Antalya, Türkiye, Nov 14. (dpa/GMA) – Thousands took to the streets in the Turkish city of Antalya on Saturday, to protest environmental destruction and other issues, as the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) reached its halfway point.
More than 10,000 people peacefully marched for climate protection and human rights, said the organizers. “For a long time, there has not been a protest in Turkey with such participation,” Nil Ormanli of the organizing committee told dpa.
Alongside international organizations, numerous Turkish associations, trade unions and opposition parties were also represented, using the opportunity to draw attention to the situation in the country.
The Turkish authorities had authorized the demonstration.
However, participants were required to present their banners and signs to police at checkpoints, before being allowed onto the march route, which stretched around 1 kilometre from the city’s Aydin Kanza Park to Republic Square.
Former German minister of state for culture, Claudia Roth, who attended the rally wearing rainbow-coloured socks in a show of solidarity, urged Turkish security forces to exercise restraint. “There must be no assaults or arrests. I can only warn against that,” the former Green Party politician told dpa, emphasizing that civil society protests are an essential part of any climate conference.
Activists who participated were mindful of the heavy pressure facing Turkish civil society, which included nationwide raids on LGBTQ associations in September and sweeping demonstration bans during the NATO summit in Ankara in July.
Luisa Neubauer, a prominent German climate activist with the Fridays for Future movement, said demonstrators intentionally refrained from displaying overly controversial messages so as not to endanger local participants. “It already works very well, such a machinery of oppression,” Neubauer said, referring to the extensive police checks and safety advisories.
The activist said international demonstrators were standing in solidarity with Turkish activists to ensure the host nation does not use the summit to whitewash its human rights record. However, she warned that local participants could face retaliation once foreign activists and journalists leave the country.
Many demonstrators refused to be intimidated and made their concerns heard. Turkish groups chanted opposition slogans including “Shoulder to shoulder against fascism” or, referring to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, “The day will come when the AKP will have to answer to the people.”
A 61-year-old protester criticized Turkey as the host country of the climate conference. The man said he has been fighting for years against the expansion of coal in Turkey and the resulting environmental destruction, calling it “tragicomic” that of all governments, this one is hosting the summit. Alongside the march, a parallel “People’s Climate Summit” involving hundreds of domestic and international civil society groups kicked off in Antalya this weekend.
Co-organizer, Süheyla Doğan, told dpa the event aims to give a platform to local experts and groups who struggle to be heard inside the official UN negotiations, focusing on environmental degradation, democracy and the transition away from fossil fuels.
Doğan, who campaigns to protect the Mount Ida range in western Turkey, expressed scepticism over the host country’s commitment to climate action, pointing to plans to expand a coal-fired power plant in western Turkey and other environmentally damaging projects.
The two-week UN climate talks in Antalya are scheduled to conclude on November 20, with negotiations centred on implementing existing pledges, cutting emissions, and securing climate financing for developing nations.
GNA