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Police barriers were erected early this morning, blocking all routes leading to the Republic Monument and Taksim Square in central İstanbul, as the local governor's office refused to permit the celebration of Labor Day on May 1 at the famous piazza.
The İstanbul governor's office granted permission for the May 1 gathering to occur at Taksim Square in 2010, after a 32-year ban. However, the rallies were again prohibited in 2013, citing a pedestrianization project as the reason for the ban.
Despite today's police blockades, various political parties, democratic organizations, trade unions, and youth organizations attempt to hold rallies and marches on the iconic square, resulting in numerous people getting detained.
Members of the Struggle Union (Mücadele Birliği) were among those who were detained early in the morning for marching towards Taksim with a banner that read "We did not leave, we are here, long live May 1."
Similarly, members of trade unions DİSK/Enerji-Sen and İnşaat-İş, including DİSK/Enerji-Sen Secretary General Emin Atsız and the founding chairperson of the union Kamil Karta, were apprehended while walking towards Taksim square with banners that read "Resistance and solidarity make us live, long live May 1."
Police also detained members of various political parties, such as the Social Freedom Party (TÖP), People's Salvation Party (HKP), The Revolution Party (DP), and Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) during their attempts to hold rallies.
#1Mayıs | “Yaşasın 1 Mayıs/ Bijî yek gulan” sloganlarıyla Elmadağ'dan Taksim’e yürüyen ESP, SGDF ve Birleşik İşçi Hareketi'nden dört kişi polis tarafından gözaltına alındı.https://t.co/rKBhhEWso1
— bianet (@bianet_org) May 1, 2023
(????@ezilenler) pic.twitter.com/zLfjuE17W2
The İstanbul governor's office authorized this year's May Day celebrations to take place in Maltepe Square, located on the Asian side, while assemblies in any other areas are considered unsanctioned and against the law.
Thousands of people flocked to Maltepe to celebrate Labor Day. The festivities commenced with a moment of silence honoring those who died in the February 6 earthquakes and in the fight for labor and democracy.
Following that, the Ruhi Su Dostlar and Mesopotamia Cultural Center choirs performed the May 1 March in Kurdish and Turkish. The rally continued with fervent participation as tens of thousands danced the halay and chanted slogans.
Many of the chants were aimed at the upcoming May 14 elections, calling for removing the current government from power. Other slogans included "We will defeat fascism," "May 1 for a new beginning," and "Our labor our future."
"Today is May 1, a day of unity and solidarity, a day of united change. Our struggle for change continues,'' Turkish Medical Association (TTB) chairperson, Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı said to bianet, while attending the gathering.
At the entry point of the designated area, the police confiscated newspapers and banners, especially those related to women's and LGBTIQ+ rights.
At least ten people were detained in Maltepe when members of the Partizan and Leverage organization were not allowed to enter the area with Ibrahim Kaypakkaya banners.
Kaypakkaya was a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary and the founder of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML). He was executed at the age of 24 in 1973.
Last year, at least 164 individuals were apprehended throughout the city for "trying to organize unlawful protests", according to a statement released that day by the İstanbul governor's office.
(WM/VK)
bianet kadın ve LGBTİ+ haberleri editörü (Ekim 2018- Şubat 2025). bianet stajyerlerinden (2000-2001). Cumhuriyet, BirGün, DİHA, Jinha, Jin News, İMC TV için muhabirlik yaptı. Rize'de yerel gazetelerde çalıştı. Sivil Sayfalar, Yeşil Gazete, Journo ve sektör dergileri için yazılar yazdı, haberleri yayınlandı. Hemşin kültür dergisi GOR’un kurucu yazarlarından. Yeşilden Maviye Karadenizden Kadın Portreleri, Sırtında Sepeti, Medya ve Yalanlar isimli kitaplara katkı sundu. Musa Anter Gazetecilik (2011) ve Türkiye Psikiyatri Derneği (2024) en iyi haber ödülü sahibi. Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikası Kadın ve LGBTİ+ Komisyonu kurucularından. Sendikanın İstanbul Şubesi yöneticilerinden (2023-2027). İstanbul Üniversitesi Avrupa Birliği ve Bilgi Üniversitesi Uluslararası İlişkiler bölümlerinden mezun. Toplumsal cinsiyet odaklı habercilik ve cinsiyet temelli şiddet haberciliği alanında atölyeler düzenliyor. Şubat 2025'den bu yana kadın haberleri editörü olarak çalışıyor.
bianet eğitim ve mülteci hakları editörü. Evrensel, T24, Taraf, Bakurpress, JİNHA, Jin news, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi ve Yeni Yaşam gazetesinde, yargı muhabirliği, politika editörlüğü, hak ihlalleri ve kadın alanlarında çalıştı. İstanbul Aydın Üniversitesi İnternet Gazeteciliği ve Yayıncılığı, Marmara Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Gazetecilik bölümünde okudu.
bianet stajyer muhabiri. Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Fotoğraf ve Video Bölümü 4. sınıf öğrencisi.
An ostrich that escaped from a gas station in Diyarbakır was found three days later in the same neighborhood where it was raised.
The bird had been given as a gift to a local businessman but managed to break free, eventually returning to familiar surroundings.
A year ago, Abdulvasi Ateş brought two baby ostriches from Samsun as a gift for his father, Fesih Ateş, who lives in Diyarbakır’s Yenişehir district, Güzelköy neighborhood. Ateş raised the birds until Feb 11, when he gave one of them—a female—to his relative, Fırat Özateş, who owns a gas station in Diyarbakır’s Sur district.
However, just one day later, the ostrich escaped from the station’s yard, jumping over a wire fence and running toward the Diyarbakır-Silvan highway before disappearing from sight. A search was launched to locate the runaway bird.
On Feb 15, the ostrich was spotted near Güzelköy neighborhood, where it had been raised. Local residents recognized the bird and returned it to Fesih Ateş.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Ateş said the ostrich had developed a strong attachment to him. “No matter where I went, it would follow me. It’s such an emotional animal,” he said.
He recounted how the ostrich had initially returned to his neighborhood but was scared off by dogs before a neighbor took it in for safekeeping.
“I was devastated when it went missing. I prayed for it to come back. When I finally saw it, I hugged it and kissed it,” he said. “The happiness I felt was like a parent finding a lost child. I’m an emotional person, and when I saw it, I just had to hug it.” (TY/VK)
Under the rubble
An outstretched hand
Lies next to a paper stating
"This building is safe"
Splattered in blood
This document of death
Contains the signatures
Of a multitude of Judases
Who sentenced
Them To death
The papers are being shredded now, the emails too
Laws passed disowned and discarded
Just like you,
Under the rubble
An outstretched hand
Pleading…
Don’t ever let them
Do this to you
David R. Mellor is from Liverpool, England. He spent his late teens homeless on Merseyside. He is currently writing and performing in Turkey. His work has been featured by the BBC and the Tate, and his published collections of poetry are What a Catch (2013), Some Body (2013), Express Nothing (2019) and So This Is It (2020). His collection of stories An Englishman in Turkey – Türkiye’de Bir İngiliz is recently published in Turkish.
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