Istanbul Pride Held in Defiance of Turkish Government

Over 100 people attended Istanbul Pride on Sunday, June 30 in defiance of a statement from the governor’s office last month that would not allow “various illegal groups” to hold the unauthorized gathering.

Pride in Turkey has been banned since 2015, but gatherings have still continued annually at Taksim Square and Istiklal Avenue. The government has cited “security and public sensitivities” as the reason for the blanket ban on Pride celebrations.

Taksim and Istiklal have been fenced off to discourage events from being held there. This year, Pride attendees opted for Istanbul’s Suadiye neighborhood across town to host this year’s festivities, which have taken place annually since 2003.

The celebration was not without incident, though. ABC News reports the Istanbul Pride Committee heard “unconfirmed reports” of at least 15 detainments. However, photos and videos were still uploaded to X showcasing celebration, waving flags, and displaying protest signs. Istanbul Pride uploaded a defiant press release:

“Get used to it. We are everywhere.”

The statement from Istanbul Pride concludes with a message for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan:

“Know this, 12th President, who made us a target in his victory speech: Your organized family gatherings, your divisive politics won’t work on us. We won’t leave the streets, politics, or our lives to you.”

Turkey’s President incited fear in the LGBTQ+ community after a hostile campaign in which he vowed to “protect traditional family values” and attacked “perverse” LGBT groups. Erdoğan has previously stated that he does not “recognize LGBT.” He is reported as saying, “We will dry the roots of sneaky acts aiming to destroy our family institution by supporting perverse political, social, and individual trends.”

While homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, there is state-enforced censorship with very few legal protections for LGBTQ+ Turkish citizens. The government has taken a harsh approach towards groups that do not reflect its religiously conservative values and has offered zero tolerance toward dissent.

This is not the first time that Istanbul Pride has taken place in defiance of this censorship. In May 2019, Amnesty International condemned violence against students hosting a pride march. Police reportedly weaponized pepper spray, rubber bullets, and tear gas against the students, 25 of whom were detained.

Again in June 2019, the annual Pride march was held, where police deployed tear gas to disperse attendees and were armed with a water cannon as backup. The crowds shouted back “Shoulder to shoulder against fascism,” and “We will not be quiet.”

In 2018, Pride attendees stood before police and read aloud a press release stating, “We do not recognize this ban,” calling the Governor’s ban on the event “comical.” Police ordered the crowd to disperse with threats of intervention, once again armed with water cannons and patrol dogs. Tear gas was used on groups seen elsewhere.

Istanbul Pride once was a major event, drawing in over 100,000 people in 2014. While numbers have certainly dwindled, it can be expected that Pride is not going anywhere in Turkey. Supporters remain resolute in their stance.