LGBTQ+ activists march amidst Turkish crackdown
Queer and gay protesters in Antalya defied a crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights to lead a civil society climate march during the Cop31 summit this Saturday. Turkish LGBTQ+ groups have faced increased persecution since September, with police targeting activists in their homes or at the offices of NGOs that advocate for their rights. On Saturday afternoon, civil society campaigners from around the world gathered in Antalya for Cop31 and formed a cordon around LGBTQ+ activists as they unfurled rainbow flags. Lucia Posteraro, a consultant at the International Federation of Human Rights, said international organisations followed the LGBT block to ensure security forces did not take coercion actions. Ozgur, a 20-year-old Turkish LGBTQ+ activist, marched with a rainbow flag over her shoulders and said holding the flag "feels a bit dangerous" because police usually do not allow it. "It feels like I am living in a prison in this country. I am running all the time," she said. Another activist named Beren said she felt excited to wave the flag but noted her friend is detained right now because she is trans. Turkish police ran a massive security operation around the march. They frisked attendees twice and searched bags on the way into Aydin Kanza Park. The police cordoned off the entire route with steel barriers to prevent anyone from entering or leaving until the end of the march. Police also examined slogans on placards and photographed them in some cases. Asad Rehman, the chief executive of Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said protesters had to bring their passports and that police searched their bags.
Climate activists protest at Cop31 summit
The protest occurred as the Cop31 summit reached its halfway point with little progress made on substantive issues. Activists used various methods to protest, such as dancing to trombones, walking on stilts, and carrying a bronze statue of a naked Donald Trump being carried on the shoulders of a diminutive man to represent the exploitation of the poor by the rich world. Greenpeace volunteer Ufuk Anil traveled from Istanbul in a head-to-toe polar bear costume and said the suit carried a dual message in the muggy afternoon rainstorm. "It is getting hotter and hotter every day," Anil said while wiping sweat from his face. He said he marched to call attention to Turkey’s climate agenda and plastic imports to ensure his daughter lives on a much cooler planet. Triana Kurnia Wardani from the Indonesian organization Seruni said she marched to draw attention to forest and land fires in Indonesia that have burned for months. She said, "Indonesia is burning right now. We have so many victims of the haze." Turkish environmental activist Ozlem Katisoz of Climate Action Network said the march gave local grassroots movements a space to show the solidarity and support of the international community. Aditi Tiwari, the youth engagement leader at Voice of Aroha, said she believes the Cop can still make a difference by influencing world leaders. Louise Hutchins, a co-convener of the Make Polluters Pay international coalition, said that activists promised to keep up the fight until they finally win climate justice. At the conference centre, UN chief climate negotiator Simon Stiell urged countries to move swiftly to the hardest issues to avoid tactical delays. He said, "There is no collective success without compromise from every party."
