1993. LGBT Pride Conference in Istanbul Banned
The Turkish LGBT human rights movement became more visible during the 1990s. The most notable event was an attempt to organize an LGBT pride conference in Istanbul in 1993.

The pride conference, named the Christopher Street Day Sexual Liberation Activities, was originally scheduled for July 2-6, 1993, but was banned at the last minute by the governor of Istanbul, apparently on the grounds that it would be contrary to Turkey's traditions and moral values and that it might disturb the peace. This was despite the fact that the Interior Ministry had previously provided the organizers approval to conduct the event. The governor allegedly sent his agents to hotels in Istanbul, instructing them not to provide lodgings to the participants. The next day, Turkish authorities detained 28 foreign delegates. At the time of their arrest, most of the detainees were in transit to a press conference in protest of the ban. They were detained for over five hours, threatened with possible strip searches and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests, and deported on a Turkish airliner to Germany.

The most striking result of this event was the immediate establishment of Lambda Istanbul, which, to this day, remains one of the most active LGBT organizations in Turkey. Immediately after the Istanbul city government banned the conference, a group of gays and lesbians, formerly named "Gokkusagi" (Rainbow), renamed themselves as “Lambda Istanbul”. The group’s first activity was to work with other organizations seeking to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Working with Turkey’s AIDS Prevention Society, Lambda Istanbul prepared the first safer sex brochure that directly addressed gay men. Lambda Istanbul became a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) in 1993.

1994. New LGBT Group Forms in Ankara and First Turkish LGBT Magazine Published
In 1994, a group of LGBT people gathered in Ankara to found Kaos GL, a new LGBT group. They also started publishing a magazine (also called Kaos GL) to cover LGBT issues in Turkey. Kaos GL Magazine is still being published as of 2005.

June 1994. New Political Party Addresses Turkish LGBT Community Issues
The Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP), formed in June 1994, became the first legal political party to champion issues concerning the Turkish LGBT community. It also became the first legally recognized political party to specifically ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity at all levels of the organization.

September 1995. LGBT Pride Conference in Istanbul Banned Again
In September 1995, the Istanbul city government halted a second, planned LGBT conference. Lambda Istanbul announced the city government’s anti-democratic actions to the free world through the Internet and Reuters. Despite the Turkish media’s failure to report these developments, the international media did, and the Turkish Ministries of Internal Affairs and Culture received overwhelming national and international protests.

August 1996. The Turkish Supreme Court of Justice Determines Lesbians “Sick”
In June 1996, the Turkish Supreme Court of Justice (Turkey’s highest court) decided that permitting a lesbian mother to raise her child would threaten the moral development of her child. The Court vacated a lower court decision which had granted a lesbian mother the custody of her two-year old daughter. The Supreme Court characterized the mother as, "a woman who has a [sexual] habit in the degree of sickness” and granted the father the custody of the child.

1990s. Dilemma of Turkish Lesbians
In 1990's there were some unsuccessful attempts to establish lesbian organizations, such as Sappho's Girls (Sappho'nun Kizlari) and Sisters of Venus (Venus'un Kizkardesleri). Lesbians in the existing LGBT organizations, at that time, were having problems identifying themselves as part of the wider gay male movement. (see “Part 7- Problems of Lesbians in Turkey”)

1996. Repression Against Transgendered People Intensifies
Being highly visible, Turkish transgendered people continued to be severely persecuted. Just before the 1996 United Nations Human Settlements Program (HABITAT) conference was to be held in Istanbul, transgendered people who had been living in the Ulker Street area, in the Cihangir district of Istanbul, were driven from their homes. They were arrested and subjected to violence and torture. (see “Part 5 – Two Cases Regarding the Transgenders” in Turkey)

1996. Lambda Istanbul Broadcasts First LGBT Radio Show and Publishes Magazines
In 1996, Lambda Istanbul began a radio program through Open Radio (Acik Radyo), as well as two magazines, to serve the Turkish LGBT community. While the radio program lasted almost two years, the magazines, 100% GL and Cins (Gender), were discontinued.

1996. First Turkish Student LGBT Group Formed
LEGATO is a LGBT association that aims to bring together LGBT Turkish university students, graduates, and academicians. The first LEGATO branch was formed at the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara in 1996. Within a few years, branches spread to almost all universities in Turkey. By 2000, LEGATO had become one of the most important and active LGBT organizations in Turkey, with its continually raising membership reaching 2,000. While LEGATO groups are mostly active on-line, some groups also gather in their respective universities.

April 1997. First LGBT Organization Participates at Government Level
Two members from Lambda Istanbul were invited to participate in the National Congress on AIDS, held in Ankara in April 1997. This was the first time that a Turkish LGBT organization was officially represented at the government level.

June 1997. Turkish Transgender Activist Receives Award
On June 2, 1997, Demet Demir, a transsexual woman and the first person ever considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International because of sexual orientation and gender identity, was given the 1997 Felipa de Souza Award for exemplary service to her community by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). Ms. Demir is from the Cihangir district of Istanbul and has worked on behalf of lesbians, gays, transvestites, transsexuals, and sex workers throughout Turkey. She has been imprisoned numerous times, tortured, has had her home broken into and her telephone cables cut in efforts to silence her.

In 2005, Ms. Demir continues to work in collaboration with various non-governmental organizations for equal rights for sexual minorities. She is very active at the Lambda Istanbul organization.

1998-Present. Semiannual National LGBT Meetings Held
Since 1998, Turkish LGBT groups have been holding semiannual meetings, one in Ankara in the spring (Bahar Ankara), and the other in Istanbul in the fall (Guztanbul). The purpose of these meetings is to assess and solve the issues confronting the Turkish LGBT community. Since 2002, participants have also included family members and supporters of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people.

February 1999. First Transgendered Person Runs for Local Elections in Istanbul
Demet Demir (see above-June 1997), running as a member of the Freedom and Solidarity Party's (ÖDP) Beyoglu district organization, became the first transgendered candidate for the February local council elections in Istanbul.