Interview with Kemal Okuyan, First Secretary of Communist Party of Turkey (Rizospastis, 15 May 2016)

COMMUNIST PARTY OF TURKEY
Discussion with Kemal Okuyan, First Secretary of the Central Committee.

Source: Rizospastis / Translation: In Defense of Communism.

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For the developments in Turkey, the activity of the communists, the difficulties but also the existing potential, we had the opportunity to discuss with comrade Kemal Okuyan, First Secretary of the CC of Communist Party, Turkey, and representative of 'Gelenek' magazine in the International Communist Review.

- What is the political, socio-economic reality in Turkey? We know about the persecutions of party's members and yours personally. How does the Party react?

Turkey passes through a long and deep political crisis which, for the time being, doesn't include the financial crisis, despite the fact that Turkish economy is very fragile, with dissolution of state property and a continuous attack on the working class' rights, while there is a huge leak of wealth and high level of foreigh investors. The government evolves a generalized social attack, which includes the Kurds, the secular forces against religious fundamentalism. And, of course, we the communists are permanently the target. Attacks on our offices occur, (attacks) against our members with the accusation of insulting President Erdogan. I personally face prosecution in three different cases (one began on May 5th, but was re-scheduled for the coming September). The Party has agreed to intensify the offensive political struggle.

- What are the priorities of the Party this period?

First of all, we are trying to lead the struggle against the further islamization of the country. A large social dissatisfaction is manifested and our aim is to give her class orientation. The connection of the so-called political Islam with the attack against the working class becomes even clearer and today it is relatively easier for us to demonstrate it in labour places. The second major aim is to build Party organisations in the working places and the third one to intensify the preparation of our members in all levels during this chaotic period. We have weaknesses, but the Party is developing in a fast pace.

- How the peoples' movement can handle the existing division between religious and secular powers? How does the class-oriented powers intervene and what is their impact?

It is true that the working masses are divided in the stance towards political Islam. This is not the only axis of division, there are also ethnic divisions, but nevertheless, the tension between the secular forces and political Islam doesn't have to do with personal faith. It is mainly a struggle for the rights of working women against the effort to exlude them from social life. A struggle for the socio-economic rights of the working class against the effort to replace the social achievements with charity mechanisms. A struggle for public and free scientific education against the system of religious education. For a public and free Health system against the private and anti-scientific health system that the imams start to use beyond doctors. It is, also, a struggle against the legalization of the obscurantism of the 'Islamic State', 'Al-Nusra' and other criminal organisations which have thousands members in Turkey too (who are) ready to fight against the working class and the communists.

The Communist Party is against the idea of a common front against political Islam, (a front) which includes social-democrats, liberals or the kurdish movement. For us, it is a major issue to unify the struggle against religious fundamentalism with the struggle against the bourgeoisie which gains significant benefits from the so-called islamization.

Towards this direction we have created rallies, as far as the popular strata start to understand the connection of capitalism with political Islam. The potentiality and the necessity to create a class working movement exist. This is the only way to organise the workers who are affected by religious doctrines, but mainly they suffer from political authority and capitalist exploitation.

- We see the role of the imperialist powers and the Turkish government in the region. Do you believe that a generalized clash is possible? How can this also affect the Greek-Turkish relations, for example the situation in the Aegean?

Nobody can exclude a generalized clash. Of course, there are signs which show that the basic axis of this clash is the one of NATO with Russia, of the US with China. We don't know yet, but these are the two main sides. Both leaderships, of Russia and the US, lean towards this direction. In a way, we can say that the Turkish government lost the initiative in what we call 'Neo-Ottomanism'. In fact, it's (Turkey's) aspirations in Syria didn't proceed.

There are also contradictions between R.T.Erdogan and the US, as well as with the EU. These powers seem to want to replace Erdogan with someone more convenient and predictable, but he seems that he retains his powers, still having his "cards", the electoral power, the support of powerful parts of capital, the ability to manoeuvre and find alternatives (the case of Prime Minister Davutoglu and his removal from office is characteristic). In reality, Turkey has problem with the Kurds and the vast majority of the army is involed on this issue thus being focused on the Syrian borders.

