Turkey

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Re: Turkey

Post by blindpig » Fri Mar 08, 2019 5:02 pm

ommunist women of Turkey: March 8 belongs to working women
SoL news interviewed with the TKP Women Bureau on what March 8, the International Working Women's day, means for the communist women in Turkey

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Thursday, 07 March 2019 15:42

SoL news made an interview with the Women Bureau of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) emphasizing the problems of working women today, women's oppression by the political power and the capitalist employers and resisting working women against this oppression. Communist women remind that March 8 belongs to the women of the working class and called on the women of the proletariat to fight together against the exploitation and oppression for equality and freedom. https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead ... gLTF_D_BwE

What does March 8 mean for the Communist Women?

Regardless of gender, working people are going through the days when the exploitation of labor by the bourgeois is at extreme levels. The system cannot promise any hopes about the future. In order to break this darkness, we need to progress by taking lessons from our past, tradition, history. History is not going to reverse and we can not return to the past, so with these lessons, we need to take a big step forward.

On March 8 of 1917, the Russian textile worker women of Petrograd, who occupied the streets with the slogan of "bread and peace" launched the strikes that sparked the February Revolution. March 8 is an important historical day for the women of the proletariat.

This history has become an important reference for the socialist struggle. In 1910, at the Second International Conference of Socialist Women held in Copenhagen, the struggle of working women was discussed and a decision made to determine an international women's day. After the October Revolution in 1921 in Moscow, at the International Communist Women's Conference, Clara Zetkin from the Social Democratic Party of Germany proposed 8 March as the International Working Women's Day and it was accepted.

March 8 is already widely celebrated as the Women's Day in the world. What do the communist women think about this celebration?

The United Nations, which closed its eyes to this day until 1977, finally recognized this day. But this recognition meant ignoring the emphasis on the working women and its historical meaning. Since 1977, the 8th of March has been introduced and even commercialized only as a “Women's Day" by the bourgeois order.

The system is trying to destroy the values that it does not want, empty the meanings of the values, and make their history to be forgotten.

Women are trying to be presented as flowers in a pot, ornaments in a showcase. They want us to remember and "celebrate" by forgetting our experiences and struggle for living and working humanely. Communist women want to remind again that March 8 is an important date for the historical struggle of the working women. It is important that the working class considers March 8 as a day of struggle and not as a day of consumption or showing off.

Why do you especially emphasize working women? Isn't it the day of all women?

Today's bourgeois order is advertising the day by trying to convince us that March 8 is the day of all women. However, the working women, as we see in the history of March 8, have never was in the same boat with the bourgeois class. They can't be. The exploiters have been the employers, the capitalists and the ones exploited have been the workers.

Women of the proletariat work, they profit. The workers have to go to work in the dark, they are paid lower wages because they are women, they are accused of being pregnant in workplaces, they are sexually harassed, they can easily be laid off in times of economic crisis. The housework and taking care of the children are also the task of working women, and this labor is mostly ignored.

Despite all this oppression, they are expecting us to see ourselves equal with the bourgeois women in Turkey. Girls who are forced to marry at a young age, the university students who have to work to study, and the textile workers who lose their health because of unsafe working conditions are all exposed to this kind of ideological propaganda.

However, women who are forced to marry at the age of playing, who are killed because they resist the harassment of a minibus driver on the way home from school, who are raped and thrown down from the 20th floor by their employers, are the working-class women. Women who struggle to live and work every day constitute millions unless a few bourgeois women. That is why March 8 belongs to the working woman. It's one of the days when we remember again why we must struggle, and break the reign of this bourgeois order. As working women, we must remember that we must struggle together for equality and freedom against exploitation and violence.

http://news.sol.org.tr/communist-women- ... men-175716
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Re: Turkey

Post by blindpig » Tue Oct 15, 2019 2:20 pm

CP of Turkey, TKP Newsletter 15.10.2019: Who benefits from the war in Syria? & 21st IMCWP in İzmir
10/15/19 1:35 PM

Hands Off Syria!

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) has released a statement regarding the military offensive into northern Syria, on which Turkey carrying out ground attacks and airstrikes. Shouting "hands off Syria!", TKP says AKP and the US are partners in crime in Syria for the last eight years.




"IMPERIALIST FORCES ARE THE REAL THREAT TO OUR SECURITY

The real threat to the security of our country is NATO, the US and the imperialist forces and those who insist on collaborating with them.

The peace in Syria can be established only when all imperialist and occupying forces withdraw from the region. It is the Syrians who can determine the future of Syria."

For full-text of the statement: http://tkp.org.tr/en/aciklamalar/hands-syria-0




Initiative by TKP: Prominent intellectuals in Turkey stand against anti-communism

Many progressives and intellectuals in Turkey have signed a petition initiated by TKP against the anti-communist resolution of the European Parliament. The progressives signing the petition said "We protest the European Parliament's anti-communist resolution."

Together with representatives of TKP, the petition has been already signed by 166 intellectuals, including well-known academics, journalists, writers, poets, artists, and lawyers. The petition will continue and the signatures will be sent to the EP.

https://news.sol.org.tr/progressives-tu ... ion-176246



TKP asks: Who benefits from the war economy?

As the Turkish offensive in northern Syria continues, the daily podcast of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) 'Voice of TKP' today asked who benefits from the war economy.

The daily podcast "Voice of TKP" addressed the offensive in Syria in its latest release, stating that the developments in domestic politics and economy are left outside the agenda in Turkey as the offensive continues.

"Erdoğan continues to use anti-US and anti-EU as a stick in the internal politics of the country, taking on an “anti-imperialist” mask," states TKP in the podcast.

http://solidnet.org/article/CP-of-Turke ... -in-Izmir/
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Re: Turkey

Post by blindpig » Mon Jan 27, 2020 2:30 pm

140,000 Turkish metalworkers set to go on strike
Efe Niğdelioğlu and Hamid Alizadeh27 January 2020

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Rally taken from Gebze, 19 January

140,000 Turkish metal workers, including those in the important automotive and white goods manufacturers, are set to strike in early February after negotiations with the bosses’ organisation broke down.

