01.05.2025 11:00
In Istanbul, high-level security measures were taken in central areas such as Taksim, Beşiktaş, Şişli, and Kadıköy due to May 1st Labor and Solidarity Day. A small scuffle occurred when the police intervened with a group that wanted to walk from Mecidiyeköy to Taksim. The group, holding carnations, staged a sit-in in front of the police barricade.
The 1st of May, born from the struggle to reduce workers' daily working hours, has been celebrated as Labor and Workers' Day around the world for more than a century. In Istanbul, high-level security measures were taken in central areas such as Taksim, Beşiktaş, Şişli, and Kadıköy due to the 1st of May Labor and Solidarity Day.
SCUFFLE IN MECİDİYEKÖY
A small-scale scuffle occurred when the police intervened against a group trying to walk from Mecidiyeköy to Taksim. The group, holding carnations, staged a sit-in in front of the police barricade. The police tried to disperse those around.
TÜRK-İŞ STARTED GATHERING IN KARTAL
TÜRK-İş is celebrating May 1st this year in Kartal. A large number of workers began to gather in the square from the morning hours.
DİSK LAID A WREATH AT THE TAKSIM MONUMENT
Unions commemorated those who lost their lives in the bloody May 1st of 1977 at Kazancı Yokuşu. Later, they moved to the Republic Monument, where a May 1st wreath was laid. DİSK General President Arzu Çerkezoğlu made statements during the ceremony here.
Çerkezoğlu stated, "It is the international day of unity, struggle, and solidarity of the working class. First of all, we commemorate our friends who we lost in Taksim Square on May 1st, 1977, our friend who we lost in the struggle for the liberation of Taksim and May 1st in 1989, and our friends who we lost in Kadıköy on May 1st, 1996, with respect and longing."
Çerkezoğlu criticized the closure of Taksim Square to celebrations, saying, "We have been fighting for years to liberate May 1st and Taksim Square. In 2010, 2011, and 2012, we held the largest May Day celebrations right here in this square. However, since 2013, Taksim Square has been banned again. In fact, these barricades tell a lot."