Unions mark 1977 May Day deaths

Turkey's troubled history with May Day

Members of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions, or DİSK, the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions, or KESK, the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, or TMMOB, and the Association for the Chambers of Turkish Doctors, or TTB, placed flowers at the memorial, which is inscribed with the names of those who died on Kazancı Slope.

As the names of those who died on May 1, 1977 were read out one by one, the assembled crowd shouted, "Lives on."

DİSK Chairman Süleyman Çelebi said his organization is in high gear to try to mark May Day in Taksim Square this year and is also working overtime to solve the problems faced by working-class people.

In Turkey, Taksim Square has been nearly synonymous with May Day since May 1, 1977, when unknown gunmen opened fire from nearby buildings on the crowd assembled there.

Çelebi said he considers it a matter of conscience, and responsibility, to enable remembrance of those who died on previous May Days and to allow people to celebrate the holiday freely. He added that President Abdullah Gül and Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan had not yet responded to the union leaders’ request for assistance in holding May Day celebrations in Taksim Square. The union leaders met with Gül and Toptan earlier this week.

"Our desire is very clear: We will be in the Taksim area on May 1," Çelebi said. "This is not about stubbornness. We want to celebrate with passion and freedom." He said the declaration of May 1 as a public holiday was the result of an important struggle and added that the workers’ groups are not seeking to create tension. "A bomb exploded in Diyarbakır. Soldiers died. We condemn these things," Çelebi said. "We condemn violence and terror wherever they happen."

"It shouldn’t be considered too much to allow workers to celebrate in Taksim," Çelebi said.

He reiterated that DİSK would never resort to violence.