All of Turkey’s major metalworkers unions, including Turkish Metal Unions, Turk-Metal, Birleşik Metal-İş, decided to strike after an agreement could not be reached in the collective agreement negotiations between the unions and The Turkish Employers’ Association of Metal Industries (MESS).

The MESS responded by making a decision to initiate a lockout. But this is sure to anger the workers even more in some factories. The workers immediately responded by with ongoing partial strikes.

Had the workers accepted the deals proposed by the bosses, they would have been left in a miserable state. That leaves them with no other options than to fight. The original offer of the bosses was a mere 6.4 percent of wage increase over three years. The bosses went on to raise their offer to 8 and then 10 percent. But this would still indicate a decrease in real wages.

In a blatant lie, the MESS stated: "While MESS revised and increased the wage increase offer for the purpose of reconciliation for the second time, Turkish Metals and United Metal-İş strikes decided to change their demands. The wage increase offers of the trade unions are five times the period inflation.’’ Bosses love to carry on lying.

The official inflation rates over the past two years have been at 16.33 and 15.68 percent respectively. The previous agreement was already below the inflation rate, and the new one would cut even further into the living standards of the workers of one of the most profitable industries in Turkey, which brings in more than $30 billion per year. The unions have demanded wage increases between 27 and 34 percent, along with more humane working conditions in a two-year contract. This would merely maintain the present living conditions.

While the bosses are raking in huge profits, the cost of the economic crisis is being passed onto the workers. The poverty limit today stands at around 6,500 Turkish liras, yet the minimum wage is around only 2,300 Turkish liras, leaving millions of workers in a desperate situation. On top of this, all official inflation figures have been manipulated by Erdogan’s government. The real inflation, which is hitting the poorest hardest, is an immeasurable burden on working-class families.

What next?
If an agreement cannot be reached in the collective negotiations, the unions have announced that they will go on strike. Workers will use their power over the production process and try to win their rights. It seems that the agreement will not be reached and a general strike will start as a result. According to Adnan Serdaroğlu, leader of the Birleşik-Metal union, the MESS is placing its trust in the Erdogan government to impose a ban on the strike.

This is what happened in 2018, when failed negotiations led to an overwhelming vote to strike amongst the metal workers. But the strike was banned by government decree shortly before it was to take place.

The metal workers’ movement has been heating up for a number of years. In 2015, a series of radical wildcat strikes in the sector led to widespread concessions by the bosses. Back then, the workers were not only striking against the bosses but also against the leaders of Türk Metal, which is an affiliate to Türk-is: a semi-statal union. While the leadership of Türk-is are on the right-wing of the labour movement, the union’s semi-official status means that it is the biggest union with more than a million members. The fact that Türk-is is now officially supporting these strikes is an indication of the pressure building up underneath the surface of society. The Türk-is are putting themselves at the head of the movement in order to slow it down and prevent it from becoming a threat to the regime.

It’s getting hot
Following the failed negotiations, hundreds of thousands of workers have joined rallies around the country. Speaking at a mass rally in Genze, Adnan Serdaroglu, the leader of the Birleşik-Metal said: “we create the wealth and want our share.” The workers accompanied the rally with their enthusiastic slogans: “We will not be the slaves of the bosses” and “this is just the beginning, continue the struggle!”

Turkey’s key position as a low-wage country on the borders of Europe was the basis of the economic boom, which lasted more-or-less uninterrupted from 2002 to 2012. This boom was in turn the economic basis for the relative social stability of the Erdogan regime. But as the world economic crisis began to filter through to the Turkish economy, all of this has started to unwind. The ruling class has attempted many diversions, such as the wars on the Kurds in Turkey, in Syria and sending troops to Libya. But these measures cannot stem the rising tide of anger. A small sign of this anger was shown in the defeat of the AKP the largest cities of Turkey in last year’s local elections. Now we see how the working class is also beginning to move.

All of this anticipates the bitter class struggles of the future. The Turkish working class is the largest and most powerful working class of the Middle East. When it moves, it will send shockwaves far beyond the borders of Turkey, signalling a new stage in the class struggle throughout the whole region.

https://www.marxist.com/140-000-turkish ... strike.htm
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Re: Turkey

Post by blindpig » Mon Feb 17, 2020 2:13 pm

CP of Turkey, TKP Newsletter 17.02.2020: No lesson to learn from reactionaries & Contract privates die in Idlib

STATEMENTS

TKG: We don’t have any lesson to learn from reactionaries!

The Communist Youth of Turkey (TKG) protested a reactionary professor at Yıldız Technical University of Turkey's Istanbul, who claimed that "natural disasters are linked to the prohibition of child marriages" in Turkish law after the earthquake that hit Turkey's Elazig and killed 41 people.

Statement of TKG was as follows:

"...As reactionism threatens young people and women living in our country every day, we do not accept the invasion of the university positions by such people.

...

We call on all our friends to come and walk together in this struggle.

To fight against reactionism, to fight against the enemies of science and humanity, #WE ARE HERE!"

For full text of the statement: https://news.sol.org.tr/communist-youth ... ies-176543



NEWS FROM TURKEY & TKP

Contract privates from Turkey’s poor families die in Idlib

14 Turkish soldiers were killed as dozens of them were wounded in recent conflicts in Idlib. Almost all of the killed troops were contract privates who had become professional soldiers in search of a way out of poverty.

Alpaslan Savaş, CC member of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), recently wrote an article with regards to the military funerals, showing that most of the killed soldiers are coming from poor families in Turkey.

