May 02, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 14, 1428

ISTANBUL, May 1: Violent clashes marred massive May Day rallies around the world on Tuesday with more than 700 protesters arrested in the worst riots in Istanbul, while Fidel Castro was a no-show in Cuba.

Much of the global political focus had been on whether Cuba's ailing leader would make his first public appearance at Havana's annual May Day event since he underwent major surgery nine months ago.

The fact that he failed to appear for only the third time in 48 years in power — the other two being when he was out of the country — will fuel speculation about the state of the 80-year-old's health.

The traditional day of workers' solidarity was marked with widely varying turnouts, from several hundred Iranians who took to the streets of Tehran to demand better working conditions, to 100,000 Italian union activists who marched in Turin.

And there was an historic rally in South Korea, when workers from the two Koreas held the first joint May Day celebrations to call for the reunification of their divided homeland.

The worst violence was in Istanbul, where police fired shots in the air and used tear gas and water cannons to disperse left-wing demonstrators intent on holding a banned rally in one of the city's central squares.

More than 700 people, including almost 200 women, were detained, according to police.

Public transport was paralysed in the sprawling city of more than 12 million, where tensions are already running high between the army and government over a disputed presidential election.

The authorities had banned marchers from accessing Taksim Square to mark the 30th anniversary there of “Bloody May Day” -- when 34 people died after unknown gunmen fired on a peaceful crowd triggering mass panic.

In rare scenes of civil unrest in the southern Chinese enclave of Macau, police also fired warning shots with what were thought to be starter pistols after a crowd of more than 1,000 broke through police cordons lining a May Day march route.

Almost 120 people were arrested in clashes in Berlin between demonstrators and police, while neo-Nazis and counter-protesters faced off across the country.

Some 5,000 police officers were deployed to avert the riots and mass vandalism by far-left demonstrators that have marred the labour day holiday in Berlin for two decades.

Czech police said they had arrested dozens of people following violence between anarchist groups and the far-right in Prague.

In Manila, riot police fanned out as 5,000 people waving red banners with the communist gold hammer and sickle were blocked from marching on the palace of President Gloria Arroyo demanding her resignation.

In Thailand, about 10,000 workers marched through the centre of the capital, Bangkok, railing against the military-backed government and demanding an immediate return to democracy.

Tens of thousands of people across Russia called for higher salaries and pensions in demonstrations that for the most part carefully avoided criticism of the Kremlin.

Russian state television showed crowds gathering in cities from Vladivostok to Moscow with demonstrators, mostly organised by the trade unions, Communist Party, and pro-Kremlin parties.

In the southern South Korean city of Changwon, some 2,000 workers, including 60 from North Korea, waved “unification flags” during a special rally. It was the first time since the 1950-1953 Korean War that North Korean workers had visited South Korea for the annual labour festival.

There was better news in Kenya and Burundi where the presidents used the occasion to make generous offers.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki promised free education in public secondary schools starting next year, while Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza awarded government workers a 34-percent pay rise.—AFP