Baku, Azerbaijan, May 1
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The rallies of trade unions, timed to coincide with the International Day of Solidarity of Workers - May Day, kicked off in Istanbul, Turkey, Hurriyet newspaper reported May 1.
Over 500 trade union members gathered on Istanbul's Taksim Square.
All the sea voyages in Istanbul's waters were cancelled due to the expected May Day marches and Istanbul's metro will not operate today either.
Earlier, Turkey's trade unions appealed to the Istanbul mayor's office on holding a march to mark the International Workers' Solidarity Day - May Day.
The mayor's office, in particular, turned down the appeal to hold the march on the Taksim Square, explaining that the square is not meant for such parades.
The police have already blocked the Taksim Square in Istanbul due to the expected May Day rallies of the trade unions.
On May 31, 2013, protests began in Turkey against the construction of a shopping center on the Taksim Square.
In the beginning, the protests were peaceful, but then turned into a confrontation with the police. The protests then spread over many major cities in Turkey. The unrests at the time killed four people, while about 4,000 people were left with injuries of varying severity, and police detained 4,900 people.
There were also the citizens of European countries among the detainees.
Edited by CN
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