Pointing at the government’s plans for professionalized military services, Savaş said that almost all of the 14 soldiers killed in Syria’s Idlib consisted of contract privates and specialized sergeants.

“The young people at military draft age become contract privates if they are accepted, and nobody is rejected nowadays,” Savaş said, adding that many young men sign contracts for 2 to 5 years in return for a wage starting from 3 thousands lira ($495) per month.

https://news.sol.org.tr/contract-privat ... lib-176549



Erdoğan’s whim for Idlib: Who is planning what?

Journalist and Middle East expert, Ali Örnek, interprets for soL news the recent developments regarding the Syrian winter offensive in Idlib with the aspect of Turkish involvement in the region.

"...Another detail hidden by the US-Turkey rapprochement is that relations with YPG are kept up. The US revived that they budgeted 200 million dollars for SDF, of which YPG is the backbone. Planning to compromise with Turkey in the western part of Euphrates and with YPG in the eastern part of it, Washington does not only see Idlib as a tool to sabotage Russo-Turkish relations. It also represents suitable conditions for restarting of YPG-Turkey negotiations, which the US wanted for a long time..."

For full-text of the article: https://news.sol.org.tr/erdogans-whim-i ... hat-176548
For the Brochure on War in Syria by the TKP International Relations Bureau: https://tkp.org.tr/en/temel-metinler/war-syria




Protests continue against high gas bills in cities of Turkey

TKP is organizing people's gatherings to make protests against the high gas bills in different cities and neighbourhoods of Turkey. Following the gatherings, long queues in front of payment offices are formed to submit petitions of objection.



ARTICLES

TKP General Secretary Okuyan: They think war is a TV series

soL news, interviewed Kemal Okuyan, TKP General Secretary, regarding the recent developments in Syria just after Turkish President Erdoğan declared at the parliament, “We’ll shoot the regime forces everywhere in the event of offensive”.

"...Is there any danger of excessive war? Can the tension in Syria confront Turkey with Russia?

As we have always said, the chaos, competition and contradictions in the imperialist system are increasing the possibility of war. Turkey is also included in this competition. The problem is not only limited with AKP; our capitalist class also has an eye on the new fields of investment and the energy resources. This is prevailing either for the Greek capital or the other countries. In other words, large and small, everyone is trying to get a share of the cake and getting armed. No one is innocent.

However, Turkey has been part of the tension in many fronts in recent times. A fact is weakening the social anti-war consciousness..."

For the full interview: https://news.sol.org.tr/okuyan-they-thi ... ies-176547

http://solidnet.org/article/CP-of-Turke ... -in-Idlib/
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Re: Turkey

Post by blindpig » Mon Apr 20, 2020 1:32 pm

CP of Turkey, Manifesto from TKP: This social order must change, Turkey should become an example
4/17/20 10:32 AM
Turkey, Communist Party of Turkey En Asia Europe Communist and workers' parties


The epidemic has been the last straw. The existing social order entirely serves the interests of a small minority, and the basic needs, rights, and freedoms of the vast majority of society are neglected. Economic crises, wars have become part of everyday life, and problems such as unemployment and hunger have turned into a nightmare affecting hundreds of millions of people.

There is no good or bad version of this order; it cannot be cured. It is obvious that the US, defined as a superpower, and, France, Germany, England, Italy, which are blessed as European civilizations, have fallen during the last epidemic.

Turkey is also paying the price of not overthrowing this system of exploitation that produces reactionism, darkness, misogyny, and anti-scientism.

No time left. We should take the steps to get rid of this order that threatens humanity as a whole. We should make Turkey an example. TKP aspires to power to establish an egalitarian, fair, free social order. And in this order;

1.Nobody will exploit anyone.
2.Unemployment will disappear.
3.Health and education will be equal and free for all.
4.The basic needs of the citizens, accommodation, water, heating, lighting, communication, and public transportation will be free of charge.
5.The society will be organized, politics will cease to be an interest of a minority, and all citizens will participate in decision-making.
6.Religion and state will be separated from each other.
7.Thanks to the planned economy, the resources of the country will be used for the needs and development of the society; the country's industry will be strong and self-sufficient in agriculture, medicine, defense; foreign dependency in energy will be reduced.
8.Turkey will be an independent, sovereign, peaceful, anti-imperialist country.
9.All discrimination against women will come to an end, and equality of all citizens will be ensured.
10.All kinds of support will be provided for scientific work, cultural activities and artistic creativity.

When we throw parasitic exploitative classes off our shoulders, when we use the richness of our beautiful country for the whole society, not for personal interests, we easily realize these ten items. If you want such a country, join the ranks of the Communist Party of Turkey.

http://solidnet.org/article/CP-of-Turke ... n-example/
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Re: Turkey

Post by blindpig » Mon Dec 14, 2020 12:38 pm

CP of Turkey, TKP Newsletter 14.12.2020: Vaccines not for sale, free vaccination for all
12/14/20 2:23 PM

STATEMENTS


TKP calls for nationalization of construction services

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) made a statement calling for the nationalization of all of the construction services. After the healthcare, education, and energy services, construction services became the fourth call for nationalization by TKP.

All construction services must be nationalized, every citizen’s right to live in decent cities that are compatible with nature, secure houses that are suitable with human health have to be secured, basic needs such as water, electricity, and heating have to be provided without any charge, the right to work and safety of construction workers have to be ensured by the state.

https://news.sol.org.tr/tkp-calls-natio ... ces-177048



Free vaccine for everybody immediately!

The most important way to stop the COVID-19 pandemic and infection is widespread immunisation, in other words, vaccination. Necessary steps to save humanity from the destruction of the pandemic shall be taken as soon as possible.

The right to vaccine cannot be delayed under today’s circumstances. No citizen’s right can be postponed. The right to vaccine cannot be left to the bosses’ conscience.

