Hundreds of people were arrested in Istanbul, where 50,000 police officers were deployed in the city, as the authorities are trying to take strict measures against protests on May.
Public transportation has been closed to prevent people who arrive in Taksim Square, where the demonstrations have been banned since 2013.
Footage of the Turkish capital showed clashes between the riot police and the demonstrators with the demonstrators chanting while the police transfer the detainees strongly to the buses.
The city witnessed huge protests in March after the arrest of opposition mayor Ikraim Emamoglu – the main rival of Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On May 1 of each year, led by the marches led by workers and unions It is held as part of international workers ’celebrations in many countries.
The Takesim Square – the heart of Istanbul – was under a narrow closure, with police and mineral barriers along all roads that lead to the area.
The authorities are designed, perhaps this year more than ever, to ensure that there are no major protests in the field, and they had enough riot police to ensure this.
The box, usually busy with the loud crowds, seemed without life, as restaurants and shops were closed.
It was the only way that exceeded the police lines with permission. Several unions have been allowed shortly on Takesim, carrying red signs and flowers.
Standing in front of the Republic’s monument, which celebrates the founding of modern Türkiye in 1923, one of the speakers complained about the restrictions they faced. Trucks with church water are stopped shortly.
On the roads leading to the box, groups of tourists have passed on foot from time to time, and withdrawing bags, not sure where they can go and unable to reach taxis.
The box was closed for several days before May 1, according to the news agency of Agence France Presse.
A student named Murad said that the streets “were banned … as if they were the state of emergency.”
“We were not allowed to enter the squares … We took the streets in small groups under torture. It is not a position we face for the first time. Maybe it will not be the last.”
On Wednesday, 100 people were arrested with alleged planning to protest in the field.
The city authorities said on Thursday that 382 people were arrested for “unauthorized demonstrations.”
Amnesty International Rights has urged Türkiye to lift the ban on the demonstrations in Takesim.
Denyuchika Desanai, a pardon in Europe, said the restrictions “are based on security reasons and completely false public order.”
In a statement, the group called on officials to respect the right to protest and “not to use force against peaceful demonstrators.”
The arrest of Ikrem Imamoglu in March has sparked mass protests in the streets of Istanbul, where hundreds of thousands of demonstrators supporting democracy have been released to support the mayor of Istanbul, who is being held in prison on charges of corruption that he denies.
He said that his arrest was political, but the government denied this and insisted that the Turkish courts are completely independent.
Mayor since 2019, IMamoglu has been widely seen as the only politician who is able to challenge Erdogan in the 2028 elections. IMamoglu was confirmed as a candidate for the opposition party during his detention.
Erdogan was in power for more than 20 years, first as prime minister and then prime minister from 2014. He cannot run for the presidency after 2028 – unless he changed the constitution of Türkiye.
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