On July 7th and 8th, local time, the NATO summit will be held in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. 32 allied leaders and officials from NATO partner countries will attend the meeting. To prepare for this event, the Turkish government has strengthened security measures throughout the capital, including banning demonstrations, sealing off most parts of the city, and closing roads.
According to Reuters reporting on July 5th local time, the Turkish Communist Party (TKP) issued a statement on the same day stating that on the eve of the NATO summit, the Turkish government arrested more than 100 people participating in the anti-NATO protest march organized by the party. The statement said that the protest was organized at Kızıla Square in the center of Ankara.
The scene showed protesters waving flags, shouting slogans such as "Murderous NATO, get out of this country" and "Refuse NATO access". In response, riot police intervened and used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
July 5, 2026, Ankara, Turkey - Protesters demonstrate against NATO summit. IC Photo
In another protest organized by the Turkish Communist Party, hundreds of people marched from Taksim Square in Istanbul to the Dolmabahçe Palace. Additionally, left-wing groups organized two separate protests in Kadriye District of Istanbul. Unlike the protests in Ankara, where a large number of police were deployed, there were no conflicts during the protests in Istanbul.
"Today, we gathered in various locations across Turkey to protest the North Atlantic Treaty," stated Kemal Okuyan, Secretary General of the Turkish Communist Party, in Istanbul. "We have declared that we will never hand over Ankara to supporters of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance and that we will not allow Ankara to remain silent." We are fulfilling this promise.
Reports say that the Turkish government has not immediately commented on the protests or arrests.
In recent years, including Western organizations such as NATO and the G7, there have been increasingly frequent protests by local people against these organizations during various summits.
For example, last month, on June 14th local time, a large number of protesters appeared in Switzerland. They held demonstrations against the G7 summit being held in Éviers-le-Blain, France on the other side of the border. It was reported that about 20,000 people participated in the demonstration that day. Initially, the protest atmosphere was peaceful, but later the protesters turned their attention to symbols they saw as representations of "capitalism" and "multilateralism". Tesla cars parked on the roadside, as well as United Nations offices, became their targets.
