dialogue on LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex) rights in the Turkish Cypriot Community.
Within the scope of the awareness project, billboards with the expressions “Aunt Mediha, I’m gay” and “Uncle Kamil, I’m a lesbian” were placed in various parts of Kyrenia, Famagusta, Nicosia, Iskele, Lefke and Karpasia. These billboards were placed in order to increase the unspoken and ignored LGBTI’s and to produce safe spaces. However, the billboards placed in Iskele were taken down by the municipality without providing any explanation to our association or the authorized company. Additionally, the billboards placed on the Kyrenia-Nicosia highway were attacked by unknown individual/individuals.
Sabotages towards significant steps for creating a future in which people live in harmony with their diversities are unacceptable. We would like to announce that we condemn all individuals and institutions that display hate-based physical and psychological violence and homophobic behaviour, and that we will be taking legal action.
Queer Cyprus Association Administrative Board
Comments are closed