Protesters run through clouds of tear gas in the Pangalti neighborhood of central Istanbul. Pangalti was the main meeting point for the trade unions, but when demonstrators arrived they discovered that the police had shut off all auxiliary roads in a massive pre-dawn operation. (Iason Athanasiadis/GlobalPost)
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Male and female police officers wearing gas masks push back with their shields against protesters demanding they be allowed to join the main demonstration heading toward Istanbul’s central Taksim Square. The annual commemoration honors the 36 people shot dead by snipers on May Day 1977. (Iason Athanasiadis/GlobalPost)
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A woman anxiously watches clashes from behind a police barricade. Today’s rioting was calmer than recent years after police launched an operation last week in which 40 people were detained in Turkey’s largest city. During a four-hour shootout, the leader of a left-wing armed group, a police officer and a civilian were all killed. (Iason Athanasiadis/GlobalPost)
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Riot police locked down every main access road into Taksim Square while police helicopters hovered overhead, relaying information about the position of gangs of leftist youths moving through side streets. (Iason Athanasiadis/GlobalPost)
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Following hours of negotiations and clashes, a limited number of demonstrators was allowed to enter the square. They rushed to claim a spot on a memorial to Turkey’s War of Independence (1919 to 1923) and the founding of the Republic. The inclusion of two Soviet generals on the memorial has earned it a place in the affections of Turkish Communists. (Iason Athanasiadis/GlobalPost)
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A German priest attending Istanbul’s May Day commemoration with a delegation of European Union members tries to negotiate passage in front of a crowd of demonstrators. (Iason Athanasiadis/GlobalPost)
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Istanbul’s historic Siraserviler (Row of Cypresses) Avenue was closed down to all traffic but became the scene of clashes as police pushed demonstrators out of Taksim Square at the commemoration’s conclusion. (Iason Athanasiadis/GlobalPost)
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Members of the Turkish Communist Party rally on the street where several demonstrators were shot dead by snipers on May Day 1977, demanding that police barriers come down so they can join their co-demonstrators. (Iason Athanasiadis/GlobalPost)
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Jubilant demonstrators run down a steep road after breaking through police lines. (Iason Athanasiadis/GlobalPost)
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Police carry away several arrested demonstrators. The Turkish media often refers to leftists as “reactionary elements.” (Iason Athanasiadis/GlobalPost)
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