Turkish government bans May Day celebrations in İstanbul’s Taksim Square

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has rejected a request from  Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions (DİSK) Chairman Kani Beko to hold May Day celebrations in İstanbul’s Taksim Square, according to HaberTürk TV station on Monday.

HaberTürk reported that Soylu who met with Beko on Monday turned down Beko’s request to hold the May Day celebrations in Taksim Square, which has been the heart of these celebrations for long.

Until 2009, Taksim was off limits to demonstrators following May Day 1977, also known as Bloody May Day, when 34 people were killed after unknown assailants opened fire on the crowd. Since then, May Day in Turkey has always been a source of tension.

In 2009, the government decided to declare May Day an official holiday and opened Taksim Square up for celebrations. About three decades after Bloody May Day, under tight security, Taksim Square became the venue of peaceful celebrations aside from a few minor incidents in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Yet, Turkey returned to the same debates on Taksim for the past four years. (turkishminute.com) April 24, 2017

 

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