On May Day, the police violently attacked workers, students and democratic mass organizations who wanted to march to Taksim Square, which has become a symbol of the labor struggle. More than 400 people were detained.
Taksim Square in Istanbul's central Beyoğlu district has been cordoned off by the police since yesterday. All access routes have been closed off with metal barriers. As every year, there is a ban on demonstrations in the square where a massacre took place on 1 May 1977.
Today, the police set up barricades and attacked the groups marching from Şişli to Taksim.
According to lawyers, the number of people detained during the day-long interventions exceeded 400.
According to reports from the ground, nine members of the Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD) are among those detained.
Taksim Massacre
On 1 May 1977, a massacre took place in Taksim Square. Well over 500,000 people from different provinces of the country took part in the Labour Day demonstration organised by DISK. Many of them had not even entered the square when the first shots were fired. The security forces then attacked with armoured vehicles, firing gas grenades and using water cannons. The number of victims is still a controversial issue; according to official figures, 34 people were killed and about 200 injured, while left-wing organisations speak of 37 dead. Some people remained lying on the spot, others ran away. Many were crowded into corners and run over by armoured vehicles. More than 500 people were detained during the course of the crackdown.
