The state's terror did not work: Workers and labourers are at Taksim Square after 30 years
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On the 30th anniversary of the massacre on Mayday 1977, workers and labourers conquered the banned Taksim Square.
DISK (one of the two biggest workers' unions confederations), KESK (confederation of the public employers' unions), TMMOB (confederation of the engineers' and architects' chambers), TTB (confederation of the doctors' chambers), democratic mass organisations and revolutionary and progressive forces maintained their will to go to Taksim on Mayday as they had announced months ago.
The dictatorship, by its part, also made an intense preparation for the Mayday celebration in Taksim. A few weeks before the celebration, the Governor of Istanbul had launched threats by saying that "by no means they will permit a Mayday celebration at Taksim Square". The axis of these efforts within the working class was carried out by Turk-Is (the other biggest workers' unions confederation). Turk-Is called for a demonstration in Kadikoy, in accordance with the tendency of the state and by this way, it tried to divide the will of the working class and the labourers for Taksim Square.
While Mayday was coming closer, the security measures were tightened and extra-police forces were brought to Istanbul from the other cities. Totally 17 thousand policemen were located for the demonstration in Taksim. Gendarmerie forces also took part in the conflicts around Taksim. But there is no doubt that the highest point of these measures was the fact that the Governor "arrested" all Istanbul by cancelling the ship trips between the European and the Anatolian part of Istanbul and by paralysing the traffic when they limited it with only one lane. With these measures, the Governor of Istanbul turned into the target of the great anger and reaction of all the population in Istanbul. State terror, which is always carried out under the name of "security and anti-terror measures", lost its legitimacy in the example of Mayday because of this situation created in Istanbul which reminds an "emergency state". Mayday was carried into the agenda of the millions of labourers because of this "torture" of the Governor as well as the call of the progressive and revolutionary forces, trade unions and mass organisations.
The Government of Istanbul did not limit itself with paralysing the traffic. The busses coming from different cities for the celebration in Taksim were stopped at the gates of Istanbul, the masses that gathered in the labourers' districts to go to Taksim were not allowed to get out of these districts y all were attacked by the police. The members of the Organising Committee of the demonstration were arrested by the police early in the morning. The journalists were beaten and the TV vehicles were hindered. Numerous police attacks were carried out against the demonstrators in Taksim and other regions around Taksim such as Dolmabahce, Besiktas, Tarlabasi and Dolapdere. The smoke of the gas bombs that covered Taksim did not disappear during many hours. Approximately 800 labourers were arrested.
But the will of tens of thousands of workers and labourers was not broken despite all. Everywhere that they met a police barricade, the gates of the city, the labourers' districts, the highways, the ferry-boat that was forced to stop and wait in the middle of the Marmara Sea were turned into a place of resistance. The determination of Taksim and the slogan "Everywhere is Taksim; long live Mayday!" was raised in all parts of Istanbul. The intense security measures launched by the Governor were not able to hinder the workers and labourers to enter the Taksim Square.
Taksim, the banned square of Istanbul, was conquered on Mayday 2007 after 30 years.
The demonstration at Kadikoy Square that was called by Turk-Is was carried out with the participation of five thousand labourers. Although the relatively progressive trade unions such as Yol-Is and Deri-Is were not convinced to be in the side of the will for Taksim, the wrokers and labourers did not show interest to the demonstration in Kadikoy. Salih Kilic, the general president of Turk-Is, could hardly complete his speech under the protest of the workers booing him and shouting the slogan "Salih Kilic, servant of the capital!". EMEP (Labour Party), which defined the discussions on Taksim Square as a technical discussion about the place of the demonstration, no adopted an attitude of isolating the attempt of celebration Mayday in Kadikoy and participated in both actions.
Mayday was also celebrated in the other cities through enthusiastic demonstrations. The attack against the action in Taksim was protested in all the cities.
The determination of going to the Taksim Square was an indicator of the pressure on the trade unions by the working class and the labourers who demand that the unions should adopt a result-achieving line of struggle. It was also a result of the dynamics of anti-fascist mass struggle, of the determination to call the counter-guerrilla state to account and of the desire for justice which were developed further during the events in Semdinli and Yuksekova, the explosion in Diyarbakir, the attacks based on the Anti-terror Law and the murder of Hrant Dink. The anger of the ruling forces against Mayday was an expression of their anger on the development potential of these two elements.
This strong result-achieving will shown on Mayday 2007 has been an element which will clear the way for the development of the mass struggle of the coming period.

