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May Day marred by rioting worldwide

A protester throws a bottle toward a police line during riots after the official traditional May Day rally in Zurich, Switzerland, on Tuesday. PHOTO: AP

Violent clashes marred huge May Day rallies around the world on Tuesday, as Fidel Castro failed to show up for Cuba's celebrations.

As other South American presidents marched at the heads of large rallies, Castro disappointed many supporters by staying away from Havana's annual May Day, which would have been his first public appearance since undergoing major surgery nine months ago.

It was only the third time since he took power in 1949 that Castro missed a May Day fete; the other two occasions were only because he was traveling at the time.

Workers marched through towns and cities around the world in a show of global solidarity, calling for better pay and conditions, and highlighting social and political inequities. But in many places tensions and political divisions spilled over into clashes between extremists or with police.

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 a central city square. More than 700 people were detained, according to police.

In Chile police arrested a dozen people at a rally of about 10,000 people after clashes broke out.

There was violence too in other parts of the world.

In Berlin some 120 people were arrested in violence between demonstrators and police, as neo-Nazis and counter-protesters faced off across the country.

Anarchist groups and far-right groups also seized on the day to provoke trouble in the Czech Republic, with police saying they had arrested dozens of people.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, an economist, led a large demonstration in Quito and railed against the power of foreign multinationals in his country where unemployment has soared to 10.3 percent.

"We are being exploited by the wealthy multinationals. They are on the lookout for the country which gives them the greatest benefit and the best returns for their capital. This has to end," he told thousands of protesters.

In Nicaragua, Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega, who returned to power at the beginning of the year, also led a march of young civil servants, students and poor people, many of whom had travelled in from the provinces.

Meanwhile, history was made in the South Korean city of Changwon, when 2,000 workers, including 60 from North Korea, waved "unification flags" during a special rally for reuniting the Korean Peninsula.

It was the first time since the Korean War that North Korean workers had visited the South for the annual labor festival.

Hundreds of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran to demand better working conditions, while 100,000 Italian union activists marched in Turin and more than 117,000 took to the streets in France.

Although the May Day rallies were inspired by a first march held in Chicago in 1886, the day is not marked by labor groups in the US.

However, for the second year running tens of thousands marched in several US cities, notably Los Angeles and Chicago, to demand more rights for the 12 million illegal immigrants who do many of the menial jobs which US citizens snub.

For some there was cause to celebrate though. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki promised free education in public secondary schools starting next year, while Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza awarded overnment workers a 34 percent pay rise.
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