Anti-NATO Protests: Over 100 Detained in Turkey

By Staff, Agencies

Turkish authorities detained more than 100 people during an anti-NATO protest march organized by the Communist Party of Turkey [TKP] on Sunday, as security forces tightened controls across parts of the capital ahead of next week’s alliance summit, Reuters reported, citing the party.

Turkey will host leaders from all 32 NATO members and partner officials in Ankara on Tuesday and Wednesday, with authorities imposing protest bans, road closures, and heavy security measures ahead of the summit.

The TKP said it organized a march in Ankara’s Kizilay Square where more than 100 members, including officials, were detained, as protesters chanted anti-NATO slogans before riot police dispersed the crowd with tear gas.

In separate TKP-led actions, hundreds marched from Istanbul’s Taksim Square to Dolmabahce, while two additional leftist protests took place in the Kadikoy district. Despite heavy police presence, the Istanbul demonstrations proceeded without clashes.

"We have gathered today in many parts of Turkey to protest against NATO," TKP Secretary General Kemal Okuyan said in Istanbul. "We said that we would not hand over Ankara to supporters of NATO, that we would not allow Ankara to remain silent. We have fulfilled that promise."

The detentions follow a wider crackdown last month involving anti-terror raids in Ankara and nationwide operations that saw dozens more journalists, activists, and academics detained.

The arrests were condemned by opposition figures Tuncer Bakirhan [DEM Party] and Kemal Kilicdaroglu [CHP], who called them unacceptable ahead of the NATO summit, with Bakirhan saying Turkey has been turned into a “detention centre” and is experiencing “undeclared martial law,” while prosecutors say the raids target militant groups and are unrelated to the summit.

The NATO summit opens Tuesday in Ankara, bringing together leaders from 32 member states and invited countries, with around 3,000 journalists and 56,000 security personnel expected for the high-level event.

The NATO summit comes amid rising US–Europe tensions over defense spending, burden-sharing, and strategic priorities, with Washington pressing allies to boost military budgets and disputes continuing over the US military presence in Europe despite previous spending commitments agreed at The Hague.