This year’s May Day in Turkey is historic. On May 1^st in 1977 the state opened fire into a crowd of 500,000 demonstrators in Istanbul and killed 36 people. Since then, for 30 years any rallies or demonstrations in Taksim Square where the Massacre took place have been prohibited. Turkish workers being as determined as they are, decided to commemorate the 30^th anniversary of the Massacre by celebrating May Day in Taksim, regardless permitted or not. On any given peaceful day Taksim Square is full of police busses, panzers and most of the time a couple of snipers stand on the wall above the Square ready to tackle any mass gathering. On the holiday of the labouring people the police forces multiplied a hundred times. The entire city turned into a war zone. This was a war of the state against communists, socialists and ordinary people of labour who want to celebrate the time long holiday. DISK (one of the two biggest workers' unions confederations), KESK (Confederation of Public Employees' Unions), TMMOB (Chamber of Architects and Engineers), TTB (Chamber of Doctors), democratic mass organisations, revolutionary and socialist organisations marched towards Taksim despite all the threats of the state and the Governor of Istanbul.

To prevent people from gathering in Taksim the government paralysed the city. They cancelled boat trips between the Anatolian and European parts, limited the street traffic to only one lane, set check-points throughout the city preventing public transit or private busses from entering and patrolled private vehicles. Busses arriving from different cities were stopped at the gates of Istanbul and ordered to return home. A ferry carrying 2,000 workers and labourers from Izmir was prohibited entry and was ordered to stay on the sea together with the passengers aboard. The city government has created a situation close to a state of emergency. It felt like the police were in thousands. They were on the roads, on the roofs, fighting in the neighbourhoods, but most of all in Taksim. New and new units put on gas masks and rushed by hundreds to the streets adjacent to Taksim to impede groups of demonstrators from entering the Square. Helicopters patrolled multiple regions of this multimillion city and coordinated the police troops’ actions according to the movement of the groups marching from all directions, easily spotted by their red flags. The goal was to prevent masses from leaving their districts and converging in Taksim. In Okmeydani, 1st May and other labourers’ districts people fought against the police barricades with Molotov cocktails, stones and sticks. In many districts battles between the people and the police lasted for hours and in some police units occupied the districts until late night in anticipation of more clashes. Gas bombs, plastic bullets and batons were the special of the day. On their way to Taksim close to 2,000 people have been arrested, among the first, members of the May Day organizing committee. However, shortly after their arrest a new committee formed and carried on the task. The handcuffs clicked indiscriminately: a teenage student, a mature member of the engineers’ union or chamber of doctors, a famous actress – on this day all were equal in their right to remain silent and call a lawyer. The city government turned Taksim and the streets leading to it into a gas chamber. One elderly person died from exposure to extremely toxic gas, hundreds were severely beaten. The police also raided the main building of Chamber of Architects and Engineers TMMOB located in Taksim and threw gas bombs at 200 people who were inside. The state waged a war against its people.

However, the state underestimated the will power of the working people. Despite all repressions and threat of imprisonment, 10,000 people did brake through the police barricades and gas bomb attacks. Turkish people truly honour their martyrs, for they did what they promised them – on the 30^th anniversary of the murder of 36 comrades the new generation held commemoration ceremony, shouted May Day slogans, sang and danced in Taksim. This was a very important victory for the Turkish working class. May Day celebrations also took place in Ankara, Antep, Dersim, Malatya, Mersin, Diyarbakir (Amed) and other cities. The Ukrainian newspaper "Working Class", as well as many media around the world, copied the report of CNN Turk saying that after all the battles "a group of 500 was permitted to hold a short rally in Taksim". To let any of the misinformed know, Turkish communists do not ask for permission from anyone, let alone the current government. They take what belongs to them by blood, courage, years of imprisonment and with their lives. There was 10,000 plus thousands of those arrested and stopped at the barricades who concurred Taksim, but not asked for authorization to be there.