While London Pride was a beacon of hope and light amidst a weekend of Brexit and political upheaval, Istanbul Pride was another story with rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas used against activists.
The annual event, which started in 2003 with only 30 people in attendance has expanded exponentially, with 100,000 attending in 2013. And was banned this year by the government, who cited a desire to ‘safeguard security and public order’ after a string of bombings around the country the last year. Despite this, 2-300 young LGBT activists attended on Sunday despite the ban.
The police heavily outnumbered those in attendance. Activists gathered in small groups around the centre of Istanbul instead of doing one group march to avoid the police as well as an ultra-nationalist who were also present.
The Telegraph reported a young activist, with rainbows painted on her face, saying ‘we’re protesting spread-out because the police are everywhere and blocking everything.’
Another young activist, Irem, was quoted saying ‘what bothers the government is the visibility of the LGBT community…but love will win I’m sure of it.’
In the end, police fired tear gas into the crows to disperse thw crowds, and 19 protesters were detained by the police, including a German MP who is also a member of the european parliament.
Belonging to the LGBT community in Turkey is not illegal but still very much taboo and discriminated against.
The protesters did stay visible and looking at social media it seems love and solidarity did win,
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.