Despite a large police presence, blockades and violence, many people took to the streets of Istanbul on Sunday to denounce Turkey's use of chemical weapons in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and to demand an independent investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and its organising body HDK (Peoples' Democratic Congress), together with the United Fighting Forces (BMG) alliance, called for the demonstration under the slogan "March for Humanity". Leading politicians, members of parliament and activists from Kurdish civil society took part in the protest.

March to Istiklal Avenue

The original route of the demonstration was from Taksim Square in the central Beyoğlu district to Tünel Square via Istiklal Avenue. The police took up positions with numerous anti-riot units, barricades were set up in the side streets leading to Istiklal and plainclothes police officers were assembled to patrol the area and remove posters with the slogan "Chemical Weapons Operations are War Crimes - Come to the March for Humanity" that had been put up in many places in the district during the night. Nevertheless, they managed to get past the barriers on almost every side street. The slogans "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism", "No to war crimes", "The oppressors cannot intimidate us" and "Martyrs are immortal" were shouted again and again.

Sezai Temelli: “Those who do not revolt against chemical weapons are part of the crime”

Crowds gathered in front of the Istanbul Bar Association headquarters for a rally, which was immediately surrounded by police. HDP deputies Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, Fatma Kurtalan, Sezai Temelli, Tayip Temel and Ayşe Sürücü moved across Mis Street to Istiklal Avenue and also ende up in the encirclement. Temelli gave a much-applauded speech: "We are facing a regime that is trying to impose itself with arrests and detentions against all those who take a stand against war. Şebnem Korur Fincancı is one of them. Without any legal basis, she is in prison. Why? Because she has spoken out in favour of investigating allegations of the use of chemical weapons. We are also making this demand. Because the use of chemical weapons is a blatant and brutal violation of international law. Those who do not revolt against it are part of the crime. We all experience together how devastating war is. To speak out against war is to speak out against poverty. That is why we say, raise your voices wherever you are. If you are afraid to speak up, all you will be left with in the end is what keeps this cowardly government alive: Guns and violence."

Temelli announced that the protests of his party and affiliates would continue until the goal of an independent investigation into the allegations was achieved.

Many detained

An unprecedented number of detentions were made on the fringes of the demonstration. Numerous people were harassed by the police and dragged off the street with their hands tied behind their backs. Among those affected are several activists of the Kurdish Prisoner Solidarity, who have been demanding the release of their sick relatives for months with their weekly "justice vigils" in Istanbul. A "March for Humanity" has also taken place today in the Kurdish town of Silopi in the province of Şırnak.