Taksim closed again for May 1 celebrations

The May 1 Worker’s Day celebrations will not be held in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said yesterday.

Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DİSK) Chair Kani Beko was told by Soylu that the May 1 celebrations would not be held in Taksim Square. Soylu said May 1 celebrations could only be celebrated at venues permitted by the Istanbul Governor’s Office, according to Beko.

Beko said he requested to mark the International Worker’s Day in a peaceful rally in Taksim Square, remarking that this year was the 40th anniversary of the 1977 massacre that left 37 people dead and many others wounded.

The heads of the Turkish Medical Association and the Chamber of Architects also participated in the two-and-a-half-hour meeting.

Türk-İş, one of the leading workers’ trade union confederations in the country, will hold a celebration in Ankara’s Anadolu Square, formerly known as Tandoğan, for the first time after many years.

The Labor Confederation (HAK-İŞ) will hold an event in the eastern province of Erzurum. HAK-İŞ previously held its May 1 rally in different provinces such as the northwestern province of Sakarya, the Central Anatolian provinces of Kayseri, Konya and the northern province of Karabük.  

Taksim Square is a symbolic venue for leftist and trade unions in Turkey.