In Rome, the big concert organized by the trade union organizations this May 1st for Labor Day on the Piazza San Giovanni was titled: “Acting for peace”. It was to be opened by Kateryna Pavlenko, the singer of Go_A, who represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam in 2021, reports the daily The Republic.
In Italy, it is in Assisi, “a city that has often hosted demonstrations for peace”, that the three big Italian unions were organizing their main rally. “Acting for peace” was the motto chosen this year. “It’s a May 1st of social and civil commitment for peace and work”, said CISL union official Daniela Fumarola.
“Peace, Freedom, Solidarity”
In Frankfurt, Germany, we could see this Sunday, according to the site of the German wavedozens of supporters of the left-wing Die Linke party march behind a banner proclaiming “Stop the war! ”.
In Switzerland, May 1st was placed under the slogan “Peace, freedom, solidarity”, explains the online daily Heidi. news. In Zurich, where 12,000 demonstrators had answered the call of the unions, the war in Ukraine was at the center of speeches and slogans, “trade union activists calling on Switzerland to do its utmost to support the Ukrainian civilian population and to make it a welcoming land for refugees”.
“War brings absolute horror to millions of women, men and children. We are responding to this with an unreserved commitment, in Switzerland and internationally”, informed the Swiss Trade Union Union (USS). And the other major trade union organization in the country, Syna, insisted on the fate of Ukrainian refugees so that they are quickly integrated into the labor market, “that their jobs correspond to their qualifications and are fairly remunerated”.
In Spain too, where major rallies took place, particularly in Madrid and Barcelona, the trade union organizations made a point of affirming their solidarity with the Ukrainian people by denouncing “the criminal war” and its consequences for workers, reports the site 24 hours.
Clashes in Istanbul
Elsewhere in the world, hundreds of demonstrations marked this May 1st, in particular in South Korea, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Serbia, Turkey, India or Pakistan, indicates the site of the chain Al-Jazeera. In Beijing, on the other hand, “only a few people strolled through the pedestrian streets of the historic Qianmen district in the center of the city, normally an area bustling with tourists”, while May Day is a national holiday in China. which marks the start of a week off.
In Turkey, in Istanbul, incidents broke out near Taksim Square, where 34 people were killed on May Day 1977. Images showing clashes between riot police and demonstrators were broadcast by a journalist from the Reuters agency. An official statement said that a total of 164 protesters were arrested this Sunday in the Turkish capital for “attempt to organize illegal demonstrations”.