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Turkish police disperse workers defying May Day ban |
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Written by International Herald Tribune
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Thursday, 01 May 2008 |
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Turkish riot police used clubs, tear gas and water cannons Thursday to break up crowds of workers trying to reach a main Istanbul square for a Labor Day rally banned by the government.
Thousands of police were on the streets after Turkish unions defied the government and said they would hold May Day celebrations in Istanbul's Taksim square, which had been scene of violent protests decades ago.
Police wearing gas masks first broke up a crowd which had gathered in front of a labor union office with the intention of walking to Taksim. Workers ran into the building and police blockaded it, preventing them from leaving.
Police, holding all streets leading to Taksim, also broke up groups of workers trying to enter the square through various entrances, firing tear gas and beating some demonstrators with clubs.
Some demonstrators were seen throwing rocks at police.
Journalists and people trying to get to work were affected by the tear gas, and could be seen coughing or covering their mouths and noses.
The government banned celebrations at Taksim square, citing security concerns, and asked labor unions to hold festivities at other locations.
Officials set up barricades in and around the square where May Day celebrations have been banned since 1977, when unknown gunmen opened fire on demonstrators. Thirty-seven people died.
"Long live May 1!" and "Everywhere is Taksim!" workers trying to reach Taksim shouted.
"Istanbul is like a war zone, like a city occupied by foreign forces," Ufuk Uras, a member of Parliament and the leader of a small left-wing party told reporters.
"How can the government see its workers as a security threat?" he said, criticizing the government's ban on Taksim.
Last week, the government agreed to commemorate workers on May Day but rejected requests for the day to be a public holiday and for festivities to be held at Taksim.
Turkey had stopped marking May 1 as Labor Day after a 1980 military coup whose leaders regarded the festivities as an opportunity for leftist activism.
Labor unions gradually resumed marking the day after the coup. Some demonstrations turned violent when protesters tried to enter Taksim to commemorate the workers who died in 1977. Last year, hundreds of demonstrators were detained.
"We believe that there is ill intention behind this request," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday of the labor union's desire to celebrate the day in Taksim. "It is a request geared toward disrupting public order."
The government reinforced the Istanbul police force with teams from other cities. A police helicopter hovered above the city center. |
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