As a result of global inequalities among nations, certain countries can access to vaccines more than their populations while poor countries cannot access to vaccines. This is ripping poor countries’ right to vaccine, and bargaining over vaccine is a crime against humanity. The commodification of the right to vaccine by pharma monopolies cannot be accepted.

What is to be done is obvious: The state shall provide free vaccination transparently accessed by all citizens. The selling of vaccines shall be forbidden.

It is our call to our citizens: We shall unite to demand our right to vaccine!

https://news.sol.org.tr/tkp-free-vaccin ... ely-177049






NEWS FROM TURKEY & TKP



Turkish gov't bans alcohol sales during weekend lockdowns

Turkish government's ban on alcohol sales during weekend lockdowns has stirred a new debate in the country as many people consider the ban under the pretext of the fight against COVID-19 as an ideological attempt of political Islam to control private life.

https://news.sol.org.tr/turkish-govt-ba ... wns-177050



Minimum wage in Turkey: Poverty rises among working people amid pandemic

A survey on the Reality of the Minimum Wage in the Days of the Pandemic conducted by the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DİSK) once again revealed the great impoverishment of the working class.

3.3 million workers (17 percent of all employees) work at a wage below the minimum wage. The number of workers working for less than half the minimum wage is close to 1 million. The number of workers who have to live with the minimum wage or less is around 7.5 million (38.3 percent of all employees).

21.7 percent of private-sector workers are paid below the minimum wage. Average wages fall back to the minimum wage level.

See below for other findings of the survey, including the status of women workers and private sector workers.

https://news.sol.org.tr/minimum-wage-tu ... mic-177046
Turkish Thoracic Society warns: Risk continues when shopping malls and factories are open

In the statement was said that shopping malls are risky areas due to insufficient ventilation systems. There is social mobility in these areas, which increases the risk of contamination.

Moreover, 1 out of 5 health workers have been COVID-19 positive, with 209 deaths among health workers so far.

https://news.sol.org.tr/turkish-thoraci ... pen-177045

http://solidnet.org/article/CP-of-Turke ... n-for-all/
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Re: Turkey

Post by blindpig » Sat May 01, 2021 1:21 pm

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The Kurds will be Punished for Biden’s Armenian Genocide Recognition
April 30, 2021
By Steven Sahiounie – Apr 28, 2021

Turkey launched a cross-border attack against separatist Kurdish militants in northern Iraq within hours of US President Joe Biden’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide carried out 106 years ago by the former Turkish government.

US troops, and their Kurdish allied militia, the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), came under armed attack in northeast Syria after Biden recognized the Armenian Genocide. The attackers were Turkish-backed mercenaries.

US military spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon said on Tuesday, “Our forces did receive fire and return fire and then moved to a secure location,” and added, “Our overt patrols that have been conducting patrols in that area to keep tensions down received fire multiple times.” He acknowledged that the US had informed their Turkish counterparts that these attacks were “unacceptable”.

Biden spoke to Ankara’s extremist far-right authoritarian leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday 23 for the first time since taking office, and the next day Biden announced the US recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Erdogan said he’d discuss US-Turkish strained relations in a meeting with Biden at the NATO summit in June, and said, “Otherwise, we will have no other choice but to implement the new practices required by the new level to which our relations have fallen.”

For decades, Turkey had successfully coerced and threatened US administrations into not issuing recognition. In deference to the close relationship of the US and Turkey and their NATO membership, the US was willing to turn a blind eye to the genocide, even though the US has a substantial Armenian community.

The People’s Protection Units (YPG) is the military wing of the US-backed Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) and is allied with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an internationally designated terrorist group, which has killed thousands in Turkey over three decades.

Erdogan has repeatedly demanded that the US stop support of the SDF and the YPG, as the terrorist group represents a national security threat to Turkey on its southern border with Syria.

Erdogan supports the territorial integrity of Syria, in line with international law. The SDF and their political wing, The Democratic Union Party, have established an autonomous administration in northeastern Syria, and the goal is to establish a Kurdish ‘homeland’ out of the territory they occupy in Syria.

Northeast Syria has a mixed population of Kurds, Arabs, and Syriac Christians, and the Kurds are not the majority. Arab tribes have sided with the Syrian government in the dispute.

Turkey and Syria both oppose the Kurdish autonomous administration, which was forcibly seized from non-Kurdish residents in an ethnic-cleansing operation supported by the US. However, Turkey has backed the US plan for ‘regime change’ in Syria from 2011 until the present. This has kept Turkey from aligning with their Syrian neighbor in stopping the Kurdish ambitions.

Russia, and their host Syria, were both large fighting forces battling to defeat ISIS when the Caliphate held a large swath of Syria. The logical military decision would be for the US coalition to partner with Russia and Syria to stop ISIS. However, the US did not act logically and instead spent billions on a group of renegade Kurds, who had hopes of establishing their own country. The SDF and their political wing follow a strict form of communism, taught to them by the PKK, which is their root organization.

American domestic politics shuns and damns communism as the ‘red-plague’; however, in the case of the Kurds, the White House, Pentagon, and Congress are all in support of the radicals who used ethnic cleansing to obtain and control their occupied territory in northeast Syria. This is an example of the US double-standard.

Ankara has hassled US officials and staff in Turkey, and had US President Trump on speed dial, calling the White House with frequent demands.

After Turkey purchased Russia’s S-400 air-defense system, the US officially kicked Turkey out of its F-35 fighter jet training program. The US had previously warned that the S-400 could be used to collect data on the US F-35.

Turkey demanded the US leave Syria in late 2018 and Trump consented. In January 2018, Turkey invaded Afrin in Syria to ethnically cleanse it of 170,000 Kurdish Syrians, while Turkey used its links to the US to carry out the attack.

