May Day Celebrations Turn Violent : Rallies Become Riots in Turkey, South Korea, Philippines

Rallies turned into riots today in Turkey, South Korea and the Philippines, and dozens of marchers were arrested in Czechoslovakia as workers worldwide took part in May Day celebrations.

Chinese authorities urged workers to refrain from joining pro-democracy unrest, the Soviets held their traditional parade in Red Square and anti-government protesters in Poland clashed with police in Wroclaw and Gdansk.

In Turkey, one person was fatally shot in the head and 15 were injured in battles with security forces during outlawed May Day marches in Istanbul, the Anatolia news agency reported. The agency said police fired in the air when they were attacked by a group of stone-hurling protesters in Taksim Square. Officials had banned the holiday because they said it was a Marxist tradition.

March on U.S. Embassy

In the Philippines, baton-wielding police fired tear gas to break up crowds trying to march to the U.S. Embassy in Manila after a rally in which union leaders threatened a nationwide strike to press for a higher minimum wage.

In South Korea, riot police firing tear gas battled about 5,000 striking workers in Masan and nearby Changwon after protesters tried to stage a May Day rally, police said. About 20 workers were arrested.

In Czechoslovakia, at least three dozen people were arrested today during anti-government protests during the Communist Party’s May Day parade in Prague.

Protests erupted at the start and end of the official May Day rally addressed by Communist leader Milos Jakes, with at least 600 people demanding more freedom and the release of political prisoners.

One protester was arrested as he carried a poster of Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

In Poland, an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 Solidarity supporters celebrated the legalization of their once-outlawed labor movement and a new series of social reforms with a huge victory parade in Warsaw to mark May Day.

About 20,000 people showed up for the more subdued official observances nearby.

Police with clubs used tear gas and water cannons to break up a rally in Wroclaw organized by the militant splinter group Fighting Solidarity and the banned Polish Socialist Party-Democratic Revolution, said an opposition spokeswoman, Maria Pinior, in that city.

In West Germany, about 1,000 leftist protesters hurled rocks at police, smashed car windows and looted stores in West Berlin today in a violent May Day demonstration.

Soviets marked May Day today with a huge parade through Red Square that focused on efforts to encourage economic growth, carry out competitive elections and clean up the environment.

In its broadcast of the annual workers’ celebrations, state-run television paid tribute to those killed in a pro-independence demonstration in Soviet Georgia last month.