For many years, the LGBTI+ movement in Turkey has been shaped not only by the demand for visibility but also by a deeper struggle over who is allowed access to the public sphere.
Trans Pride Marches, as one of the most intense areas of confrontation along this line of struggle, are reconfigured each year in the streets and in daily life through new boundaries, prohibitions, and forms of resistance.
In recent years, increasing police interference, detentions and arrests, digital surveillance measures, and spatial restrictions have directly impacted not only event practices but also the very ways people come together. Despite this, solidarity networks established in different cities, neighborhoods, and online spaces strive to continually make visibility, organization, and political production possible once again.
Amid all these experiences, the idea of “coming together” transforms into a political persistence that extends not just to a single moment of action but throughout the entire year. This persistence points both to the ever-changing nature of repression and to the creative collective production and solidarity practices developed in response.
We spoke with Ahmet Soykarcı from the 12th İstanbul Trans Pride Week Committee about the oppression they faced in previous years, what kind of march they envision for this year, and the priority demands of trans people in Turkey.
Claims of AI-assisted surveillance
What happened during last year's Trans Pride march ? In general, what kinds of repression have you encountered during Trans Pride marches in recent years?
We faced serious obstructions during last year’s march. Police intervention and harassment were intense; three of our friends were detained before the march even began. In fact, we have been facing an intense policy of repression, particularly since 2021. Since the period when 373 detentions occurred, the city has effectively been under siege. To put it plainly, we believe the reason for such intervention is that the state is afraid of this visibility and solidarity. Last year, claims of AI-assisted tracking and digital surveillance methods also came to the fore. One of our friends was “identified” using this method and detained. Unfortunately, his phone was unlawfully seized during this time. As a result, we had to completely reshape all our plans at the last minute.
Even though the centers we’ve been facing this crackdown against have been surrounded, we’ve been coming together in different areas under the slogan “Istanbul is ours.” We’ve also continued to organize in neighborhoods and various locations throughout the process. During the march planned as part of Trans Pride, intense police activity began as early as the morning hours.
Another situation that occurred was the detention of people with no connection to us, who were deemed “suspicious.” Hair color, appearance, or simply being on the street was criminalized. That day, many people were detained from various parts of the city solely on the grounds that they might be “trans.” Despite the absence of a pre-determined march route, interventions were made on the streets where people were gathered, and brief detentions took place. Nevertheless, despite the state’s intervention, a group of nearly 100 Trans Pride activists managed to carry out this march. But this situation demonstrates that not only protest spaces but also daily life is under surveillance. In Kadıköy as well, despite there being no official call for a march, detentions occurred targeting individuals who had been under prior surveillance, including our friends.
Of course, as Trans Pride, we continue to organize in a horizontal and open manner despite all of this. We establish committees that grow with new participants every year. Security concerns certainly exist; however, we prefer a more open, participatory form of organization rather than overly closed structures. We also communicate with people through new accounts and networks on social media, striving to build trust through verifiable connections.
İstanbul's LGBTI+ activists hold Pride March in unexpected location to circumvent bans
1 July 2024
Persistence in the struggle
I also see that you’re sometimes criticized on social media—comments like, “Why do you insist on marching? You get detained every year anyway.” What are your thoughts on this?
In my personal opinion, these criticisms miss the point about visibility and persistence. I actually define our struggle precisely through this persistence. Insisting on the world we want to live in isn’t just about marching; it’s about continuing the struggle to defend the right to exist, visibility, and life itself. That’s why we persist.
This year, too, our demands center on the vision of a different world, the right to life, and equality—though, of course, they aren’t limited to these. Our preparation for the march and Trans Pride Week in general also involves developing a trans political agenda. We hear similar criti…
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