Just now I called Hazal and asked her if she took her raincoat. She did not want to answer while her friends were around. I can understand that. These young people believe they are old enough to participate in the May Day celebrations. While talking to her I heard a famous May Day song coming from around her. For a while I mumbled it, too. Hazal laughed and did not hear my warning to be careful. Meanwhile, when I saw the protest of other youths in İstanbul, "the Young Civilians," on TV, I applauded them. They hung a very big poster from one of the rooms of The Marmara Hotel in Taksim Square. The poster read, "On May 1 shots were fired from here. Those responsible for this should be found."
The young civilians were referring the events of May Day in 1977. While the crowd was celebrating May Day, unknown assailants opened fired on them. Thirty-four people were killed in the ensuing chaos. This provocation was one of the big steps taken on the road to the 1980 coup. The Ergenekon of that time was trying to prepare the ground for the coup by creating chaos in the country -- and at that time they were successful.
After the bloody events of 1977 Taksim Square was closed to May Day celebrations. This is why celebrating May Day in Taksim Square, as Kerim Balcı noted on Thursday, is a matter of honor for the unions.
The unions have a point: Confronting the past may be painful, but it is absolutely necessary for establishing a better future. The security forces claimed that if the May Day celebrations were held in Taksim Square, they would invite provocations. But this claim does not sound logical. After the victories of Turkey's national soccer games the people flow on the streets in the thousands there and the police are able to supply the necessary security. This country has hosted many world summits, including NATO summits, without any problems and, if they want, they can provide security on May Day, too.
Hazal just told me that they are dancing and I should stop calling.
Well, finally this year Parliament declared May Day an official holiday after 29 years of coups, which crush all kinds of rights, including workers' rights. But, on the other hand, there is a long way to go; there are many things that should be done and some of the necessary steps go beyond declaring May Day an official holiday. For example, registering with or leaving a union requires a notary's verification. Accordingly, a worker has to pay a notary to authenticate the registration form. The laws also put further restrictions on the functioning of the unions. A trade union has to have at least 10 percent of the workers in a sector as members in order to engage in bargaining at a sector level and, in addition, more than 50 percent of the workers at an individual company level in order to function at the enterprise level. The procedure for determining collective bargaining authority for public sector workers is too complex. There are many restrictions on strikes. A new bill that will address all these problems, hopefully in accordance with the standards of the European Union, is waiting in Parliament.
My parents were working and were able to enjoy these rights. I even remember them participating in the May Day celebrations, at least until the 1980 coup. But if they knew that I let Hazal participate in the celebrations, they would lash me for the next 100 years. Once when I was a student they tried to lock me in my room to stop me from going to the university on one May Day. Guess what happened. I escaped through the window. This is why Hazal has permission -- although I know I will be in a panic until I hear that she is safe and back at home.
But, on the other hand, due to this huge, complex Ergenekon mentality aiming to keep this country in perpetual limbo, I was not able to enjoy some of the rights that my parents had, at least for a short period of time. An important period of my life passed under the rules and regulations that were put in place by the Ergenekon mentality. Now some members of my generation are struggling against it and fighting to get our democratic rights, at least in order to make sure that our children will not have the same troubles that we had to face. Well, I have to admit, I feel pity for my generation but, on the other hand, hope for the future, because Hazal and her generation deserve better and certainly the Young Civilians were giving us strength.
