Bloody Sunday () is the name given to a

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution has occurred, in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "c ...

response to a

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

protest that occurred on February 16, 1969, in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Beyazıt Square Beyazıt Square () lies to the north of Ordu Caddesi in the district of Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey. Officially named ''Freedom Square'' (), it is more generally known as Beyazıt Square after the early Ottoman Bayezid II Mosque on one side. The s ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. At eleven o'clock ten thousands of left-wing students supported by labor unions and the labor party started gathering in Beyazıt in order to protest against the dropping anchor of the

United States Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe and Africa. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixt ...

at the

Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

. The route of demonstration began at the Beyazıt Square, went over

Karaköy Karaköy (), the modern name for the old Galata, is a commercial quarter in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus. Karaköy is one of the oldest and mo ...

Tophane Tophane () (lit. "Armoury") is a quarter in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, running downhill from Galata to the shore of the Bosphorus where it joins up with Karaköy to the southwest and Fındıklı to the northeast. In the Ottoman ...

and Gümüşsuyu where they paid tribute to death of the student Vedat Demircioğlu at the

Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University, also known as Technical University of Istanbul (, commonly referred to as İTÜ), is an public university, public technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...

. Meanwhile, right-wing students met at the

Dolmabahçe Mosque The Dolmabahçe Mosque () is a baroque waterside mosque in Kabataş, Beyoğlu, Kabataş in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, close to the Dolmabahçe Palace. It was commissioned by Queen Mother Bezmiâlem Sultan, Bezmialem Valide Sultan ...

for the suppression of the leftist protest and prayed before they moved on. The police, the official representative of the state, was already waiting at Taksim to both wings. Around four pm, finally, the clash occurred at the Taksim Square and turned the streets into a battlefield. Batons and knives were pulled, Molotov cocktails were hurled. The day resulted in the death of two leftist people and numerous injured.

Background

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

in 1960 had allowed a group of Turkish military officers to take control of the country. Under this established government, labor tensions grew and

anti-American sentiment Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment and Americanophobia) is a term that can describe several sentiments and po ...

rose. Elements of the Turkish left and labour movement were protesting against what they regarded as

American imperialism U.S. imperialism or American imperialism is the expansion of political, economic, cultural, media, and military influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright mi ...

. Protests increased after the United States Sixth Fleet arrived in Turkey. Unrest peaked on February 16, 1969, when 30,000 people marched on

Taksim Square Taksim Square (, ), situated in Beyoğlu in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops, and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of th ...

. The demonstration was broken up by the police, but several thousand continued the march towards Taksim. It was at this point that a counter-revolutionary force attacked a large group of these protesters with knives and sticks. During this confrontation, two protesters, Ali Turgut and Duran Erdoğan, were killed.

Feroz Ahmad Feroz Ahmad (26 January 1938 – 20 February 2025) was a Turkish-American academic, historian, and political scientist who taught at different universities, including the University of Massachusetts Boston, Tufts University, Harvard University, ...

, a prominent Indian Turkey expert, refers to Bloody Sunday as "an example of organized, fascist violence", alluding to

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

elements responsible for most of the violence. Political tensions between the right-wing and the left-wing ran high for most of the 1960s and 1970s. Similar attacks on labor groups by right-wing elements in the government and Turkish politics occurred in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

and 1977. The 1977 massacre is referred to as Turkey's "second Bloody Sunday".Ahmad, Feroz. Military Intervention and the Crisis in Turkey. ''MERIP Reports'', No. 93, Turkey: The Generals Take Over (Jan., 1981), p. 10,22

References

{{reflist 1969 murders in Turkey 1969 riots 1960s in Istanbul February 1969 in Asia February 1969 in Europe Violence against protesters Protest-related deaths 20th-century political riots Riots and civil disorder in Turkey Political repression in Turkey Neo-fascism in Turkey Political violence in Turkey Anti-American sentiment in Turkey Murder in Istanbul Arson in Turkey Arson in the 1960s 1969 fires 1960s fires in Europe Counter-revolution Knife attacks in Europe Mass stabbings in Europe Student protests in Europe

Background

See also

References