29 April, 2014The Turkish government has taken a huge step backwards when banning peaceful May Day demonstrations in Istanbul's historic Taksim square.
When national trade union centres DİSK and KESK and their affiliates, together with the Chamber of Medicine and Chamber of Engineers, declared their intention to celebrate May Day in Taksim Square, the Turkish Government simply banned the celebrations. The famous square has been the scene for excessive force against activists before; during May Day in 2013, police violence against trade unionists culminated with hundreds of severly injured people, including a 17-year old girl.
May Day celebrations represent important milestones for Turkey's labour movement, and the Taksim square in Istanbul is of special significance for Turkish trade unions. The first massive May Day celebration took place at the Taksim Square in 1976. Led by the national centre DİSK, hundreds of thousands of workers participated. The celebrations in 1977 drew more than 500,000 people to the same place. In a tragic turn of events, 37 people were killed by unknown gunmen.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the government of Turkey violated Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, on the right to freedom of association, when it used repressive measures against members of DISK and KESK to prevent the 2008 May Day rally in Taksim Square.
Likewise, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has underlined the importance of May Day to trade unions, and the right of trade unions to carry out activities on this day. As the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association has explained: “the right to organize public meetings and processions, particularly on the occasion of May Day, constitutes an important aspect of trade union rights”.
“We are deeply concerned about the Turkish Government's attitude towards trade unions and civil society who want to organize peaceful demonstrations on May Day,” says Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union.
We support the legitimate demands of the Turkish trade unions to celebrate May Day in Taksim Square without repression, detention and violence.
Please sign Labourstart's campaign for the right to celebrate May Day in Taksim Square in Turkey.