Turkish protesters gather at Taksim square during a May Day rally in central Istanbul, on May 1, 2011. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)
It is certainly a positive sign that the AKP political party allowed a May Day demonstration in historic Taksim Square for the second time since 1977. It would be even better if they took real, positive action on labor rights.
Amnesty International launched a global campaign for workers’ rights in Turkey a few days ahead of the May Day demonstration because of the sorry state of Turkey’s labor conditions.
We remain deeply concerned about the longstanding failure of the Turkish authorities to ensure that labor laws guarantee the fundamental rights of working people. Indeed, many of these laws date back to the dark days of military rule in Turkey. A lot of time has passed, but on labor rights, too little has changed.