Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech at the Extraordinary Congress of his ruling AK Party in Ankara, Turkey October 7, 2023.
Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsANKARA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he did not "recognise LGBT" and vowed to combat "perverse" trends which he said aimed to destroy the institution of family in the country.
Turkey's government, led by Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party, has toughened its stance on LGBTQ freedoms in recent months, particularly while campaigning for this year's elections in May.
We are members of a structure that holds the institution of family solid, that strongly embraces the family institution," he said.
"We will dry the roots of sneaky acts aiming to destroy our family institution by supporting perverse political, social and individual trends," he told tens of thousands of flag-waving and chanting supporters.
Persons:
Tayyip Erdogan, Murat Cetinmuhurdar, Erdogan, Jan Harvey
Organizations:
AK Party, Turkish Presidential Press, REUTERS, Rights, AK, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson
Locations:
Ankara, Turkey, Rights ANKARA, New York