Turkish police have arrested hundreds of left-wing protestors in Istanbul, amid a May Day rally. People were marching toward Taksim Square, to mark the 30th anniversary of the 'Bloody May Day'—when thirty-four people were killed in a stampede in 1977 [after a gunman opened fire]. They were met with tear gas and officers wielding batons. [BBC, May 1]

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan [April 30] called for calm after a weekend of protests by secularists, as well as a military threat to intervene in politics, after the PM’s nomination of Abdullah Gul for the presidency. He refused to withdraw his presidential candidacy, and defended his economic record. [The Guardian, May 1]

From Madrid11.net Security Briefs, May 1

See our last post on Turkey.