Bloody Sunday (1969)
Political demonstration in Istanbul, Turkey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bloody Sunday (Turkish: Kanlı Pazar) refers to a violent confrontation on 16 February 1969 in Istanbul, Turkey, when right-wing counter-demonstrators attacked a left-wing protest march at Taksim Square, killing two people and injuring over 200.
Seventy-six youth organizations, supported by labor unions and the Workers' Party of Turkey, had assembled in Beyazıt Square for a march they called the "Mustafa Kemal March Against Imperialism", protesting the visit of the United States Sixth Fleet to Istanbul. The march had received official permission from the Istanbul governorate.[1] Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched from Beyazıt through Sultanahmet, Sirkeci, Eminönü, Karaköy, and Dolmabahçe towards Taksim Square. Meanwhile, right-wing groups who had been called to confront the marchers assembled at Taksim Square after prayers, armed with sticks, stones, and knives.[2] Police allowed the marchers to enter the square only in small groups; the right-wing attackers easily broke through the thin police cordon of just two rows and attacked the demonstrators, chanting religious slogans and anti-communist slogans. Two protesters, Ali Turgut Aytaç and Duran Erdoğan, were stabbed to death, and over 200 were injured.[3]
Background
A coup d'état in 1960 had brought a group of military officers to power in Turkey.[4] In the following years, labor tensions grew and anti-American sentiment intensified. Elements of the Turkish left and labor movement protested against what they regarded as American imperialism.[5]
Protests increased after the United States Sixth Fleet visited Turkey. In İzmir and Trabzon, right-wing groups had already attacked earlier Sixth Fleet protest demonstrations, injuring 130 people.[6][7] On 14 February, after Friday prayers, the Association for Combating Communism (Komünizmle Mücadele Derneği) and the right-wing-controlled National Turkish Student Union organized a "Respect for the Flag" rally. At this rally, they declared war on communists and called on supporters to gather at Taksim Square two days later to confront the planned left-wing march.[1]
The historian Feroz Ahmad, a specialist in modern Turkish history, described Bloody Sunday as "an example of organized, fascist violence",[8] referring to the right-wing elements responsible for most of the violence.
Aftermath
The day after the attack, Hürriyet published a photograph showing Ali Turgut Aytaç being stabbed while a riot police officer stood by and watched, provoking widespread public outrage. All political parties except the ruling Justice Party demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Faruk Sükan. Sükan blamed left-wing students for the violence and stated that police had performed their duties normally. Although Justice Party senator Mahmut Vural requested a parliamentary debate on the incident, only a limited investigation was conducted.[1]
Political tensions between the right and the left in Turkey continued throughout the 1970s.[9] Similar attacks on labor groups by right-wing elements occurred during the 1971 military intervention and again in 1977. The 1977 Taksim Square massacre is sometimes referred to as Turkey's "second Bloody Sunday".[10]