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May 1 is known in Germany as the unofficial International Worker's Day and is marked with violent demonstrations and rallies. -- PHOTO: AP
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ISTANBUL - POLICE clashed with union activists in Istanbul as workers around the world made soaring food prices their May Day battle cry.
Clashes erupted as hundreds of police surrounded the main square in Turkey's biggest city to stop a planned May Day rally.
Police fired pepper gas and water cannon and detained 505 people. The police assault forced demonstrators into a building where they crowded windows, chanting 'We are the people, we are right, we will win.'
Six police and two demonstrators were injured, according to officials quoted by Anatolia news agency.
The major Turkish union confederations later gave up their attempt to stage a rally in the Taksim square which has become a focal point for union May Day activism since 34 people were killed in a crackdown on demonstrations in 1977.
Volatile crowds also staged rallies in the Philippines' capital of Manila and Indonesia's Jakarta, carrying signs demanding 'Jobs, Justice, Food' and 'Lower Food Prices Now'. The struggle to afford basic food staples such as rice was the focus of many of the demonstrations in Asia, where rallies were patrolled by huge numbers of police.
Jakarta police chief Adang Firman told reporters after monitoring the capital from a helicopter that 10,000 security personnel had been deployed and another 50,000 were on standby.
Elite police commandos armed with assault rifles were positioned on highways leading to Manila.
'The economic crisis is sharper and more intense this year,' said Mr Renato Reyes, secretary-general of left-leaning activist group Bayan. 'Workers in the Philippines have every right to be angry and frustrated.'
Rallies focusing on rising living costs were also held in Singapore and Bangkok, where protesters waved signs saying 'Expensive rice prices, cheap labour wages. How can labourers live?' The soaring price of rice - the benchmark Thai variety now fetches some US$1,000 (S$1,360) a tonne, three times more than a year ago - has led to a supply crunch that is worrying governments wary of worker unrest.
In Germany, tensions over a neo-Nazi party forced a major security operation to separate rival rallies in Nuremberg. Special barriers were put up to separate about 3,000 people protesting against a rival rally by 1,000 supporters of the extreme right wing NPD.
Small groups of young nationalists also tried to cause trouble at May Day rallies in the Polish towns of Rzeszow and Poznan, police said.
In Greece, transport and public services ground to a halt as unions called a 24-hour May Day strike against a privatisation drive and pensions reform.
Ferry boats and intercity trains were reduced to a minimum, all train connections to foreign destinations were cancelled and state carrier Olympic Airlines carried out only one flight per destination.
No newspapers were published while radio and television stations operated on reduced staff, the main journalist union ESIEA said.
In Morocco, the government announced it would go ahead with scheduled pay rises despite the opposition of union who say the average 10 per cent rise is not enough to keep up with inflation. The current minimum salary is about 160 euros (S$337) a month.
About 44,000 people attended a rally in Tokyo where Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii railed against the government for reinstating a controversial petrol tax.
In communist China, business came to a standstill as China celebrated the national holiday. Huge traffic jams blocked some roads out of Beijing and the expressway to the Great Wall had tailbacks at least 20 kilometres long.
Burundi bucked the international trend however. It decided to delay labour day celebrations until May to allow the overwhelmingly Christian population to mark Ascension Day on Thursday. -- AFP
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