Türkiye is set to mark Labor and Solidarity Day in various cities, but the most-watched rally will definitely be the one in Istanbul, the country's most populated city, which results in the closure of some roads amid security measures.
International Labor Day, also known as May Day, is marked by tens of thousands in rallies organized by labor unions, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and political parties in Istanbul every year.
The local authorities ordered the deployment of thousands of police across the city as a precaution. Officials have set up barricades around the iconic squares and offered alternative routes to the public, said the Traffic Inspection Branch of the Istanbul Police Department.
Several roads will be closed to traffic in the Beyoğlu and Maltepe districts of Istanbul. However, Inönü Street in the Esenler district and Mete Street in Beyoğlu may be opened to traffic after being evaluated by law enforcement.
As alternative routes for these avenues and streets, Refik Saydam Avenue, Tarlabaşı Boulevard, Meclisi-i Mebusan Avenue, Tersane Avenue, Mebusan Yokusu, Boğazkesen Avenue, Defterdar Yokusu and Kemeraltı Avenue in Beyoğlu district can be used.
In addition, the D-100 highway and Maltepe Bağdat Caddesi in Maltepe district can be used as alternative routes to the roads that will be closed.
May Day, first emerged as an event commemorating the labor of workers worldwide on May 1, 1886, when a group of workers in the U.S. held a massive strike for an eight-hour workday.
Since the 1890s, May 1 has been celebrated as International Workers' Day in many countries.
In Türkiye, the first mass May 1 celebrations occurred in the 1910s during the Ottoman era in events held mainly by cotton, grape and port workers in Istanbul, Izmir and Salonica.
It was celebrated in Ankara in 1922 amid close ties with the Soviet Union during the War of Independence and officially celebrated in 1923. From 1925 to 1976, Labor Day celebrations were officially banned and a new public holiday named Spring and Flower Day was introduced.
In 1977, the first mass Labor Day celebrations in decades took place in Istanbul's Taksim Square, attended by hundreds of thousands of people, but ended tragically when unidentified assailants opened fire on the crowd, leading to the deaths of 36 people amid gunfire and the subsequent stampede. From 1979 on, a ban was introduced on May Day celebrations in Taksim, which caused the square and its surrounding areas to become a clash zone between security forces and mainly left-wing groups each year.
The military regime of the Sept. 12, 1980, coup d'état banned Labor Day celebrations and removed May 1 as a national holiday. They were restored again in 2009, and the square was open for Labor Day celebrations in 2010. Rallies in 2010 were peaceful, but after the ban was reinstated in 2012, protests again turned violent. Taksim Square remained off-limits to mass rallies for fear of a repeat of the 1977 incident and riots by supporters of terrorist groups, which exploited the Labor Day celebrations to stage riots in the past.