Erdogan’s Turkey has become the leading jailor of journalists, imprisoned students, crushed refugees and critics, arrested people for tweets, purged almost 200,000 people from various government roles, launched invasions and ethnic cleansing of Kurds in Syria and bulldozed parts of cities in Syria.

Turkey illegally funneled weapons and mercenaries to Libya, and unleashed mercenaries to attack Armenians in Azerbaijan.

Under the ruling AKP party, aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, Turkey has threatened most of the countries in the Middle East and the region, including Egypt, Israel, the UAE, Greece, Armenia, and others. It has established increasing military bases abroad, developed armed drones, and threatened to attack Greece in 2020.

The Armenian Genocide was the mass murder and ethnic cleansing of around one million ethnic Armenians from Anatolia and adjoining regions by the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

800,000 to 1.2 million Armenian women, children, and elderly or infirm people were sent on death marches leading to the Syrian Desert in 1915 and 1916.

The deportees were deprived of food and water and subjected to robbery, rape, and massacre. In the Syrian Desert, the survivors were dispersed into a series of concentration camps. In early 1916 another wave of massacres was ordered.

Massacres and ethnic cleansing of Armenian survivors were carried out by the Turkish after World War I. The Armenian Genocide resulted in the destruction of more than two thousand years of Armenian civilization in eastern Asia Minor.

The modern Turkish state was created by the Armenian Genocide, which included the genocide of Syriac and Greek Orthodox Christians. 30 countries have recognized the events as genocide; however, Israel has denied the genocide, along with Turkey.

Erdogan has threatened to deny the US access to Kurecik, an early-warning radar which is a critical part of NATO’s ballistic-missile defense capabilities, as well as Incirlik Air Base, which is used by the Pentagon to store tactical nuclear weapons.

The Biden administration is using the Armenian Genocide as a weapon to strike a blow at Erdogan.

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator

https://orinocotribune.com/the-kurds-wi ... cognition/
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Re: Turkey

Post by blindpig » Sat Dec 11, 2021 2:21 pm

"Fear will not help": Turkish communists on tasks and plans
10.12.2021
TCH interview for the 101st anniversary of the communist struggle in Turkey
Editor’s Note: The Turkish Communist Party will celebrate its 101st anniversary in 2021 . ROT FRONT expresses its support for the TCH, wishes it success in the development of the party and, in this regard, has translated an interview posted on the soL International portal .
On the 101st anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Communist Party, the Peoples Dispatch spoke with Party Central Committee member Ekin Sönmez about how the party is addressing the pressing challenges facing the Turkish working class and fighting for socialism.
Image

On the occasion of the 101st anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Communist Party (hereinafter referred to as TCH), Peoples Dispatch interviewed Ekin Sönmez, a member of the TCH Central Committee. Declaring that the TKP is the oldest and at the same time the youngest political party in Turkey, Sonmez emphasized the role of the TKP as the hope and vanguard of the Turkish working class in building a future free from capitalist barbarism.

Below is the full interview.

Peoples Dispatch : The government of the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party of Turkey) has come under international pressure for its brazen campaigns of political persecution of the opposition. What impact did these circumstances have on the TCH? Does your party intend to challenge the authoritarian nature of the current government?

Ekin Seongmez: The AKP's pro-Western government, which took over the country in 2002, has gained widespread support among the liberal elite and the upper middle class; the latter hoped that the AKP would take a more democratic, EU-oriented political course and ultimately lead the country to wealth and prosperity. However, in reality, the AKP is an Islamist, conservative, anti-republican and anti-popular party that shares a common ideology with the Muslim Brotherhood ( Muslim Brotherhood is an organization banned on the territory of the Russian Federation - Ed. ), Which at one time successfully positioned and "sold" themselves as pro-democratic liberals and centrists. At that time, we warned our people about the impending danger.

What happened is sad, but not surprising. By concentrating power in its hands, taking risky actions abroad and creating the illusion of economic growth that ultimately led to a severe crisis and huge debts, the AKP strengthened an authoritarian regime at home, oppressing workers and political opponents, while simultaneously paving the way for nationalist and reactionary movements.

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AKP leader, President of Turkey R.T. Erdogan celebrates election victory

When discussing the authoritarian rhetoric and anti-opposition actions of the authorities, we must remember that anti-communism literally flows through the veins of the Turkish bourgeoisie and therefore was, is and will always be the leitmotif of the actions of any bourgeois party in Turkey. And there would be nothing surprising in the government's attacks on our party if it were not for the ever-increasing brutality of these attacks. As a concrete example, we can cite the recent trial of members of the Central Committee, including the general secretary of the party, as well as of supporters of our party from among the intelligentsia. All of them were punished for “constantly insulting Erdogan”. Thus, the executive branch crushes the judicial power, using it as a weapon aimed at anyone who intends to oppose the cult of the leader's personality.

We also have to deal with attacks on our district areas, which are carried out by members of religious sects and fascists with the support of the AKP. A prime example is the attack on party members in Istanbul's densely populated Bahçelievler district following the distribution of our weekly Boyun Eğme"With the headline" All religious sects are harmful! " Such sects revived noticeably after the coup d'état of 1980, and after the AKP came to power, they began to loudly declare themselves, seeking to change the structure of society and impose their own rules. In essence, they are the government's street militia and a tool to further oppress society. Despite the fact that there is obviously some rivalry between the aforementioned political forces, which manifested itself, in particular, in the coup attempt in 2016, they are united by a strong connection with the capitalist class and anti-communism.

Having analyzed the current political situation in the country, we declare our intention to continue working in the previously chosen direction - to build factories, shopping centers and schools. We recognize that the only way to counter government repressive actions is to organize the forces of the working class against a common enemy. The June 2013 uprising in Gezi clearly demonstrates the success a cohesive working class can achieve. Fear will not help, and this thought needs to be voiced. This is our main goal.

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2013 Istanbul protests

PD : How has the AKP government used the pandemic to intensify attacks on workers' rights? What are the main fronts of workers' struggle in Turkey today?

