Rt Hon David Miliband MP
Secretary of State
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
Dear David
May Day Celebrations in Istanbul 2009
I am writing to ask that you exert what influence you can to ensure that the violent attacks, made by Turkish police, on trade unionists celebrating May Day which occurred last year are not repeated in 2009. In particular that those celebrations held in Taksim Square in Istanbul are allowed to go ahead peacefully.
I would take this opportunity to reiterate that the TUC's supports the British Government's position that there would be great benefits for all if Turkey were to accede to the EU. Fundamentally however such an accession can only be achieved if the Turkish state is seen as respecting human rights. Assaults on workers peacefully celebrating May Day are both unacceptable and play into the hands of those within Europe who seemingly do not wish to see Turkish accession on any basis.
BRENDAN BARBER
General Secretary
Want to hear about our latest news and blogs?
Sign up now to get it straight to your inbox
To access the admin area, you will need to setup two-factor authentication (TFA).