Pride Week events banned in Turkey

Pride week events have been banned in major cities by Turkish authorities. Two district governorships in Istanbul released identical statements, basing the ban on the same article of a law on mass meetings, legislated in the aftermath of the 1980 military coup in Turkey.

The article says that the governor of a province or district have the authority to ban mass meetings in case these might lead to ‘serious public disorder’, or to ‘violation of requirements of national security’, or to actions ‘aiming to destroy the fundamental qualities of the Republic’, and to ‘protect the integrity of the state and the nation, the public morality, or the public health’.

The bans followed in Eskişehir, a university city with over 12% of its population consisting of university students, and in Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey.

The governorship of Eskişehir said on Friday that it issued its ban to prevent ‘provocations’, as ‘such events that contradicted the public morality could cause reactions, and some reactions have already been expressed against radical individuals and groups calling for participation in such events’.

The governorship of Izmir also claimed that the ban was to prevent provocations, as such events were likely to ‘create outrage among citizens due to social sensitivities.’

A member of the Istanbul LGBTI Pride Week committee said to Euronews that they will be out in the street on Sunday despite the bans.

Es Yılmaz said:

“We will not be intimidated. Our calls are clear. We will continue with our activities in secure areas (…) We declare that we refuse to surrender the streets. We’ll be there despite the bans and the calls by Islamist groups. Our insistence on the Pride Week is insistence on our own existence.”

The Twitter account of a certain ‘Movement for the defence of Islam’, with 77,000 followers, called for a vigil against Pride Week events, saying:

“Protect your family, your generation and your city. Say NO to perversion! This is a call for a vigil against perverts.”

Dunja Mijatovic, Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, reacted to bans:

“I urge Istanbul authorities to repeal Istanbul Pride latest ban & ensure the safety & the right to peaceful assembly of marchers. The humanrights of LGBTI people in Turkey need to be effectively protected, as stated in my 2021 letter.”