ES : Even before the pandemic, working class conditions in Turkey were deteriorating in terms of both labor market performance and working conditions themselves. The unemployment rate reaches 25% , and among young people it is even higher.

The AKP government was no different from other capitalist countries and used the pandemic to its maximum benefit (quarantine, school closures, etc.). This led to disastrous results. Workers were forced to work in appalling conditions with inadequate COVID prevention measures; many people lost their jobs and income.

It is also important to mention that the massively privatized sector of services, health care, education, transport, security, etc. became an additional burden for the working class. The pandemic has helped private companies make good money on the vital needs of people. The largest monopoly groups have increased their profits by almost 50% thanks to the policy of the AKP government. Even IMF reports indicate that the Turkish government was among those providing the least social assistance to its citizens. The AKP is brazenly lying - they summarize the huge incentives given to capitalists and the modest aid given to ordinary citizens, passing it off as the total amount of aid provided.

Moreover, the AKP government used the need to maintain "social distance" to silence the working class by banning street protests. Such measures were warmly supported by the bourgeois opposition, because they fear the uprising of the working class almost more than the ruling party itself. It was important for our party not to fall into this trap, because it is enough to cross the line once to lose everything: the long-term gains of the working class, freedom of expression and struggle. We cannot allow the new realities that emerged during the pandemic to become the norm. This is why, for example, we have worked hard to organize Republic Day celebrations, usually on May 1st, October 29th. We continued the work of the party, trying to adapt our ways of organizing meetings, seminars and events for the new conditions.

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Today there are many fronts of struggle. The main ones are the struggle for the right to form trade unions, the struggle against inequality in society, the struggle against the privatization of basic public services and rights ... All this is connected with the struggle for the socialist revolution.

PD : One of the most important issues in Turkey today is migration and xenophobia. Conflicts motivated by xenophobia are becoming more and more, and the flows of migrants are increasing due to the intensification of imperialist wars in the region. Tell us what work has the party done to challenge xenophobic sentiments in society and eliminate the root cause of the problem, and what position has the government taken on these issues?

ES : As you rightly said, it was imperialism that gave rise to the refugee problem. We must be clearly aware of this in order to develop the correct approach to this problem.

In pursuing a policy of "open borders", the AKP pursues several goals. First, Syrian, Afghan, Iraqi or other refugees served as a pretext for interfering in the internal affairs of these countries in accordance with the expansionist goals of the AKP government ... Refugees are of great value to capitalists as cheap labor; Turkish capitalists found an extra 4-5 million workers in the face of refugees, especially in those sectors in which the AKP stimulated economic growth: construction, textiles, agriculture, etc. In addition, the refugees, being, in fact, a reserve army of workers, serve as a trump card in the hands of the government in its confrontation with the working class. It is also important to mention that maintaining nationalist sentiments in society has always been a beneficial strategy in both domestic and foreign policy. Despite, that an agreement worth 6 billion euros was signed with the EU, the AKP has resorted to blackmailing EU governments on several occasions by threatening to "release refugees abroad." Meanwhile, no one still understands where the above money was spent.

The bourgeois opposition in Turkey now operates under the auspices of the so-called Alliance of Nations, consisting of the Social Democratic Republican People's Party, the nationalist Good Party, former AKP cadres, religious conservatives, as well as the pro-Kurdish Democratic Peoples' Party and the left liberal Labor Party of Turkey. The Alliance as a whole has a very ambivalent position on the refugee issue; however, the dominant members of the alliance, the CHP and the Good Party, openly advocate the expulsion of refugees from the country. RPP leader Kilicdaroglu recently rekindled anti-refugee sentiment, especially among the middle class with individualistic views, speaking in the spirit of his famous slogan "Border means honor." Border does mean honor, but what about the borders of other sovereign countries - Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and so on? Such arguments sound very hypocritical, given that the Turkish army is present on the territory of other countries on not entirely legal grounds - as a NATO force serving the interests of the Western imperialist camp, or solving its own regional tasks.

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Labor exploitation is the root cause of migration. We are trying to resist xenophobia, including by attracting refugee workers to the ranks of socialists. We recently founded the Bureau for Immigrant Workers to focus our efforts on overcoming linguistic, cultural and logistical challenges.

Of course, the growing wave of migration, its causes and results is a huge problem that cannot be solved by the forces of one party. Therefore, I urge everyone to read our recently published article "The Immigration Problem is a Labor Problem."

PD : The SSP is actively demanding justice for recent femicide victims and opposing Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. What are the main factors that appear to be causing the rise in patriarchal violence in the country?

ES : Over the past 20 years, we have witnessed a sharp increase in violence against women and femicide. This, of course, is no coincidence and is a direct result of the market-oriented and reactionary Islamist policies of the AKP government, as well as inequality that manifests itself in all aspects of life. Women's labor is paid lower, it is more difficult for them to find a job (despite the increase in the total employment of women due to the increased demand for labor), they are less educated. Not surprisingly, household responsibilities traditionally fall on the shoulders of female family members.

More than 400cases of femicide per year is a terrible shame. This problem requires urgent action, but this is not happening. On the contrary, the judiciary in most cases decides in favor of the offenders. Criminals are often covertly or openly affiliated with the government itself, or use their position to avoid punishment for crimes. The most telling example is the silence on the murder of the Uzbek citizen Nadira Kadyrova, who worked as an immigrant maid in one of the houses of an AKP deputy. This situation perfectly reflects all the vices of modern society: cheap immigrant labor, double oppression of working women, reaction, inequality and hierarchy in society, the corrupt politicians of the AKP ... All this ultimately led to the tragic death of a young 23-year-old woman in the very heart of the country - in Ankara, in 2019. In the fate of Nadira Kadyrova, we see the tragic outcome of the collapse of Soviet socialism for the countries of Central Asia. Nadira could have a bright future and live a dignified life as a citizen of a socialist country.

