Leaders of major labor unions called off the plans to celebrate May Day in Istanbul’s Taksim square due to lack of security for the workers’ lives. The leaders said that many workers were wounded, and thousands of them were imprisoned in buses, in their homes or the buildings that they were in. DISK leader said, “Freedom for Islamic headscarf is the only freedom that the hypocrite AKP cares about”.
Police chasing workers into a hospital dropped gas bombs in the emergency room, causing panic and distress among patients. Pepper gas sprayed into DISK building got many sick, including opposition MPs. CHP MP Ali Ozpolat had a heart condition and waited for two hours for the ambulance to arrive. CHP MP Sahin Mengu described the events of today as 'barbaric'
Source: Hurriyet, Turkey, May 1, 2008
