Massive police operation: Over 50 arrests at Pride demonstration in Istanbul!

Massive police operation: Over 50 arrests at Pride demonstration in Istanbul!

The Pride parade in Istanbul, which has been banned by the authorities for years, has once again sparked a controversial confrontation between activists and the police. The event, which traditionally attracts many participants, also took place this year despite a ban - with more than 50 arrests, as kleinezeitung.at reports.

Istanbul Governor Davut Gül had previously announced that any gatherings considered a threat to public order would not be tolerated. In his statement, he pointed out that events that “undermine social peace, family structure and moral values” were prohibited. This philosophical stance of the government is reflected in the widespread homophobia that prevails in the country, even though homosexuality is not officially a criminal offense.

Protests despite ban

Despite these restrictive measures, hundreds of people gathered and protested on the Asian side of Istanbul with rainbow flags to demonstrate for the rights of LGBTQ people. The police had set up large roadblocks in advance, which, among other things, interrupted metro connections to the central Taksim Square. The activists' march reportedly remained peaceful for nine minutes before police began cordoning off the area and violently breaking up the demonstration. Participants reported excessive police violence, even while the demonstration passed without significant clashes, as tagesschau.de notes.

Istanbul police not only made heavy-handed arrests, but also searched the streets for the protesters in an attempt to prevent a repeat gathering. Various media outlets had already supported the organizers in the past by announcing that they would not let police and bans stop them from standing up for their rights.

A historical context

In the past, Istanbul's Pride parade attracted over 100,000 participants before authorities banned it in recent years, most recently in 2023. Taksim Square is not only a symbol of the LGBTQ struggle, but was also the central location for mass protests against the Turkish government in 2013. Gül had cited the security of the event as the reason for the cancellation, which deutschlandfunk.de explains further. The government has made increasingly negative comments about the LGBTQ community in recent years, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling them “perverts.”

In summary, the protests in Istanbul once again show how strongly the LGBTQ community in Turkey is fighting against social and political discrimination, despite ongoing repression by the state.