ISTANBUL — As dusk approached on Sunday, the streets filled with smiling faces that sparkled with glitter, along with ululating pop music and drums. All around, rainbow flags fluttered in the sky as the crowd gathered. “Don’t be quiet, don’t shut up, shout, homosexuals exist,” they shouted
On both sides of the peaceful, joyful crowd stood lines of police in riot gear, waiting with their shields add batons, the tension building.
An estimated 1,000 protesters advocating gay rights clashed with Turkish security forces in Istanbul in an attempt to defy a ban on the annual LGBT Pride Parade.
At least 11 people were reported arrested, according to lawyers and activists, as police fired teargas along the city’s most famous commercial street. The police also fired rubber bullets, according to The Times of Israel and ITV News.
The protesters could claim a measure of victory. Thanks to negotiations between organizers and police, protesters could gather on a side-street, waving rainbow flags and chanting, even as they were barred from marching.
“This is the fourth year we are getting banned and attacked from the police,” said Hakan, a 27-year-old employee of an aid organization who asked that his last name not be published.
“Being LGBTI is getting harder. We are part of the society and we are here saying we want rights like all minorities. But today, they don’t even let us enter the street because of the way look and because we are carrying rainbow flags. We are saying we are here, we are part of the community, and we are queer.” Read more via Daily Beast
The brutality I witnessed in Istanbul proves we must protect LGBT rights everywhere
Yuri Guaiana. Senior campaigns manager with the global LGBTI+ rights group All Out
Istanbul Pride March took place on July 1, against a ban imposed the previous Friday under the ongoing state of emergency declared on July 20, 2016. This was also five days after a coup attempt, and it has been constantly extended since then.
Despite hundreds of heavily armed police and dozens of amoured vehicles equipped with water cannons, crowds came out to celebrate Istanbul Pride and outwitted the authorities. But it was like celebrating Pride in a cage, since the police cordoned us all in the short and narrow Mis street, in the European district.
After a last-minute agreement with the police, the organisers had been allowed to read a statement to around 100 people. Many more came to celebrate who they are and who they love with dignity and pride. Right before the attacks, I put out live video updates from on the ground in Istanbul on All Out’s Facebook page. You can see for yourself how precious Istanbul Pride is to the community here. Read more via Metro