This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/6610665.stm
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Turkish police halt May Day rally | Turkish police halt May Day rally |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Turkish police have arrested at least 80 left-wing demonstrators who were trying to hold a May Day rally in the commercial capital Istanbul. | Turkish police have arrested at least 80 left-wing demonstrators who were trying to hold a May Day rally in the commercial capital Istanbul. |
| Police fired tear gas and used batons to prevent the rally taking place on Taksim Square. | |
| The authorities sealed off several roads in central Istanbul. | The authorities sealed off several roads in central Istanbul. |
| Trade unionists wanted to commemorate victims of an attack on May Day 1977, when gunmen opened fire on peaceful demonstrators. More than 30 died then. | Trade unionists wanted to commemorate victims of an attack on May Day 1977, when gunmen opened fire on peaceful demonstrators. More than 30 died then. |
| Police on Tuesday allowed only a handful of trade union leaders to lay red carnations in memory of those who died in 1977. | Police on Tuesday allowed only a handful of trade union leaders to lay red carnations in memory of those who died in 1977. |
| Police also stopped television crews setting up satellite dishes in the square, although one channel filmed events from a nearby building. | Police also stopped television crews setting up satellite dishes in the square, although one channel filmed events from a nearby building. |
| The clash came as the constitutional court was examining an opposition call to cancel the election of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as president. The first round of parliamentary voting ended in disarray on Friday. | The clash came as the constitutional court was examining an opposition call to cancel the election of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as president. The first round of parliamentary voting ended in disarray on Friday. |
| The election has pitted secularists against the Islamist-rooted AK party, which has an overwhelming majority in parliament. | The election has pitted secularists against the Islamist-rooted AK party, which has an overwhelming majority in parliament. |
| The army - seen as a guardian of Turkish secularism - has warned that it will defend the separation of state and religion, the legacy of the state's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. | The army - seen as a guardian of Turkish secularism - has warned that it will defend the separation of state and religion, the legacy of the state's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. |
| Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the AK leader, appealed for national unity in a televised address to the nation on Monday. | Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the AK leader, appealed for national unity in a televised address to the nation on Monday. |
| He put forward Mr Gul as presidential candidate after secularists rallied to stop him running for the presidency himself. | He put forward Mr Gul as presidential candidate after secularists rallied to stop him running for the presidency himself. |