Sawt Falasteen - Istanbul lockdown aims to prevent May Day marches

Ahead of the holiday, police arrested 100 people allegedly planning to protest on Istanbul's central Taksim Square, where demonstrations have been banned since 2013.

The government is also embroiled in a showdown with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CPH) since the detention of its presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and the biggest political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Since protests in 2013 which spread across Turkey and were suppressed by police, claiming eight lives, the government has banned gatherings in Taksim, even for the May 1 Labour Day, International Women's Day or Pride marches.

From Wednesday evening, seven metro stations and some of Istanbul's busiest bus and streetcar stops were closed off, according to city authorities.

The crackdown includes restrictions on access to the Kadikoy neighbourhood, where several trade unions had called for a rally on Thursday's May Day.

Other emblematic locations such as the Palace of Justice and the municipal government headquarters have also been cordoned off.

Since Monday, police have staged raids to round up people who called for May Day rallies at Taksim Square, media reports said. Istanbul's chief prosecutor issued arrest warrants for 108 people.

- End 'spurious' ban -

Rights group Amnesty International urged Turkey to lift the ban on demonstrations.

"The restrictions on May Day celebrations in Taksim Square are based on entirely spurious security and public order grounds and ... must be urgently lifted," said Dinushika Dissanayake, an Amnesty's specialist on Europe.

As happens every year, the square has been sealed off with metal barriers and many thousands of police likely to be deployed to prevent any violations.

Police rounded up 20 people on Wednesday as part of the clampdown, Turgut Delioglu, head of the DISK union's media section, told AFP.

He said the union would gather on Thursday in the Kadikoy sector.

Taksim Square was fenced off last month following the arrest and jailing of Imamoglu. The move sparked the biggest anti-government protests in Turkey since 2013.

Istanbul governor Davut Gul has said anyone defying the ban on demonstrations at Taksim would be prosecuted.

Amnesty said the ban defied a 2023 ruling by Turkey's Constitutional Court which found the restriction on May Day rallies in the square violated unions' rights to freedom of assembly.

A.AbuSaada--SF-PST