DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu's response to the Governor: 'Taksim is ours!'

DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu, made statements regarding the Istanbul Governor's ban on Taksim for May Day.

Joining Çerkezoğlu at the meeting were Union of Turkish Bar Associations President Attorney Erinç Sağkan, former CHP MP İbrahim Kaboğlu, DİSK Secretary General Tayfun Görgün, and DİSK Board Member Şükret Sevgener. Çerkezoğlu stated, "Taksim is a May Day square, and this is a social reality." 

The highlights of Çerkezoğlu's speech are as follows:

"Taksim Square has been a wound in our hearts since 1977; it has been our greatest longing since it was banned again in 2013... On May Day 2024, the eyes and ears of millions meeting in squares across Turkey and the world will be on the İstanbul Taksim May Day square, and millions of hearts will beat with the Taksim May Day square.

The completely arbitrary disregard and denial of the reality that Taksim is a May Day square, which has persisted since 2013, must finally come to an end on May Day 2024.

Just as in every part of the world, workers and laborers in our country who work 365 days a year have the right to celebrate May Day with enthusiasm in the most central squares of the city they choose, and in Istanbul, that is Taksim.

The courts of the Republic of Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights, and most recently the Constitutional Court have all had their say on this matter."

According to the latest ruling by the Constitutional Court last year, 'Being in Taksim on May 1st is the right of every worker and laborer.'

Following this final and binding decision, it is impossible to try to prevent us from being in Taksim on May 1st. We hope that no one will defend such an approach, which would mean failing to recognize the constitutional order.

The duty of the administration, including the Istanbul Governorship, is not to show us another area, but to ensure the safety of those participating in this peaceful event, which we will carry out as a constitutional right. And we expect all authorities, especially the Istanbul Governor, to carry out these duties in coordination with us. It is our right to expect the same responsibility, naturalness, and maturity from today's Istanbul Governor that our daughter Derin showed when she sat in the Governor's seat on April 23rd.

Those who govern the country should be part of the solution, not the problem. As Minister of Labor and Social Security Mr. Vedat Işıkhan stated two days ago at the Türk-İş Headquarters—I am quoting him word for word—'Those who want to turn May 1st into a day of unrest every anniversary are consciously choosing to be part of the problem, not the solution and reconciliation.'

Yes, the government must now abandon its insistence on turning May 1st into a day of unrest with an unlawful ban, and the Minister of Labor must take initiative on this matter.

The conscious choice that has trampled on the law, especially the Constitution, since 2013, turning this day into a day of unrest, and the lawlessness of closing Taksim to workers must be abandoned.

I would also like to share with you here that I personally conveyed this call and our demand for respect for the will of those who sweat and labor for this country 365 days a year regarding where they will celebrate their own holiday on one day of the year to the Minister in a phone call two days ago.

Unfortunately, the Minister made some other unfortunate statements at the Türk-İş Headquarters, saying that those who want to exercise their right to be in Taksim on May 1st 'do not even remember the names of the 34 workers and laborers we lost in Taksim in 1977, and are using their cherished memories.'

We do not know if the Minister prepared the speech he read himself, or if these expressions were a misfortune stemming from his advisors; however, we would first like to state that in 1977, not 34 but 41 of our people lost their lives in Taksim. Those who have never attended any commemoration ceremony in Taksim to date naturally do not know that these names are read out one by one every year, and it is unacceptable for those who do not respond with 'they live' to every name called out each and every year to attempt to lecture us on 'cherished memory'.

We would like to remind you that during the May 1st events in Taksim in 2010, 2011, and 2012, when these unlawful interventions against our rights did not take place, not a single person was harmed, and not a single person's nose even bled. The May 1st celebrations of those three years were followed with interest and appreciation not only in our country but all over the world for their mass participation and enthusiasm.

"IT IS THE AREA OF MAY 1ST"

Taksim is the area of May 1st, and this is a social reality.

