Turkish police have detained more than 100 people at an anti-NATO protest ahead of a summit in Ankara. The action was organized by the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP).
Reuters reports this.
The NATO summit will be held on July 7-8, with the participation of leaders of 32 Alliance member countries and representatives of partner states. On the eve, the authorities banned demonstrations, blocked some roads and set up barriers in many areas of the capital.
The rally was held in the central square of Kyzylay. The party said that more than 100 of its members, including leaders, were among those detained. Video from the scene shows protesters chanting "NATO is a murderer, get out of the country" and "NATO will not pass". Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Separate protests also took place in Istanbul. Hundreds of people marched from Taksim Square to Dolmabahçe, and two more demonstrations by left-wing organizations took place in the Kadıköy district. Despite the large number of law enforcement officers, no clashes were recorded there.
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey Kemal Okuyan said the protesters wanted to demonstrate their opposition to the NATO summit in Ankara.
"We said we would not hand Ankara over to NATO supporters and would not let it remain silent. We have fulfilled this promise," he said.
- The events came amid a wave of anti-terrorist raids across the country. Last month, 225 people were detained in Ankara, 103 of whom were arrested. The opposition criticized the move. The co-chair of the pro-Kurdish DEM party Tuncer Bakirhan said the authorities were using the NATO summit as a pretext to restrict civil liberties.
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