Free speech for Turkish workers on May Day?

This is a video from Istanbul, Turkey, about the May Day demonstration of 2007.

From Labornet in Turkey:

Turkey/Istanbul – Even the May Day posters of Freedom Solidarity Party are banned!

April 29, 2008

The posters and banners prepared by the socialist Freedom and Solidarity party were banned by the governor of Istanbul. The posters wrote, “To stop the Friend of the Rich, Enemy of the Poor (governing) JDP, All Out at May Day”

The governor has not allowed the May Day celebrations to take place in its traditional place, the Taksim Square, citing security concerns. Yet, only last night soccer hooligans were allowed to demonstrate at the same square without any government intervention. Taksim square has become the contested ground between the government and the May Day celebration organizers. In 1977, the largest ever May Day celebration at the square was attacked by a combination of US snipers and their collaborating Turkish security forces from the surrounding buildings killing more than 30 people and injuring hundreds. The ITT owned Intercontinental hotel had officially closed to allow only the US citizen snipers to take positions in the hotel prior to the massive celebration that year. Only few years prior, the owner of the Intercontinental Hotel, ITT had been involved in toppling the Allende regime in Chile to bring a brutal fascist military dictatorship. Except for the banned years after the fascist Turkish military coup, organizers have insisted and tried to celebrate the event in this most central place in Istanbul, while the government has attacked all attempts.

In a statement the President of The Freedom Solidarity Party Istanbul branch said, “Istanbul Governor Muammer Güler is not only against May Day, he is also preventing us from criticizing the government”.

The statement continued, “For years, the Taksim square is being used for many different social events from national soccer celebrations to ‘police weeks’; from new year celebrations to ‘Tulip festivals’. The square is only closed to the workers and the laborers. The governer said yesterday that there is no security at the square and Taksim is not an appropriate location for the celebrations. He indicated that if we celebrated there he will have the police attack us.”

Update: here.