On Monday, massive protests took place in the Kurdish city of Amed (tr. Diyarbakır) against the attacks by the so-called Syrian transitional government and allied militias loyal to Turkey on the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria. The demonstration was organized by the Platform of Democratic Institutions and was directed in particular against the threat of massacres against the people in Rojava.
The main protest was supposed to start at the Human Rights Monument in Koşuyolu Park. The Turkish police attempted to block the gathering in advance. Among the participants were the co-chairs of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar and Keskin Bayındır, as well as representatives of other parties, civil society organizations, and hundreds of citizens.
Despite the police presence, the crowd began to move, accompanied by chants and songs. Among other things, they chanted “Bijî Berxwedana Rojava” (Long live the resistance of Rojava), “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” (Woman, Life, Freedom), and slogans of solidarity with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Women’s Defense Units (YPJ), as well as “Rojava will be the grave of fascism.”
As the demonstrators moved toward the city center, police attacked the crowd with tear gas. Numerous people suffered breathing difficulties, and some collapsed from the gas. Reporters reported brutal assaults: even members of parliament from the DEM Party were beaten, and many people were violently detained. The exact number of arrests was initially unclear.
Despite the violence, the protest movement did not disperse. Instead, smaller groups spread out across the city center, particularly in the Bağlar district, and staged spontaneous demonstrations. In side streets and on major roads, it is mainly young people who are keeping the protest going.