Notes from May 1 Celebrations

Hundreds of thousands of people celebrated May 1 in different regions of Turkey. People met at squares in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir(Aegean region, west part of Turkey), Mersin(Southern part of Turkey), Diyarbakır (Southeastern part of Turkey), Tunceli (Eastern part of Turkey) and Bursa (West part of Turkey). The security measures were not too extensive and the celebrations were enthusiastic. There were clashes between the demonstrators and the police in Tunceli and Ankara. The security measures were not too tight also in Diyarbakır.

İstanbul

*There was a banner at the building of Agos newspaper with the photo of Sarkiz Çerkezyan and  "ThisWorld is Enough for All of Us" was written in 4 languages (In Armenian, Circassian, Kurdish, Turkish)

* The editor of Journal of Science and the Future Magazine Osman Baha Okar, Ahmet Şık and  Nedim Şener were at the "journalists outside the jail" cortege.

* Some people were wearing funny t-shirts with a cartoon character of illustrator Latif Demirci at the Journalists Union of Turkey cortege.

* Municipal workers of Şişli Municipality threw red carnations to the people passing in front of the building.

* A group supporting RedHack carried a banner "We Are All RedHacks, We Are All Papa Smurf".

* Anti -Capitalist Muslim Youth group performed a funeral prayer for the workers died at Fatih Mosque and then walked to Taksim Square. "Freedom to the Slaves" was written in 4 languages at their large banners.

*Actors Fırat Tanış, Mehmet Ali Alabora, Rutkay Aziz, Sinan Tuzcu read poems and gave speeches.

* Meanwhile, a group of people who hided their faces by masks and scarfs broke the windows of the restaurants, cafes and bank branches in Mecidiyekoy.

Ankara

Labor Day celebrations took place in two separate locations in Ankara, Tandoğan and Sıhhiye squares.

Confederation of Public Employees' Trade Unions (KESK), Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), Union Of Chambers Of Turkish Engineers And Architects (TMMOB) and Turkish Medical Association organized an alternative May 1 event in addition to the celebrations at Tandoğan Square.

Police sprayed tear gas on a group of demonstrators in Ankara when the group wanted to cross the police barricade.

Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), Party of Love and Revolution (ODP), Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), sex workers and LGBT associations attended the celebrations at Sıhhiye Square.

İzmir

İzmir Gündoğdu Square was the center of celebration and there were around 15.000 people.

Mersin

Hundreds of people gathered together at İstasyon Square and they walked to the meeting area, Cumhuriyet Square.

Diyarbakır

This year, Diyarbakır  May 1 celebrations  did not take place at Dağkapı Square and for the first time thousands of people were gathered at İstasyon Square.

Party of Love and Revolution (ODP), Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) and Rights and Freedoms Party (Hak ve Özgürlükler Partisi or HAK-PAR in Turkish), workers' organizations and trade unions were in the area. The security measures were not too tight in Diyarbakır.

Tunceli

There were clashes between the demonstrators and the police in Tunceli   and the police sprayed tear gas to demonstrators.

Bursa

Kent Square was the centre of the May 1 celebrations in Bursa. Groups of people came to Bursa from Central Anatolia and Aegean regions, Kocaeli, Eskişehir, Bilecik, Yalova, Çanakkale, Sakarya, Kütahya and Balıkesir.