Social Forum of Turkey (TSF) has been organised on 30 September-1 October in the meeting halls of the Gulhane Darphane-i Amire, Istanbul Chamber of Doctors and Journalists Association of Turkey.
The following seminars and workshops were among the debated subjects: "EU, union of monopolies and the revolutionary alternative", "Rights and freedoms in connection to the Kurdish question", "Struggle for liberation of woman and experiences of organising", "Anti-terror laws", "Isolation", "Alternative culture policies against degeneration and the cultures under threat", "Woman labour, policies of employment, discrimination and the methods of struggle", "Problems of youth and the future of youth movement", "The effects of the neoliberal policies on the economy of Turkey, their reflections on the Working Class and the fight against it", "the ganging and degeneration in the labourer neighbourhoods as imperialism's policy to control", "Imperialist aggression and resistance in the Middle East" and etc. While tens of writers, journalists, intellectuals, unions, chambers of profession, democratic mass organisations, political parties and platforms took place in the Forum, there were also the international guests such as writer Tarik Ali and Rudi Rinaldi, representing the Communist Organisation of Greece, the Greek Social Forum and the Organising Committee of European Social Forum.
Social Forum started on 30 September with an event participated by 1500 people in the Darphane-i Amire building. There was also a demonstration attended by thousand people in the Sultanahmet Square under the slogan: "Another world is possible!"
The state terror, which was carried out against our party, MLCP, and various revolutionary, socialist newspapers and institutions, has put its stamp on the TSF activities.
The police tried to prevent the demonstration in Sultanahmet Square, but did not succeed. The buildings where the TSF activities were organised were also surrounded by hundreds of special police teams. And three people from ESP (Socialist Platform of the Oppressed) were stop by the police when they were leaving the Forum's building on the second day, and the police pointed a gun against a young person from SGD (Socialist Youth Association).
The Chief Editor of Atilim Newspaper, Ibrahim Cicek, the General President of Tekstil-Sen , Ayse Yumli Yeter, a Columnist of Atilim Newspaper, Hasan Cosar, the President of Labourer Women's Association ( EKD ), Cicek Otlu, Representative of Socialist Platform of the Oppressed-Istanbul, Figen Yuksekdag and other speakers, who were registered well-before the TSF, could not participate in the TSF because of their imprisonment as result of the recent detention attack and police raids. While different writers and journalists have taken the place of the imprisoned speakers, they also denounced and protested the state-terror towards various socialist institutions such as Atilim Newspaper, Ozgur Radio, ESP, EKD, SGD, BEKSAV , Tekstil-Sen and Limter-Is Unions in their speeches.
ESP has also protested the TMY (Anti-terror Law) terror by organising a demo and press meeting with banners writing "Anti-Society law must be abolished, End the State-terror" on 1 October in the Forum space. The police prevented the ESP people at the entrance of the Gulhane Park and obstructed their press meeting in Sultanahmet Square. The press meeting, therefore, was organised in the entrance of the Gulhane Park with the following slogans: "You are not strong enough to defeat us, we will win", "ESP were not silent and will not be silent", "End the state-terror" and "The hope is still on its feet".