Turkish police officers with their dogs
Bulent Kilic / AFP / Getty Images
Police in Istanbul, Turkey, are using plastic bullets, dogs, and some type of smoke to disperse people trying to gather for the city's annual pride parade, organizers told BuzzFeed News.
Serdar Ocaksönmez / SPoD
The parade was slated to begin at 5 p.m. local time—an hour later, organizers released a statement saying police were preventing them from gathering and marching.
The parade was banned by Istanbul's city governor, which said in a statement the parade was not permitted because of safety and "public order" concerns.
"Additionally, it’s also seen that there are very serious reactions against this call by different segments of society on social media platforms," the statement read.
Organizers say the parade is being prevented because of pressures from Islamist groups, and that it's a violation of their civil rights.
"Because of the government's phobia against LGBTI+ individuals, they are using the feast as an excuse to ban our democratic rights for marching," said Lara Ozlen, an organizer with Istanbul Pride.
"People cannot gather. Police is attacking," said Ozlen. Activists tried to gather first in Taksim Square, which was cordoned off for Eid celebrations, and then along İstiklal Avenue, one of the city's main thoroughfares.
Organizers said police began ordering anyone identifiably affiliated with LGBTQ groups to move along, before using plastic bullets and dogs to attack people gathering on Mis Sokak, another street. A local LGBTQ rights group, SPoD, also said the police officers were using that type of force.
Ozlen said organizers have confirmed that at least ten people were arrested while trying to gather for Pride—it's unclear if they were charged with any specific crime.
A local news outlet, Dokuz, also reported that police were using dogs to chase down journalists trying to cover the events.
Demonstrators are still trying to march in other parts of the city, according to organizers, who gathered in a side street and read their statement of protest at being prevented from marching.
Istanbul's Pride parade was banned for the first time in 2015, as the ruling Islamist AKP party was elected to power in the secular nation.
In the previous 13 years Istanbul Pride had gained a reputation as the largest celebration of LGBTQ identity in a Muslim-majority country.
Bulent Kilic / AFP / Getty Images
LINK: Read our coverage of last year's Istanbul Pride parade here
LINK: Read our coverage of Pride 2017 in the U.S. here
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