Turkish police arrest dozens attempting May Day commemorations

Marchers violate coronavirus lockdown imposed on weekends and national holidays

Turkish police block off May Day marchers holding a wreath near Taksim Square in Istanbul on May 1, 2020. AFP

Turkish police on Friday arrested dozens of people in Ankara and Istanbul for holding public events to mark May Day in defiance of a coronavirus lockdown.

The head of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey, or Disk, was among those arrested in Istanbul, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The confederation said Arzu Cerkezoglu was detained along with several other union leaders near Taksim Square, where they wanted to lay wreaths of carnations.

Photos from the scene showed police and demonstrators wearing masks and face guards in a tense confrontation.

Anadolu said many as 15 people were arrested when a group gathered in front of Disk’s central office in Istanbul’s Besiktas district and attempted to march to Taksim Square despite police warnings.

Twelve people were arrested in the Sisli district as they tried to march to the square, while another 11 people were arrested in the Kadikoy district for attempting to hold a rally, the agency said.

Seven people were arrested in the capital, Ankara.

Anadolu said the arrests were for violating the coronavirus lockdown and a ban on May Day demonstrations at Taksim Square that was imposed several years ago.

Police closed all roads leading to Taksim Square with barricades and increased security presence there on Friday, which was a national holiday.

Taksim Square holds a symbolic value for Turkey’s labour movement. In 1977, 34 people were killed there during a May Day event when shots were fired into the crowd from a nearby building. The historical square was also the starting point for nationwide anti-government protests in 2013, sparked by opposition to its redevelopment.

Turkey has imposed partial lockdowns in 31 provinces every weekend and on national holidays to control the spread of the coronavirus. Exemptions apply, including for many labourers who continue to work amid the pandemic. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the country must continue production to ensure the economic “wheels continue turning”.

"While struggling with the [coronavirus] outbreak, we do our best to ensure that no citizens are aggrieved, and especially to safeguard the continuity of employment," Anadolu quoted Mr Erdogan as saying in a May Day address.

"With the programmes we implement under the social safety net, we try to minimise the problems caused by the outbreak in our employees’ lives."

As of Thursday Turkey had confirmed 120,204 cases of Covid-19, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, although experts believe the actual toll of the pandemic is higher. The country's official death toll stands at 3,174.