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Death of 23-year-old Nadira Kadyrova caused a resonance in Turkey

That is why, of course, we were at the forefront of street demonstrations and other protests against the reactionary policies of the AKP government, which first arbitrarily signed the Convention in 2009, and then, when it became unprofitable, withdrew from it. The current version of the text of the Istanbul Convention was drawn up by the UN in the spirit of progressive bourgeois values.

In accordance with one of the resolutions of our 13th Congress in 2020, the party announced the creation of women's solidarity committees to form a base against oppression, violence and exploitation and to strengthen the bonds of solidarity among working class women. Women's Solidarity Committees have played a key role in recruiting new supporters, politicizing women and fighting for their rights. In March 2021, we drew up a declaration that reflects women's demands for equality and freedom - a kind of “maximum program” that goes beyond the Istanbul Convention.

We hope that our strong women will help us build a socialist Turkey in the future.

PD : The Turkish Communist Party celebrates its 101st anniversary on 10 September. What successes have the Turkish communists been able to achieve in 100 years of struggle?

ES : The TCP was born shortly after the Great October Revolution and the founding of the Comintern against the backdrop of the anti-imperialist struggle for independence in Anatolia. Since the founding of the TCP in 1920, organized communists have always adhered to the principles of independence, secularism, enlightenment, and anti-imperialism. Despite temporary setbacks, the main goal of the SSP has always been the socialist revolution, the seizure of power by the working class. Belief in the reality of the revolution lies at the heart of our struggle, and even in the darkest periods of Turkish history, the exploiters were unable to eradicate this idea.

The TCH stands for internationalism and friendship of peoples against nationalist, racist, xenophobic and militaristic tendencies. The Peace Association (which was banned twice after the 1980 and 2016 coup d'état and has since operated under the name of the Turkey Peace Committee) was associated with the communists. It was founded by the communists from among the Turkish intellectuals, thus expressing their protest against the sending of soldiers to the Korean War - a bloody bribe for Turkey's entry into NATO.

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Demonstration of many thousands organized by TCH

Moreover, the most famous and influential intellectuals, writers, artists, scientists, archaeologists from Turkey were proud communists; among them are Nazim Hikmet , Suat Dervish , Sabahattin Ali , Aziz Nesin , Khalet Chambel , Nejdet Bulut and so on. All of them are still inexhaustible sources of inspiration for us.

TKP is the oldest and at the same time the youngest political party in our country. It is the vanguard of the Turkish working class and the hope for a future free from capitalist barbarism.

https://www.rotfront.su/strah-ne-pomozh ... -kommunis/

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"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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Re: Turkey

Post by blindpig » Thu Jan 06, 2022 2:27 pm

The Kurdish issue is a matter of equality
01/06/2022

Capitalism divides workers, but not entrepreneurs
From the editor. The "Kurdish question" is an acute social conflict that erupted in the mid-1980s in Turkey and the Middle East as a whole. The classic sides of the confrontation are the Turkish government and the armed formations of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a people of 40 million people who have been fighting for more than a century for the creation of an independent Kurdish state. Our comrades from the Turkish Communist Party (TKP) decided to tell in detail about what is happening in their program article; first of all, the communists draw the readers' attention to the class nature of the conflict.

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Kurdistan on the Middle East map

A small portion of Turkey's population is immensely wealthy, while millions of people struggle with poverty and unemployment.

Those who are "fortunate enough" to be in the minority are the political elite, top management, large landowners and the rich, parasitizing on rent. As wage earners and poor people work, this segment gets even richer, accumulating more and more profits.

There are millions of Kurdish citizens among the poor created by this unjust system of exploitation in Turkey. Most Kurds are poor - however, like citizens of other nationalities.
But there are also Kurds in this country who exploit others. Kurdish factory bosses, large landowners, usurers, contractors are part of that very "lucky" minority of Turkish citizens.
The interests of the Kurdish exploiters and the interests of other exploiters coincide. They want to maintain an unjust order, they seek new profits and use every opportunity to become even richer.

And the interests of the exploited, the poor and the unemployed Kurds coincide with the interests of the other poor and unemployed: this order, which is the source and cause of inequality, must change.

The Kurdish question can only be properly discussed in the light of this fact, and only in this way can a way be found to its solution.

The main problem in Turkey is the existence of "bosses" on the one hand and workers on the other; the capitalist class is on one side of the barricades, the workers are on the other; the rich one, the poor the other.

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Acceleration of May Day demonstration in Turkey

This is also a central problem throughout the world. The fundamental principle of all types of tyranny, injustice, coups, wars, corruption and environmental destruction is capital, which sees nothing but getting more and more profit.
The Kurdish question needs to be analyzed from a class point of view. The claim that the exploitative Kurds and the exploited Kurds have common interests is a big lie. Common interests are shared by workers, unemployed and poor people of all backgrounds.
The Kurdish question is a question of equality.

The Kurdish question is also a question of freedom. A concept that ignores their own language, identity and even the existence of the Kurds, or imposes on them their disappearance, dissolution and subordination to another identity, cannot be recognized as legitimate.

The thesis that a nation or people is superior to others and deserves certain privileges is a lie that is continually cultivated in order to mask and maintain inequality in the world, to make the poor hate and even strangle each other for the benefit of the capitalists.

Nationalism, which played a progressive and liberating role in the past periods of human history, for a long time became a weapon in the hands of all exploiters without exception.

You cannot choose Kurdish or Turkish nationalism over another. There is not a single region left in the world where the nation as a whole could be liberated without distinguishing between the exploiter and the exploited. This is true whether we are talking about Catalonia, Palestine, Corsica, Ireland or Turkey.

