Massive police campaign: Over 50 arrests at Pride demo in Istanbul!
Massive police campaign: Over 50 arrests at Pride demo in Istanbul!
The Pride Parade in Istanbul, which has been banned by the authorities for years, has again triggered a controversial discussion 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, such as Kleine Zeitung.at reported.
The governor of Istanbul, Davut Gül, had previously announced that all meetings that are considered to be a threat to public order would not be tolerated. In his explanation, he pointed out that events that "undermine social peace, family structure and moral values" were prohibited. This government's philosophical attitude is reflected in the broad homophobia that prevails in the country, even if homosexuality is officially not punishable.
protests despite the prohibition
Despite these restrictive measures, hundreds of people and protested on the Asian side of Istanbul with rainbow flags to demonstrate for the rights of LGBTQ persons. The police had set up large-scale roadblocks in advance, which among other things interrupted metro connections to the central Taksim-Platz. According to reports, the activists' march remained peaceful for nine minutes before the police began to seal off the area and violently dissolve the Demonstration. Participants reported excessive police violence, even while the demonstration went without any significant clashes, such as tagesschau.de.The Istanbul police not only carried out any detections, but also searched the streets for the protesters in order to prevent a repeated meeting. The organizers had already supported various media in the past by announcing that they would not be prevented from working on their rights by the police and forbidden.
a historical context
In the past, the Pride parade in Istanbul attracted over 100,000 participants before it was banned by the authorities in recent years, most recently in 2023. The Taksim-Platz is not only a symbol of the LGBTQ fight, but was also the central place for mass protests against the Turkish government in 2013. Gül had given the security of the event as the reason for the cancellation, which Deutschlandfunk.de further explained. The government has increased the LGBTQ community in recent years, whereby President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described them as "perverse".
In summary, it can be said that the protests in Istanbul again show how strongly the LGBTQ community is fighting against social and political discrimination in Turkey, despite the constant repression by the state.| Details | |
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| Ort | Taksim-Platz, Istanbul, Türkei |
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