News - Turkey authorities ban May 1 demonstrations at Istanbul's Taksim Square

The Turkish authorities have banned the May 1 demonstrations in Istanbul's central Taksim Square, Turkey's minister of internal affairs, Ali Yerlikaya, announced. "Until now, 103 petitions to hold events have been submitted in 55 provinces of the country on the occasion of the labor and solidarity day; all of them have been approved. The exception concerns Istanbul, which received 17.5 million tourists in 2023, a city that is the center of education, culture, art, trade, and industry of our country," the interior minister told reporters. "A number of trade unions petitioned to hold mass events at Taksim Square. They were informed that Taksim is not among the places and routes planned for holding rallies and marches on May 1," Yerlikaya noted. He added that terrorist organizations "in the last week have been calling on social media to participate in the Taksim demonstrations." The head of the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs said that on Wednesday May 1, trade union representatives can lay flowers at the Republic Monument at Taksim. Other events, however, are prohibited at the square and in the surrounding area. According to the minister, 40 places have been allocated in Istanbul for events on the occasion of Labor and Solidarity Day. More than 42 thousand police officers will provide security in the city.