Putin the people’s hero as Russians mark Labor Day
Print Edition
RUSSIAN people celebrated May Day with a joyful parade across Red Square, as President Vladimir Putin basked in a surge of patriotism over the annexation of Crimea.
Elsewhere in the world, demonstrators turned out to press their demands for better treatment on the holiday also known as Labor Day or International Workers’ Day.
In Cambodia and Turkey, the rallies turned violent.
The Moscow parade of about 100,000 people was organized by trade unions and dedicated to honoring the working class. The theme, however, was Russian pride over last month’s annexation of Crimea. Putin, who did not attend, was saluted as a national hero.
A long stream of marchers held up signs saying “I’m proud of my country” and “Putin is right.” Russian flags fluttered through the crowd.
In Soviet times, members of the ruling Politburo used to review the parade from atop the mausoleum where the body of Soviet leader, Vladimir Lenin still lies.
Putin further tapped into nostalgia for the Soviet Union by handing out “Hero of Labor” awards during a Kremlin ceremony after the march.
The awards, created under Josef Stalin and which had disappeared along with the Soviet Union, were reinstated last year.
May Day was also celebrated with huge marches in Cuba, where thousands filed through Havana’s Revolution Plaza to a soundtrack of congas, drums and cries of “Long live the revolution!”
Doctors in white smocks, uniformed government employees and construction workers waved Cuban flags and banners honoring Fidel and Raul Castro, guerrilla leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara and late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
In Greece, more than 15,000 people attended peaceful rallies in central Athens to protest austerity measures in the crisis-hit country.
In Turkey, security forces in Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square pushed back demonstrators with water cannons tear gas and rubber pellets.
In Cambodia, civilian auxiliary police armed with clubs turned on demonstrators after opposition leaders spoke to a crowd of nearly 1,000 in the capital Phnom Penh.
A ban on demonstrations has been in place since January, following numerous calls for a higher minimum wage and rallies calling last July’s election rigged.
Thousands of workers in Bangladesh, including many from garment factories, took to the streets demanding the execution of the owner of a building that collapsed last year, killing more than 1,100 garment workers.
Sohel Rana, the owner of the illegally constructed Rana Plaza, is behind bars and an investigation against him is pending.
In the Philippines, thousands of workers marched peacefully in Manila to protest low wages and the practice of replacing regular employees with temporary hires who get low pay and little or no benefits.
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