ISTANBUL/MOSCOW, May 1 (RIA Novosti) – Some 2,000 demonstrators clashed with riot police in Istanbul on Wednesday, when hundreds of people tried to reach the city’s main square to hold a May Day rally contrary to a government ban.
The Turkish authorities banned celebrations on Taksim Square this year, citing construction works undergoing there since last fall. But despite the ban, about 2,000 people tried to break through the police cordons and barricades at the Taksim on Wednesday. The protesters hurled stones and broke windows of nearby shops, prompting the riot police to use water cannons and tear gas. City police spokesman justified the measures by saying that it was not a peaceful demonstration.
The Istanbul governor's office said some 20 protesters were arrested, while a dozen of people were hospitalized, AFP reported.
Taksim is of symbolic importance to workers and leftist movements in Turkey. Back in 1977, dozens of protesters were killed there when unidentified gunmen opened fire on May Day demonstrators.
