Istanbul LGBT Pride Parade and tourism: A violent NO by Dictator Erdogan

The travel and tourism destination Istanbul is still seen as a liberal welcoming place for everyone, and also a favorite in the world among LGBT travelers. Like on any place in the world, there is a large gay, lesbian, transgender community in Istanbul and the rest of Turkey. There are LGBT tourists and supporters in the world supporting their kind anywhere.

Taksin Square in Istanbul is the symbolic center and tourism melting point in Turkey. It’s also the place where all political movements start, and protests are conducted.

Today on Taksin Square the witch-hunt against the Turkish LGBT community under Turkish Dictator Erdogan continued. Organizers of the 2017 Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride had vowed to march in central Taksim Square, using a Turkish hashtag for “we march,” despite the ban on gay pride observances ordered by the Istanbul governor’s office for the third year in a row.

Police established checkpoints in the area, preventing groups from entering Istiklal Avenue and turning back individuals who were deemed to be associated with the planned march. Small groups assembled on side streets were chased away by officers.

At least a hundred protesters gathered in a nearby neighborhood, beating drums and chanting slogans such as, “Don’t be quiet, shout out, gays exist!” and “Love, love, freedom, State, stay away!” They carried a banner that read, “Get used to, we are here.”

A reader on gaytourism.travel, a publication owned and operated by the eTN Group said: “Today we are all Turkish”