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News
Turkish Trade Unionists Celebrate May Day
Posted
10th May 2010
Turkish unions had something to celebrate this May Day as they were finally allowed to demonstrate legally in Istanbul's Taksim Square.
For thirty years, the Turkish government had banned demonstrations there following a massacre in which 37 people were killed on May Day 1977.
Efforts by unions in recent years to demonstrate in Taksim Square on May Day were always thwarted. As recently as 2008, when trade unionists attempted to assemble there they were met with tear gas and mass arrests.
This year, their campaign for the right to assemble to Taksim Square was finally successful. On May 1st, over 150,000 workers peacefully demonstrated in Taksim Square for the first time in a generation. This was a great victory for the Turkish labour movement.
Mustafa Kumlu, President of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions spoke: 'We remember the friends we lost from the depths of our hearts. We rejoice in the fact that Taksim Square has been opened, and we thank our friends who struggled for this cause.'
Related link:
http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-17907-f0.cfm