Peace Day marked across Türkiye: Police detain dozens, harass bianet reporter in İstanbul

On Monday, a man whose son was killed during the 2015 conflict was given his remains in a sack. (Photo: MA)

Political parties and rights groups have marked Peace Day, which is celebrated on September 1 in Türkiye.

In İstanbul's Kadıköy, hundreds of people gathered in a demonstration held by the Labor, Peace and Democracy Forces, which consists of several socialist political parties, and other groups, including the Peace Mothers.

The police surrounded the area where the crowd gathered and blocked them from marching along the shoreline. When they insisted on doing so, police used pepper spray on the croawd and detained dozens of people, including members of the Peace Mothers.

The Freedom for Lawyers Association (ÖHD) tweeted that about 100 people were detained in an "arbitrary and illegal attack" by the police.

Photo: Tuğçe Yılmaz/bianet

Police officer harassed bianet reporter

The police was led by Hanifi Zengin, the security branch director at the İstanbul Security Directorate, who is investigated by the General Directorate of Security after a complaint for harassment and ill-treatment of demonstrators and journalists.

bianet reporter Tuğçe Yılmaz, who was following the demonstration in Kadıköy, said she was harassed by a plainclothes police officer. "You squeezed my breast, you harassed me," she said, pointing to the officer. A police chief told her, "You can file a criminal complaint."

Yılmaz later tweeted, "I was both prevented from following the news just as my colleagues, and physically harassed by a police officer."

Sharing a video in another tweet, she wrote, "One of the police officers of those who call women and LGBTI+s 'pervert' and 'immoral' night and day did this."

Sonrası şöyle. Sabah-akşam kadın ve LGBTİ+’ları “sapkın”, “ahlaksız” diye dilinden düşürmeyenlerin polislerinden biri yaptı bunu. https://t.co/yF9o5aXNWP

— Tuğçe Yılmaz (@tucyil) September 1, 2022

HDP rallies

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) held rallies in the Kurdish-majority provinces of Van and Şırnak, with its co-chairs addressing thousands of people in these cities.

Mithat Sancar attended the rally in Silopi, Şırnak, where he told the crowd, "The peoples in Türkiye and everyone who wants democracy and justice must oppose wars. We have to create the largest anti-war alliance."

Criticizing Türkiye's cross-border military activities in Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan, Sancar remarked, "They are preparing for war against the people who live beyond this border, most notably the Kurdish people. The policies of invasion continue in southern Kurdistan.

"The current government wants to expand all of these, so that their order of exploitation continues and all this dirtiness and robbery can be concealed from the people.

"This government is trying to survive with policies of war. This is why we say peoples in Türkiye must oppose wars."

Several HDP deputies, members of the Peace Mothers and the Free Women Movement (TJA) also attended the rally.

Pervin Buldan spoke at the rally in Van, saying, "As long as the HDP exists, it will continue to struggle for peace and justice in this country."

Pervin Buldan

Similar to Sancar, she said the ruling party's policies to remain in power were "based on war."

"But we know that the choice of the peoples of Turkey is never war. The choice of the peoples of Turkey is honorable peace, justice, law, democracy and human rights."

In Ankara, the capital, the Labor, Peace and Democracy Forces organized a demonstration in Anıtpark. HDP deputies Filiz Kerestecioğlu and Mehmet Rüştü Tiryaki and representatives of professional organizations and rights groups attended the demonstration.

Demonstrations were also held in Ağrı, Hatay, Diyarbakır, Mersin, Adana and Dersim. (VK)