A gay pride march in Istanbul, Turkey was interrupted when police began to spray teargas on participants.
CNN reported that marchers near Taksim Square had been told that they couldn’t have the parade because it interfered with Ramadan, despite the fact that the march took place near the beginning during a previous year. The parade has been held for 13 years in Turkey.
Some participants tried to talk to police to get them to let them continue to march while others held peaceful protests while celebrating.
One Transgender activitist, Ruzgar Buski, attributed the breakup to the recent vote of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the Justice and Development party. He had won their vote, but lost the majority they needed for rule.
Buski said that the breakup is because “they realize the power of the LGBTI.” In addition, Buzki added, “Erdogan’s government has lost their power and they know the LGBTI community stands with other minorities.”
BBC News reported that witnesses stated the police made their move when banners were shown to say that Erdogan’s government was fascist.
The Associated Press reported the march continued a few blocks away without any issues and eventually grew to include thousands of people in the march.