The governor of Istanbul announced Friday that Gay pride events scheduled to begin on Sunday have been banned.

The decree claimed the events were cancelled for “safety reasons”.

Sunday’s Pride Parade would have been the 13th year— an event that started in Turkey with a few dozen brave participants in 2003 and grew to tens of thousands over the years.

Last year Turkish officials banned the parade just an hour before it was due to commence and police used tear gas and water cannons against their own citizens who insisted on marching despite the ban.