Istanbul police barricade Green Left Party election booth, detain party members for performing halay

Duvar English

The Green Left Party members set up an election booth in front of Istanbul’s Kadıköy peer on April 25 but faced intervention by the police who told them they could not perform the traditional halay folk dance.

The police told the party members they were “blocking the passage of people” and detained 20 of them.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) MP Musa Piroğlu slammed the police barricade and said during the detentions: “This tyranny is being done to us because they are scared of us. They know how we stand against this tyranny. They know what we are doing against the (Presidential) Palace. They should know one more thing. We have not bowed down, we will not do so. We will win.”

“They are preventing us from performing halay. The reason is supposedly our blocking the passage (of people) through here. Who is saying this? Those closing cities for (President Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan’s 150-200 vehicle convoy, locking airports. Who are you fooling?” he further reacted.

The HDP is entering the elections under the Green Left Party, due to the risk of being closed prior to the May 14 elections.