May Day Brings Violence and Riots in Turkey

by Dave Keating | May 1, 2008 at 02:21 am

1225 views | 5 Recommendations | 10 comments

May 1 is a traditional workers' day holiday across most of Europe, with most of the countries on the continent having the day off (the UK and Ireland save the day off for the following Monday). It coincides with a traditional pagan holiday welcoming spring, and such festivities are a big part of the celebrations. But it is also a traditional day for labour protests, although the intensity of those has tapered off over the years.

Berlin, for example, used to see massive street protests. But over the past five years they've dwindled to almost nothing. In fact May Day in Europe is quickly coming to resemble the watered-down version that is celebrated in September in the United States (it was put at that time as a compromise with unions because the government thought the traditional May 1 was too radical). Like in the United States, where few people could tell you what Labor Day celebrates, May 1 in the Europe has now also begun to lose its meaning in Europe.

However in other areas of the world it definitely has not. In Turkey the day still has huge significance. Though it is a normal working day in Turkey, the government has had to resist intense union pressure this year to make it a day off. Today has already seen violent clashes in Istanbul.

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Turkish riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse crowds gathering for an outlawed May Day rally in central Istanbul on Thursday, witnesses said.

Thousands of police were stationed across the city centre to block access to the main Taksim Square, where three major trade union confederations have pledged to mobilise up to 500,000 people in defiance of an official ban.

May Day demonstrations in Istanbul have been marked by clashes between police and protesters in the past and authorities said they would use force to prevent the rally happening in the centre of the city.

Officials have cited intelligence reports that radical groups planned to stage violent protests during the rally. Militant leftists and Kurdish separatists frequently clash with police at demonstrations.

Last year dozens were injured in violent street battles on the 30th anniversary of the deaths of 37 people who were shot by an unknown gunman or trampled to death in May Day demonstrations in Taksim Square in 1977.

In fact in many ways May Day's significance is shifting to the developing world, as can be seen by activity today. In Egypt, the Al-Ahram weekly reports that for the first time in five years the government is going to have to take May Day demands seriously.

Over the past two years the struggles of Egyptian workers have changedthe country's political map. For the first time in more than fivedecades the government will really have to address workers' demands onMay Day rather than pay the customary lip service to Egypt's'honourable workforce'", says Mohamed Al-Attar, a strike leader andveteran worker at the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company in the northernindustrial city of Mahala Al-Kubra where nearly a quarter of all publicsector textile and clothing workers are employed.

In Africa, celebrations across the continent are quite large. In South Africa, for instance, it is a very big deal. And in neighboring Zimbabwe the government is using it as a morale booster in the midst of the deepening crisis there.

Hundreds of people were streaming into the James Motlatsi stadium inOrkney near Klerksdorp on Thursday to celebrate Workers' Day.

Jubilant workers wearing red T-shirts were singing liberation songs andawaiting an address by African National Congress President Jacob Zuma.

Zuma is expected to address workers about the history and importance ofWorkers' Day and challenges such as poverty and unemployment.

However in India, papers noted the exceptionally mild May Day the country has experienced this year, echoing the trend in Europe.

Labour Day, once an occasion to bring most of India’s organisedworkers together, was a relatively insipid affair around the countryThursday, with trade unions organising a few rallies. Governments inthe Communist-ruled states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura observeda holiday. There were small trade union rallies in some towns besides acandle-light rally by sex workers in Kolkata demanding recognition asorganised labour.

It was a government holiday in Maharashtra too, but that was because it is the foundation day of the state.

In Bhubaneswar, journalists observed Labour Day as a holiday. So there will be no local newspaper in the city Friday morning.

Labour as an organising force and as a global social movement seems to be declining in significance in politics and in people's lives, most acutely in the West. What will this mean for the future of the working class and for the way politics and economics intersect? With global enthusiasm for Labour as an organising and inspiring force dying, what movements will step in to take their place? Will religious movements be the Labour of the 21st century?

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everchanging

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 08:26 on May 5th, 2008

Dave Keating, I am so happy you're on this story.

