Turkish police fire water cannons to disperse gay pride parade

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish police fired water cannon and rubber pellets to disperse a gay pride parade in central Istanbul on Sunday, June 29 after organizers said they had been refused permission to march this year because of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Reuters reports.

Police sprayed jets of water from trucks at crowds of hundreds who had gathered - many in colorful clothing and waving rainbow flags - near the central Taksim Square neighborhood, one of Istanbul's busiest shopping and tourist areas.

Organizers said on Twitter they had been denied permission to hold the parade because it coincided with Ramadan this year. The parade has been held in the past and has been described as the biggest gay pride event in the Muslim world.

Sunday's crackdown comes just a month after police used tear gas and water cannon on May Day demonstrators, and recalls the 2013 Gezi Park protests that turned into an international embarrassment for Erdogan.

Those protests began as a peaceful demonstration against plans to redevelop Gezi Park, a leafy corner of Taksim Square, but later spiraled into weeks of nationwide protests against Erdogan's rule.