Of course, the antagonisms of the Turkish with the Greek capital and the nationalistic ideologies always create a dangerous basis for a clash between the two countries. For example, we see the increased tension in the Aegean region and, certainly, our position is towards a class internationalist direction for the common struggle of the two countries' people.

http://communismgr.blogspot.gr/2016/05/interview-with-kemal-okuyan-first.html

"This is a dissolution in mass": Statement by the Communist Party, Turkey about the jailings of the pro-Kurdish MPs

The Communist Party - Turkey released a statement about the recent jailings of the pro-Kurdish MPs. The statement underscores the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has to keep attacking to sustain its dissolving power.

This is a dissolution in mass.

In today’s statement made by the Prime Ministry and directed to foreign press on the ongoing operation against several MPs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), it was clear the Turkish government was trying to find a pretext for this operation. According to the statement, their being taken into custody like that was a normal procedure since they did not appear in court to give testimony!

The day before the Minister of Justice could only say “bad luck” after it was revealed that the prosecutor assigned to the Daily Cumhuriyet case was also under investigation for being a Gülenist.

It is not possible either to find any reasonable explanation for the AKP’s attacks to academia. Elections of university presidents were already an accessory created by the military regime established after the military coup on September 12, 1980. Even such an accessory was too much for the AKP regime.

At the core of these attacks lies the fact that the AKP has no other choice than suppressing every segment of the society. If they stepped back even a little, the power mechanisms that they can hardly hold together, i.e. the state apparatus, economy, profits of the capitalist class, the armed forces they sent to the Middle East and even their own political party would certainly collapse as a whole.

The AKP is not gaining any strength by attacking. It is just postponing the inevitable.

The Communist Party condemns the ongoing repressive practices as in the recent case of the HDP deputies and is in solidarity with those who are victimized, sacked, disentitled and restrained from doing their job under the pretext of the July 15 coup attempt although they have nothing to with the Gülenist sect.

On the other hand, this course of events also signals the dissolution of the line of opposition which has adopted a compromising stance against the dictatorship of the AKP. It is also a fact that neo-nationalists has been trying to get rid of their liberal competitors for an alliance with the AKP, by forwarding their complains to the AKP, while fascist and reactionist policies have been openly carried out. The main opposition party assumes that complaining about the unlawful purge in the public sector means a serious method of struggle against AKP. Then the question if they really oppose to anything becomes legitimate especially when the puppets appointed by the government to serve as substitutes for the elected mayors are unanimously accepted by the elected city councils. In a country where city councils accepted and tolerated appointment of trustees, it has also become possible to form a constitutional committee within the Grand National Assembly. Those who champion democracy can present their shows in the filthy lobbies of imperialist diplomacy as a struggle. All of them wait for an invitation from liberal/mainstream media channels that have been long known to be submitted to Erdoğan to demonstrate their opposition to the AKP. All of these are in dissolution.

What is happening in Turkey today coincides with a period in which the contradictions within the imperialist-capitalist system have sharpened to the utmost. It is not possible to discuss the actions of the AKP’without putting these contradictions at the center. It must be known that any “opposition” that blossomed out of any capitalist group or any imperialist power is a betrayal against the people of this country and gives the ruling party the opportunity to justify its actions. The same thing can be said about bombings terrorizing every inch of the public life.

This system demolishes the institution of politics in the mass.

The Communist Party calls workers, academics, the press workers who live on their labors to detach themselves from this rotten system.

For the time being the AKP seems to have the power to attack. However, it is not attacking because it is powerful, but because it has to. This road leads to nowhere. This kind of dead end that the system is approaching is an open invitation for our working people.

The Communist Party invites the people to organize and to fight back.
Posted by In Defense of Communism

https://communismgr.blogspot.com/2016/11/this-is-dissolution-in-mass-statement.html