The world is shaped and formed not by government(s) but by the people who do the work and labor for them with the rights to be treated with dignity, honor and respect for all that they do. An honest wage, good living conditions, proper care by health and environment all in the name of work.

My thoughts of this day and its meaning to me:

May your day be great for all that matters most to you . . .

For where you stand and hold close to all of who you our.

May 1st is for all of humanity. When one stands we all shall follow.

When one falls - shall we all pick them up. 

There is no might when we stand alone - on this day the world needs to stand for the rights of all, not the few.  
Lets not whisper, when we can be heard.

Everchanging

Teacher Dude

at 09:15 on May 1st, 2008

There were clashes on Mayday in Hamburg.

everchanging

at 08:14 on May 5th, 2008

In Istanbul, Turkish
riot police used clubs, tear gas and water cannon to break up crowds of workers
and students trying to reach a main square for a Labor Day rally that had been
banned by the government. Six police officers were injured and 467 demonstrators
were detained.

Cuba - Residents
hoped their president would offer up more changes. Hundreds of thousands of
Cubans were expected to gather in Revolution Plaza for May Day amid hopes the
government would announce more small changes to daily life on the communist -
run island. President Raul Castro is expected to attend celebrations honoring
the world's workers. Officials did not say if he would speak.

Philippines - workers
marched to demand President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's resignation for not raising
the minimum wage to help them cope with surging food and fuel prices. Watched
by riot police, two major groups of workers marched separately across Manila,
waving red flags and placards, and then held noisy rallies at a downtown Manila
square where musical bands and singers delighted the crowd.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/01/news/May-Day.php

Greece - public transport
services, and ships and flights by the state carrier Olympic Airlines were paralyzed
across the country as unions planned demonstrations in the capital Athens to
coincide with Labour Day. Thousands of tourists were left stranded as Athens tram,
trolleys and all buses, including those to and from Athens Inter national
Airport, stopped running while workers at the city's metro said they would hold
work stoppages. Dozens of domestic and inter national flights on Olympic Airlines
were cancelled as were all ferry services to and from the Greek islands. Greece's
labour unions are angered by the conservative government's attempts to reform
pensions.

France - Paris, thousands
of demonstrators took part in May Day protests against the reforms of French
President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris Thursday. Thousands of demonstrators took
part in May Day protests against the reforms of French President Nicolas
Sarkozy in Paris Thursday.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1402992.php/Angry_May_Day_protests_go_ahead_in_Ankara_Moscow_Paris

DoctorOk

at 12:12 on May 1st, 2008

I want immunity from the law as well. So I'm going to join the labor movement allowing me to damage public and private property at will, in the name of promoting a better, just society.

Maybe city planners should use the annual May Day protests to channel the anger and destruction into demolition crews to rid cities of undesirable buildings or areas. In order to do this, I need to be a labor movement member in good standing and I have to come up with an "I'm oppressed" excuse. I'll think of a reason why later. This way, I can smash and burn at will, without retribution from the law, and knowing that I've made the world a better place for all.

unfurl

at 13:07 on May 1st, 2008

Arizmendi Bakery in San Francisco closed for May Day

unfurl has contributed a photo to this story.

kaja.thrastar

at 14:10 on May 1st, 2008

The local football team in my neighbourhood had its 100th anniversary on May 1st. The team is called FRAM and organized a parade through the local area to celebrate and ended their walk at FRAM's headquarters where everyone was offered refreshments and a cake of course.

Kaja Thrastar has contributed a photo to this story.

bugmancx

at 14:30 on May 1st, 2008

Protest

bugmancx has contributed a photo to this story.

Gedawei 葛大为

at 20:14 on May 1st, 2008

I was visiting Tokyo during "Golden Week" in 1979, and was lucky to observe first-hand their May Day events. It was more a celebration than protest, with labor unions bringing out their members for a good time, but there definitely were some protestors of the far-left variety also participating.

Gedawei 葛大为 has contributed a photo to this story.