Nationalism breeds more nationalism. For example, Greek nationalism and Turkish nationalism feed off each other. The same is fully applicable to Turkish and Kurdish nationalism.

Although they speak different languages ​​and have different origins, the interests of all the oppressed are common. Thus, when a Palestinian poor man and a Jewish worker working in a factory in Israel join forces, the dominance of imperialism, Zionism and the hypocritical Palestinian rulers who benefit from the "Palestinian problem" begins to lose ground.

The Kurdish question cannot be resolved when the exploiting Kurds stand on the same side with other exploiters or negotiate to increase their share.
The ruling elite of Turkey needs the existence of problems dividing the population in order to prevent workers from uniting for a joint struggle. Pitting the oppressed against each other in the name of preserving the existing order, unfortunately, has always worked until now. The discrimination that Kurds face due to differences in languages, identities and resources not only divides workers, but also ensures that Kurds facing oppression remain cheaper labor.
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Erdogan - President of Turkey, known for his nationalist politics

Similar processes are taking place in relation to labor migrants. The hostility towards them primarily benefits employers who hire immigrant workers who are afraid to assert their rights and are practically enslaved.

The fact that the Kurdish question was placed within the framework of the identity debate also benefited the bosses the most, and, moreover, the very posing of the Kurdish question in this context turned out to be an excellent opportunity for exploiters of Kurdish origin.

Kurdish bosses managed to get rich a lot on the "Kurdish issue". However, for millions of Kurds, life today means nothing more than poverty and unemployment.

This cannot continue.

There is no freedom without bread.

All workers living in Turkey, the whole society should represent a party in the discussion of the Kurdish issue. There is no problem that our workers - regardless of origin - are not able to solve with a common will, fighting in a united formation.
The assertion that the Kurdish question can be resolved by sitting at the same table with the masters of the exploiting system has no foundation at all. Those who are hostile to labor, science, art, women, the Republic and the environment cannot give anything to the Kurdish people.
The border does not lie between the Turks and the Kurds, but between the exploiters and the exploited.

This is the basis on which people can unite. The common enemy is imperialism, international monopolies, "internal" monopolies and "bosses", that is, the political elite.

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Girl with the flag of Kurdistan

The imposed mindset that ignores the Kurdish people, oppresses them and forces them to deny their own existence, has largely determined the fact that some Kurds in this country have come to rely on powerful world powers. We should all be ashamed that we were unable to resolutely confront this way of thinking and the unjust order in general.

The way to correct this shame is to come together against the exploiters in defense of our common interests.

We are not in the same boat.

Imperialism is on the opposite side. The capital class is on the opposite side. The religious establishment and reactionaries of all sorts are on the opposite side.

Turkey will gain brotherhood, unity, equality and freedom by defeating the opposing side.
There will be no "Kurdish question" in socialist Turkey, Kurdish workers and workers of all origins - with their creative energy - will collectively establish a social order in which no one exploits anyone.
Communist Party of Turkey
Central Committee

https://www.rotfront.su/kurdskij-vopros ... -ravenstv/

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"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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Re: Turkey

Post by blindpig » Mon Jan 31, 2022 2:07 pm

"We've had enough, we want to earn a living!" rally in Istanbul

01/30/2022
Thousands of activists of the Communist Party of Turkey joined the rally under the slogan "Enough is enough, we want to earn a living!", Organized by DİSK

From the editor . We present a translation of an article published on the website of the Communist Party of Turkey.

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A column of communists on the streets of Istanbul

Thousands of people gathered for a rally called by the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DISK) on Sunday at Kartal Square under the slogan "Istanbul says 'Enough is enough, we want to make a living right now!'

The rally was attended by many political parties and public organizations, including Birlik Sendikası (Unified Trade Union), the Communist Party of Turkey, EMEP (Party of Labor - ed. ), SOL Party (Left Party, formerly called the Freedom and Solidarity Party - approx . . ed. ) and others.

While the demand for a living wage to ensure survival was put forward with reference to ongoing minimum wage negotiations these days, the rally also heard the slogans "Government resign!"

Rising against rising prices

Activists and supporters of the SSP gathered under a banner with the slogan "Let's Rise Against Rising Prices." Hundreds of people gathered and marched to Kartal Square to call for the overthrow of the social order and the establishment of workers' administration.

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Turkish communists at a rally in Istanbul

We are strong and they are weak

A statement from the Communist Party of Turkey was heard on the square:
“Today, those who cannot meet even the minimum necessities of life have gathered here. Hundreds are screaming that they will rebel against rising prices and the cost of living. We know that those who are looking for ways to steal the last pennies from our pockets enjoy the comfort of their luxury homes!
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Turkish communists at a rally in Istanbul
They ask us to do without bread while they enjoy their wealth. Their children are studying abroad, while ours are starving. Will we accept it all?
They have plundered all the resources of our country, and now they say that we must unite as a single nation. Will we swallow this lie? Isn't it time to take the initiative for our future? Don't we deserve equality and freedom? Shall we leave this country in the hands of those who betray it?
We are the majority! We are strong and they are weak!
We won't settle for less. We will stand shoulder to shoulder in the areas where we live, in our workplaces, in schools. We will call for socialism everywhere!”
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DİSK leader Arzu Çerkezoğlu , speaking at the rally, said:
“Those who say it's time to stop paying more taxes than their bosses, and those who protect their country and their work, have gathered today at Kartal Square. We came here on behalf of people who are on the brink of survival, unable to afford housing. TurkSTAT (Statistical Office of Turkey) reports that inflation is only 21 percent. We say we won't survive, they say, "The economy is taking off." My brothers and sisters, answer the question: is there anyone who believes that inflation is 21 percent? The red line we have set for wages is at least 5,200 lire.”
After speaking at the rally, artist Ilkay Akkaya gave a concert.

https://www.rotfront.su/s-nas-dovolno-m ... abotat-na/

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"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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