Authorities in Istanbul have arrested 92 individuals accused of calling for May 1st demonstrations at the city’s central Taksim Square. Although having been the site of numerous May 1st demonstrations previously, access to the square has been restricted by authorities in recent years, beginning in 2013.
| Turkish authorities arrest 92 in pre-May 1st crackdown |
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| Turkish authorities arrest 92 in pre-May 1st crackdown |
The detainees include several leaders of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), and members of several pro-worker collectives, magazines, and newspapers. The arrests were announced by Istanbul’s Chief Prosecutor early Tuesday (April 29).
2024’s May 1st demonstrations
The International Workers’ Day demonstrations on May 1st, long a flashpoint between demonstrators and Turkish authorities, have been met in recent years with riot police and tear gas. Last year, police stopped demonstrators marching from Istanbul’s Saraçhane city hall to Taksim Square at the historic Bozdoğan Aqueduct. The Istanbul Governor had announced major road and public transportation closures and a ban on demonstrations at Taksim despite a Constitutional Court ruling from December 2023 declaring the right of protestors to demonstrate at the central square.
Tense political climate preceding May 1st
Turkey has been rocked by protests since the March 19th arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, one of the country’s most prominent opposition politicians. This year’s May 1st will take place in a domestic political climate that has been described by the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor as “moving at full speed towards authoritarianism,” a view also expressed by the Editorial Board of the New York Times in an April 27th op-ed.
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May 1st demonstrations at Taksim
May 1st demonstrations have a long history at Taksim Square. In 1977, clashes between protestors and law enforcement, along with reported sniper shooting from the top of a neighboring building, resulted in 34 deaths and became known as ‘Bloody May 1st’. Following Turkey’s 1980 coup d’etat, May 1st demonstrations were banned at Taksim entirely. Demonstrations resumed in 2007 following a long hiatus, albeit with numerous arrests. Although officially permitted between 2010-2012, fallout from the Gezi Park Protests led to the banning of May 1st demonstrations at Taksim from 2013 onwards.
Bans on May 1st demonstrations at the square by the Istanbul Governorship in recent years have alleged that the Taksim gatherings would be infiltrated by ‘terror groups’, and that other spaces in the city remain available as ‘designated areas and routes’ more suitable for demonstrations.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
