Turkish police intervened against a crowd that had gathered, at the call of political parties, trade unions and left-wing organisations, to protest during the May Day demonstrations in Istanbul. The crowd attempted to march towards the iconic Taksim Square, defying the ban imposed by the authorities, which led to clashes with the police: incidents that resulted in at least 575 detained.
Large numbers of people, called out by trade unions and political organisations, gathered in the Asian district of Kadıköy to mark International Workers’ Day. From the early hours of the day, numerous groups entered the area after passing through security checks, where – braving the rain – thousands of participants took part, carrying banners and chanting slogans.
The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party – the Republican People’s Party (CHP) – Özgür Özel, was also among those attending the rally in Kadıköy. As in previous years, a limited number of trade union representatives were also able to go to Taksim Square and lay a wreath at the Republic Monument, as an act of commemoration both for 1 May and to remember the victims of the 1977 Taksim massacre, when unidentified far-right attackers opened fire on left-wing demonstrators, causing dozens of deaths. However, the authorities issued a clear ban on demonstrating in the symbolic square, which also was the scene of the 2013 Gezi protests.
Nevertheless, according to reports by Turkish media, the police intervened when several groups attempted to march towards Taksim to celebrate 1 May there, defying the ban. According to figures released by the Contemporary Lawyers’ Association, at least 550 people were detained by the police following several police charges carried out in Beşiktaş, Mecidiyeköy and Yenikapı. Subsequently, the Istanbul Governor’s Office confirmed that the number of detainees stood at 575 people at 18:00 Turkish time (17:00 CET).
Detentions on the Bosphorus Bridge
News agencies reported that among those arrested was Başaran Aksu, a member of the Independent Union of Mining Workers and known for his role in the recent hunger strike in Ankara led by workers of the Doruk mining company.
The leader of the Turkish Workers’ Party (TİP), Erkan Baş, was himself overcome by tear gas during the police operation. “We are already familiar with this government’s tyranny. We are already familiar with this government’s oppression. We already know that this government is curtailing democracy and freedoms. They really do not need to prove it again. Let the workers, women and young people gathered here express their views on the country’s future,” he said in comments reported by local media.
According to some reports, there were also detentions on the Bosphorus Bridge, where the police stopped suspicious vehicles based solely on officers’ assumptions that their occupants were planning to take part in protests, which caused outrage among many social media users.
May Day protests in Ankara
In Ankara, trade unions, professional associations, civil society organisations, political parties and youth groups gathered from early morning outside the Atatürk Cultural Centre in the capital’s Ulus district, from where groups of workers and students later marched towards Tandoğan Square to attend the main events marking the occasion.
The protests in the Turkish capital were joined by miners who had recently ended a hunger strike; the miners, numbering around a hundred, brought their protests and hunger strike over unpaid wages to an end just three days ago – on 28 April – after reaching an agreement with the company through government mediation. Prior to this, they had walked some 180 kilometres from Eskişehir to Ankara to demand back pay and compensation from the mining company Doruk.
The governor of Istanbul had announced that May Day celebrations would only be permitted in two designated locations: the square at the Kadıköy pier and Kartal Square, whilst also imposing various restrictions. However, trade unions, political parties and other organisations defied the ban, arguing that Taksim is the traditional venue for May Day protests, as — they claimed — recognised by a ruling of the Constitutional Court, and so they gathered in the European district of Mecidiyeköy with the intention of marching from there to Taksim, which triggered police intervention.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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