Turkish riot police on Sunday used a water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse thousands of marchers taking part in an annual gay pride parade in Istanbul's Taksim Square.
The Istanbul gay pride parade, considered the largest LGBT event in the Muslim world, was scheduled on Sunday evening but was suddenly cancelled by authorities, reported Dogan news agency. The participants were chased away from Taksim Square as they started gathering in the late afternoon.
"I actually have no idea why they started attacking. No warning, nothing. They started to use water cannons. People spread around and they chased people in the streets," participant Gizem Paksoy told PinkNews.
The police forced the marchers to disperse came after organizers said they had been refused permission to march this year because of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"The parade has been banned at the last minute and without prior notice by the Istanbul Governorship on account of Ramadan," organizers said in a statement.
"The police have attacked the participants, which was expected to be approximately 100,000 people, with pepper gas, rubber bullets and TOMAs (militarized police vehicles commonly deployed against civilian activists and protesters -Trans)," the statement said.
Turkish authorities defended the police crackdown, saying that Sunday's march was "open to provocation."
"The gathered groups were warned because [the march] was open to provocation. But after the demonstration continued, our security forces dispersed [the participants] by intervening within the law and considering the principle of proportionality," a statement from the Istanbul Governor's office said, according to Today Szaman.
Turkish police's crackdown on the peaceful LGBT event drew international condemnation. Singer and rights activist Lady Gaga slammed the "inhuman" police crackdown, according to Hurriyet Daily News.
Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, but homophobia remains in the largely conservative Muslim country.
