Dozens detained in anti-NATO protest in Ankara
At least 75 people were detained on the first day of the NATO leaders summit in the capital city of Ankara during a protest against the gathering.
The No to NATO Coordination, formed by various leftist and socialist parties, gathered at Kurtuluş Park in the Çankaya district. The group included MPs from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, Labour Party (EMEP) Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP).
While protesters chanted "NATO get out, this country is ours," police surrounded the group and subsequently detained the participants excluding MPs.
The Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) announced that in addition to those detained at the park, 22 student members of TİP who gathered on Libya Street and marched toward Kurtuluş Park were also detained under mistreatment.
According to ANKA news agency, police also dispersed a march organized by Halkevleri on Dikmen Street and detained several individuals from the group.
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Authorities launched a crackdown head of the summit starting in late June, particularly in Ankara, and nearly 200 people, including leftist group members, academics, activists, environmentalists, and journalists, were arrested on "terrorism" grounds.
Also, severe movement restrictions are being implemented in the capital due to the summit, where 40,000 law enforcement officers are on duty. Some roads are closed to traffic entirely, while others are shut during the passage of convoys carrying delegations from 32 countries attending the summit.
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‘Stop arms race’
Following the detentions, lawmakers made statements to condemn the police response.
Workers’ Party of Turkey Chairperson Erkan Baş stated that the government has kept Ankara under blockade for days. "They are detaining and arresting our friends, but they cannot block the voices against imperialism, NATO, and its domestic collaborators in this country. Today, we showed once again that these voices cannot be blocked," Baş said.
Stating that the police intervened not only against the demonstrators but also against the members of the press covering the protests, Baş said, "As if surrounding the citizens gathered here with a blockade, clubbing people, and beating people were not enough, they are also shamelessly intervening against media workers."
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EMEP Lawmaker Sevda Karaca, speaking on behalf of the coordination, called for an end to the global arms race, which she described as preparation for a new war of redivision. "The massive budgets transferred to armaments by cutting from the most basic needs of the working people, from education to health, housing to social rights, must be ended," she said.
Demanding the release of those arrested in the crackdowns, Karara said, "Opposing NATO and imperialism is not a crime. Hundreds of our socialist, revolutionary, progressive, and democratic comrades arrested in İstanbul, Ankara, and across the country must be released immediately."
Perihan Koca, a member of the Social Freedom Party (TÖP) and a DEM Party lawmaker, said, "Today, we gathered here against the world’s largest criminal organization to march for independence, freedom, and the possibility of a democratic republic."
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(VC/VK)