Tens of thousands fill İstanbul’s Taksim Square on May Day

Tens of thousands filled İstanbul’s Taksim Square on Sunday morning demanding jobs and better work conditions on May Day, also known as Labor Day.

Taksim Square carries a significant symbolic importance in May Day celebrations. On May 1, 1977, 34 people were killed during a Labor Day gathering at the square when shots were fired into the crowd from a nearby building leading to an intervention by security forces and armored vehicles. Most of the casualties resulted from the panic caused by the intervention among hundreds of thousands of participants.

Thousands gathered at Istanbul’s central Taksim Square on Sunday morning for May Day celebrations. Members of the Turkish Workers Union, or Türk-İş, the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions, or DİSK, and the KESK and HAK-İŞ unions were present at the square among dozens of other nongovernmental organizations.

Workers gathered at four different locations and began their march toward Taksim Square on Sunday morning. The square was completely full by noon.

A commemoration was held at Kazancı Yokuşu, a street where people were killed during shooting on May Day in 1977.

Nearly 40,000 police officers were at Taksim Square as a security measure.

The Republic Monument at the center of the square was barricaded by police to prevent demonstrators from climbing on it as they did last year and barricades were covered with motor oil to stop people from trying to climb them.

01 May 2011

SOURCE: TURKISH MEDIA