Fridae

As LGBTQ+ protesters unfurled rainbow flags at Saturday’s climate march in Antalya, other civil society campaigners formed a protective circle around them, The Guardian reported. The march brought people into the streets of the city hosting this year’s UN climate talks. For the LGBTQ+ group, it was a chance to ask for people in detention to be released.

The 14 November march went from Aydın Kanza Park to Cumhuriyet Square. It opened the Peoples’ Climate Summit, a gathering organised by civil society alongside the official COP31 talks. Marchers called for climate justice and for local communities to have more say in the decisions that affect them.

The Özgürlük İstiyoruz campaign group, whose name means “We Want Freedom”, joined the march. Kaos GL reported that the group called for the release of LGBTQ+ people detained in the police operation known as Ailem Güvende and for an end to pressure on LGBTQ+ people. A few days earlier, Lambdaistanbul said authorities had sealed its Istanbul office. The association had asked for the seal to be lifted.

One chant carried a message from the marchers, according to Kaos GL. “We were here, we are here, we will be here.”