Thousands of people took to the streets of many cities in Turkey on Sunday to show their solidarity with Gaza and with the Global Sumud Flotilla, which had set sail to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian population and challenge the blockade of the Gaza Strip but was boarded in international waters by Israeli forces.
The rallies, held under the slogan ‘We walk for freedom’, took place simultaneously in cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, according to Turkish media reports, where thousands of citizens demanded an end to Israeli attacks and the urgent delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.
In Istanbul, thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the Grand Mosque of Hagia Sophia, in an event organised by the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH) – the same foundation that organised the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ in which the famous Mavi Marmara sailed – and the Palestine Support Platform. Carrying Turkish and Palestinian flags, the participants chanted slogans such as ‘Freedom for Palestine’, ‘Down with Israel’ and ‘Long live the Gaza resistance’ as they advanced towards Eminönü Square. Some carried banners with messages that read ‘I walk for the children of Gaza, what are you doing?’ or ‘Neutrality is not an option in the face of oppression’. Among those present were also numerous tourists who spontaneously joined the protests.
Similar scenes were witnessed in the country’s capital, Ankara, where thousands of people including children and the elderly gathered in front of the Melike Hatun Mosque and marched to Kızılay Square, waving Palestinian flags and shouting anti-Israel slogans. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, several Turkish MPs and Ankara Governor Vasip Şahin also took part in the demonstration.
Also on the west coast of Turkey, in the city of Izmir, dozens of boats of all kinds decorated with Turkish and Palestinian flags set off from different coastal districts to converge in front of Cumhuriyet Square. The protest was organised by the Izmir Platform of Civil Society Organisations: “The boats (of the Flotilla) did not carry weapons or pose a threat, only milk for the children, bread for the mothers and hope for the fathers,” declared the platform’s chairman, Gökhan Temur, who added: “Neither pressure nor fear will silence us. Humanitarian aid to Gaza must continue”.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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