Rainbow Trial: “We will shine in all our colors!”

Twelve students were put on trial for displaying rainbow flags as a sign of the LGBTI+ movement’s participation in protests at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul on Thursday. The jury court decided to partially lift the registration requirements for the students, but the ban on them leaving Turkey remains in place. The students’ lawyer, Levent Pişkin, said, “The judicial control measures, which have been in effect for four months, have taken on the character of a punishment. We demand the immediate lifting of the measures.” The next day of the trial is scheduled for June 28.

“Your repression has failed”

Before the hearing took place in Istanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse, the Boğaziçi Solidarity Platform issued a press statement and said, “Our protests here in front of the court, are not the first nor will they be the last. We know this, but we still shout it out loud that we will never step back from defending our right to exist, not even for one day.”

The platform emphasized that “LGBTI+ activists are one of the groups that have supported the struggle since the first day of the Boğaziçi resistance and have faced the most attacks throughout the protests. We as LGBTI+ have shown time and again that the repression against us has failed; however, it has made sure to unite us even more instead of dividing us.”

“You have to get used to us”

Referring to the closure of the LGBTI+ Studies Club (BÜLGBTI+) after the appointment of Melih Bulu as the rector, the platform stated, “You thought that you closed our club, but we answered: Every club is BÜLGBTI+. While you attacked our flags with your media that you use to suffocate the country, we decorated the squares and streets with our colors. While you targeted our Pride marches, we stood up to you during our Pride week to shout that we are not afraid of your attacks.

You tried to prevent us from exercising our right to protest, through the bans imposed by the district office day before; but as you see, we are here again. You will have to get used to our existence, you will have to accept it, because we are here and we are not going anywhere.”

“We will defend our existence”

The statement continued: “Who can claim that we have the right to life in this country where attempts are made to criminalize the LGBTI+ as they take to the streets and display the rainbow flag in the face of centuries of persecution. The LGBTI+ community continues to exist and has defended its existence against the forces that seek to crush it at every opportunity.”

“You cannot erase the rainbow”

In reference to the proceedings, the students stated, “We are here today to proclaim that our friends who were illegally arrested outside our campus for holding a rainbow flag will never be alone.

You cannot stop us from being ourselves even for one day. No cloud, no wind and no fascist dictatorship can manage to erase the rainbow from the sky. We will continue to shine with all our colors and drown the darkness that you want to bring upon us. Our existence cannot be banned, LGBTI+ cannot be silenced, and the rainbow cannot be banned.”