Yüksekdağ: We'll exceed all barricade and dams
ISTANBUL (DİHA) - Turkish police attacks started early in the morning as workers gathered in two sites in the neighborhoods of Beşiktaş and Şişli, hoping to march to the square several kilometers away. Unions, left political parties and autonomous activists were out in force in both neighborhoods.
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ, accompanied by HDP lawmakers Pervin Buldan, Sabahat Tuncel and Halil Aksoy, arrived in Beşiktaş ahead of a planned march at noon.
Yüksekdağ made a short speech here and indicated that Istanbul had turned into a city of emergency state. She added, "Police blockade began days ago and it was enlargened today. We are wishing a May Day on which all the labourers are free. We believe that workers and labourers will bring freedom to all the spheres with their power of unity and solidarity. There is almost a state of war in Istanbul."
Call for removing barricades
HDP Co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ called on the AKP government and said, "We want all the barricades to be removed. Let you open Taksim Square to all the workers and labourers". She congratulated the solidarity day of workers and "We will defeat political election threshold on June 7th. We will demolish all the barricades and dams facing us in the streets and squares," concluded Yüksekdağ.
The HDP delegation danced halays along with the workers.
Communist Party members enter Taksim
As noon approached, a group from the Communist Party managed to enter the empty and blockaded Taksim Square. A group of 50 started out from the Taksim Hill Hotel side of the square, chanting "Taksim is the May Day square."
Police surrounded the group, but some managed a banner drop from the Cengaver Han building before police arrested around 30 of their number.
(nt)
