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Police Terrorism on May 1st in Istanbul
Published: 1 May 2008
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Also read: Gassed & beaten up on May Day in Turkey
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Today the police of Istanbul exercised terror against workers. Istanbul was like an open air prison. Members of UNI affiliated unions from different national centers (Basin-Is, Haber-Is, Tez Koop-Is, Sosyal-Is, Bank-Sen, Haber-Sen) were witness to this terrorism. Thousands of workers were provoked by police forces. Over ten buses filled with workers and other demonstrators were stopped from crossing the Bosporus and the occupants were gassed and beaten. Indeed, one young demonstrator (Burhan Gul) got hit in the head by a rubber bullet. He is now in the hospital as are over ten injured demonstrators. According to the news agencies, hundreds of demonstrators were taken into the custody. In the afternoon, the steering committee of the May 1st demonstration decided to end the rally since police attacks all around the city were escalating. Workers in other cities of the country, like Ankara, confronted with same violence for the government. This violence against the fundamental rights and freedom of workers on May 1st 2008 in Istanbul was a reflection of the statement by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the trade unionists who issued strong demands to commemorate the 37 workers murdered on May 1st 1977 in Taksim. Before May 1st he had said, "When the feet try to govern the head, it becomes Doomsday." For more information, Adriana.rosenzvaig@uniglobalunion.org |