 

 

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The state's terror did not work: Workers and labourers are at Taksim Square after 30 years
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On the 30th anniversary of the massacre on Mayday 1977, workers and labourers conquered the banned Taksim Square.
DISK (one of the two biggest workers' unions confederations), KESK (confederation of the public employers' unions), TMMOB (confederation of the engineers' and architects' chambers), TTB (confederation of the doctors' chambers), democratic mass organisations and revolutionary and progressive forces maintained their will to go to Taksim on Mayday as they had announced months ago.
The dictatorship, by its part, also made an intense preparation for the Mayday celebration in Taksim. A few weeks before the celebration, the Governor of Istanbul had launched threats by saying that "by no means they will permit a Mayday celebration at Taksim Square". The axis of these efforts within the working class was carried out by Turk-Is (the other biggest workers' unions confederation). Turk-Is called for a demonstration in Kadikoy, in accordance with the tendency of the state and by this way, it tried to divide the will of the working class and the labourers for Taksim Square.
While Mayday was coming closer, the security measures were tightened and extra-police forces were brought to Istanbul from the other cities. Totally 17 thousand policemen were located for the demonstration in Taksim. Gendarmerie forces also took part in the conflicts around Taksim. But there is no doubt that the highest point of these measures was the fact that the Governor "arrested" all Istanbul by cancelling the ship trips between the European and the Anatolian part of Istanbul and by paralysing the traffic when they limited it with only one lane. With these measures, the Governor of Istanbul turned into the target of the great anger and reaction of all the population in Istanbul. State terror, which is always carried out under the name of "security and anti-terror measures", lost its legitimacy in the example of Mayday because of this situation created in Istanbul which reminds an "emergency state". Mayday was carried into the agenda of the millions of labourers because of this "torture" of the Governor as well as the call of the progressive and revolutionary forces, trade unions and mass organisations.
The Government of Istanbul did not limit itself with paralysing the traffic. The busses coming from different cities for the celebration in Taksim were stopped at the gates of Istanbul, the masses that gathered in the labourers' districts to go to Taksim were not allowed to get out of these districts y all were attacked by the police. The members of the Organising Committee of the demonstration were arrested by the police early in the morning. The journalists were beaten and the TV vehicles were hindered. Numerous police attacks were carried out against the demonstrators in Taksim and other regions around Taksim such as Dolmabahce, Besiktas, Tarlabasi and Dolapdere. The smoke of the gas bombs that covered Taksim did not disappear during many hours. Approximately 800 labourers were arrested.
But the will of tens of thousands of workers and labourers was not broken despite all. Everywhere that they met a police barricade, the gates of the city, the labourers' districts, the highways, the ferry-boat that was forced to stop and wait in the middle of the Marmara Sea were turned into a place of resistance. The determination of Taksim and the slogan "Everywhere is Taksim; long live Mayday!" was raised in all parts of Istanbul. The intense security measures launched by the Governor were not able to hinder the workers and labourers to enter the Taksim Square.
Taksim, the banned square of Istanbul, was conquered on Mayday 2007 after 30 years.
The demonstration at Kadikoy Square that was called by Turk-Is was carried out with the participation of five thousand labourers. Although the relatively progressive trade unions such as Yol-Is and Deri-Is were not convinced to be in the side of the will for Taksim, the wrokers and labourers did not show interest to the demonstration in Kadikoy. Salih Kilic, the general president of Turk-Is, could hardly complete his speech under the protest of the workers booing him and shouting the slogan "Salih Kilic, servant of the capital!". EMEP (Labour Party), which defined the discussions on Taksim Square as a technical discussion about the place of the demonstration, no adopted an attitude of isolating the attempt of celebration Mayday in Kadikoy and participated in both actions.
Mayday was also celebrated in the other cities through enthusiastic demonstrations. The attack against the action in Taksim was protested in all the cities.
The determination of going to the Taksim Square was an indicator of the pressure on the trade unions by the working class and the labourers who demand that the unions should adopt a result-achieving line of struggle. It was also a result of the dynamics of anti-fascist mass struggle, of the determination to call the counter-guerrilla state to account and of the desire for justice which were developed further during the events in Semdinli and Yuksekova, the explosion in Diyarbakir, the attacks based on the Anti-terror Law and the murder of Hrant Dink. The anger of the ruling forces against Mayday was an expression of their anger on the development potential of these two elements.
This strong result-achieving will shown on Mayday 2007 has been an element which will clear the way for the development of the mass struggle of the coming period.