May Day protesters, police clash in Turkey

Hundreds of Turkish protesters have defied a government ban on May Day rallies, pouring out into the streets of Istanbul, where they clashed with riot police.

Turkish security forces resorted to the use of water cannons and fired tear gas canisters on Thursday to prevent hundreds of protesters from challenging the official ban on May Day protests at Istanbul’s major Taksim Square, the focal point of anti-government rallies last summer.

Local authorities shut down parts of the city’s public transportation system and deployed thousands of riot police in a bid to block access to the iconic square, which is an established union rallying point surrounded by numerous hotels and businesses.

Flag-waving protesters trying to breach police lines, some throwing fireworks and stones, were met with water cannon and tear gas in the Besiktas neighborhood on the edge of the Bosphorus, not far from Taksim.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized last week that he would not allow unions to march on Taksim. The government suggested instead that the gathering should take place at a venue on the outskirts of Istanbul, but unions rejected the idea.

“We will be in Taksim despite the irrational and illegal ban. All roads will lead to Taksim on May Day, and our struggle for labor, equality, freedom, justice and peace will continue,” the main unions said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Turkish authorities issued a similar ban last year, leading to thousands of anti-government protesters fighting with police as they tried to breach barricades around the huge square, which in previous years was a focal point for labor rallies.