We, the workers, laborers, and retirees, are the vast majority of this country. We produce, we work, we create all the values and beauties of this country with our labor, and we deserve to live humanely.

Because of high inflation, we are getting poorer every single day.

While food prices are falling all over the world, Turkey is the clear leader in food inflation.

While banks, holdings, and companies are announcing record profits, we are becoming impoverished.

While 'austerity' policies supported by the IMF are imposed on us workers, laborers, and retirees, the rich are getting richer even faster.

Employees are condemned to a minimum wage that is even below the hunger threshold. Even a single minimum wage is considered too much for retirees.

As if that were not enough, the tax burden is always on the backs of the worker, the laborer, and the retiree. Capital, on the other hand, pays taxes as it pleases; their taxes are wiped out or forgiven overnight.

Yet we work hard, we produce a lot. Turkey has the longest working hours in the world. Moreover, we struggle with work-related homicides and occupational diseases.

"THE IGNORED"

Our will is not recognized even on May 1st, for us who are ignored 365 days a year and whose rights are usurped. By ignoring laws, the Constitution, and court rulings, they are trying to take away our right to be in Taksim on May 1st.

Security concerns cannot be an excuse put forward for years. The right of workers and laborers to express their problems and demands once a year collectively in their traditional square, and to share their grief, hopes, and songs, cannot be banned under the guise of restrictions.

If this unlawful practice is carried out or attempted to be carried out for years in succession, as in periods of martial law and coups, it is also a crime under the law. Putting forward security concerns repeatedly for years is not a reason, but an excuse; it is inventing a pretext.

It is precisely for this reason that being in Taksim on May 1st and strongly asserting our will means holding onto our rights more firmly.

Yes, as the Minister stated, 'The sweat of the workers is too great to fit into Taksim Square.' If we produce all the values and beauties not just of Istanbul but of the entire country, if we produce them with our sweat, then we demand Taksim Square and our rights!

The entire society, especially the working class, which is becoming poorer every day, wants to see sincere actions, not empty 'social dialogue' ceremonies.

The 'sincere action' items that we will never give up on, before and after May 1st, 2024, and for which we are ready for any kind of social dialogue, are as follows.

The reality that Taksim is a May 1st area, which has also been registered by the Constitutional Court's decision, must be respected; all obstacles preventing every worker from being in the May 1st area must be removed.

The minimum wage must be urgently increased by at least the rate of food inflation and the growth rate.

VAT and SCT should be reduced on all goods and services except for luxury and private consumption targeting high-income groups, and should be zeroed out for basic consumer goods and services.

The first income tax bracket for wage earners should be reduced to 10%, tax brackets should be raised, and corporate tax should be increased for companies breaking profit records.

The lowest pension should be raised to at least the level of the minimum wage, all pensions should be increased at this rate, and the injustices in the EYT (Retirement Age) regulation should be ended.

THEY WILL BE IN THE SQUARES WITH THEIR DEMANDS

The shame of Turkey being among the 10 worst countries for labor rights must be ended, and the obstacles to the exercise of trade union rights must be removed.

Yes, we will be in the squares on May 1st with these demands of ours.

But above all, we will fight for respect for labor and dignity against those who ignore us with our will to be in Taksim on May 1st.

Being in Taksim on May 1st means protecting our jobs, our bread, our labor, and our dignity.

Being in Taksim on May 1st means protecting our rights and laws; and our demand for justice in income, taxes, and the country.

Being in Taksim on May 1st means protecting our right to speak and decide; our right to be unionized, to organize, and to strike; and our democracy.

Being in Taksim on May 1st is to stand up for the Istanbul Convention against the 'I did it, so it is done' mentality, and to uphold the ILO Convention No. 190 against violence and harassment in the workplace.  

Being in Taksim on May 1st, with our children in one hand and carnations in the other, is to claim equality, freedom, peace, brotherhood, and our future.

Taksim is bread, it is justice, it is liberty! Labor is ours, Taksim is ours, the country is ours; Taksim Now, Democracy Now!

News Source: 12punto