May 1 in Istanbul turned into a “Mayday!” for those who sought peace and harmony in the city amid pleasant spring weather. The light morning breeze carried pepper spray along the main streets and alleys leading to Taksim Square, turning the neighborhood and beyond, to the Golden Horn and Bosphorus, into a battlefield and forcing tourists as well as locals indoors.
The de facto state of emergency showed how thin the line is between finding a new mode of coexistence under a new, democratic constitution and ongoing mutual resentment and polarization. Scenes from the street battles, involving demonstrators from the leftist trade unions and clandestine Marxist groups, illustrate this situation, for which all sides are to blame to varying degrees. It is a case study in how being obstinate only leads to closed doors in a society that desperately seeks democratic closure.
