Announcements
1 Million People Said "No!" in İzmir
People opposing Aliaga thermal power plants gathered together and said “Extinguish the fire of Thermal, light the fire of Hıdırellez”
Turkey In Top Five of RSF “Journalists in Jail” List!
According to RSF report, Turkey is one of the top-five countries ranked in "the countries with the most journalists in jail”.
The Mayor of Ankara, Melih Gökçek Openly Discriminates Against LGBT People!
LGBT organizations responded to the discriminatory statement of the Mayor of Ankara, Melih Gökçek.
4+4+4 Makes 20.7 Billion Liras at Least
A study of the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey revealed that the new 4+4+4 education model will cost at least TL 20.7 billion. KESK and Eğitim Sen protest against the draft bill in Ankara on 28/29 March despite a lack of permission.
Turkey Human Rights Institute Must be Autonomous
Five human rights organizations criticized the draft bill regarding the Law on the Human Rights Institute of Turkey submitted to parliament. They stressed that a human rights institute formed without the contribution of the civil society and controlled by the state was meaningless.
ECHR Upheld Decision on Roma Book and Dictionaries
The European Court of Human Rights upheld the decision that the book "Gypsies in Turkey" did not constitute a violation of the right to respect for private and family life. Mustafa Aksu had previously appealed the decision on behalf of the Roma Associations
"Laughable" Internet Bans
Reporters Without Borders criticized the application of the internet filtering system in Turkey and also the access bans to many sites. Even though the list of banned words was described as "laughable" it still constitutes a restriction of freedoms, RSF warned.
Women Stake Their Claims on International Women's Day
Thousands of women took the streets of Istanbul on the International Women's Day meeting to call for the end of violence against women, for making their labour visible and to give an end to taking women into custody and arrest.
Monster dam will swallow an area that meets nine out of 10 UNESCO criteria for World Heritage List
14th March, Hasankeyf, Turkey – Close to 70% of Hasankeyf residents interviewed in a survey (1) by expert Ebru Isikli say they do not want to move to the new village the Turkish government is building to replace their 11,000-year old town in ancient Mesopotomia that would be flooded on completion of the Ilisu Dam on the Tigris River.
Sex Workers Demonstrate in Ankara
On 3 March, the International Sex Worker Rights Day, sex workers in Ankara raised their voices against police violence and demanded, "Hands off my body".