JINHA – Across Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, workers gathered in the thousands to celebrate May 1, International Workers’ Day, yesterday.

Black Sea region celebrations of May Day were marred by a fascists attack on May Day celebrants in the city of Trabzon. 500 marched in the town of Fındıklı (near Rize) and workers also held a march in city of Hopa (in Artvin province). Workers denounced the quota system in the local tea and hazelnut industry.

Turkey’s capital, Ankara, saw tens of thousands of workers gathering from the early morning to celebrate May Day. Unions, political parties, women’s organizations, university students and NGOs were out in force for a colorful march. Workers demanded an end to the unsafe working conditions promoted by the AKP that have led to massive workplace massacres in places like Soma.

Marchers denounced Ankara mayor Melih Gökçek for the over-the-top police presence in the city. The workers had planned a rally in Sıhhıye, but thousands of police and armored vehicles closed off every road leading to the area. Workers decried the measures and announced their solidarity with workers in Istanbul, facing violent police repression.

In the Mediterranean city of Antalya, May Day had a festival atmosphere. Union leaders, workers and democratic forces marched across the city. Union leaders and pro-labor engineers spoke at the rally. Further east, in Adana, workers marched in the city center and the town of Karataş. The city of Antep saw a rally in spite of heavy police presence and search points.

In Diyarbakır, workers gathered at the city’s Organized Industrial Zone under the leadership of the Labor Party (EP) for a gathering. It was the first time workers in the industrial zone had celebrated May Day there. Workers in the nearby town of Ergani also held a march.

In the Kurdish city of Van, thousands gathered for a march across the city. Yurdusev Özsökmenler, running for Parliament for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), spoke to honor workers lost at the hands of the state and capital. She honored the workers killed when Turkish security forces opened fire on the May Day demonstration in Istanbul in 1977; the more than 15,000 lost to workplace neglect since the AKP took power; and the women slain in femicides that the ruling party encourages with anti-woman policies.

(hy/dc/cm