After the raids and arrestment on 8 and 21 September against our party MLCP and revolutionary and socialist associations, press and trade unions, the state terror continues against Basic Rights Federation, the magazine "Yuruyus" and the TAYAD (Association of Solidarity with the Families of Prisoners).
On 7 December, Anti-terror Department of the Istanbul Police has raided the central office of the Basic Rights Federation in Sisli and its branches in the labourers' districts Umraniye, Gulsuyu, Sarigazi, Pendik, Alibeykoy, Nurtepe, Okmeydani, Bagcilar, Bahcelievler, Ikitelli, Esenyurt and Gazi , the central office of TAYAD in Sisli, the technical office of the magazine "Yuruyus" in Taksim, the central office of the Idil Culture Centre in Okmeydani, with thousands of policemen. They broke the doors using sledges; they plundered the offices and took many activists under custody.
The raid and arrestment terror by the police was responded with the resistance of the revolutionary organizations and the people at the barricades. Conflicts with the police lasted for many hours in the labourers' districts, especially in Gazi, Okmeydani, 1 Mayis and Gulsuyu.
In Okmeydani, the revolutionary forces came together and started a resistance while the Basic Rights Association was being raided. As a result of this action, the police had to stop the search without finishing it and withdraw from the district. They again tried to enter the district with the help of hundreds more policemen and Special Forces but they came face to face with the resistance of the revolutionaries with stones and Molotov cocktails and the slogans "Long live revolutionary solidarity!", "Okmeydani will be a grave for fascism!" and "Behic Asci is our honour!". The conflicts lasted for many hours, while the police was fought off several times. The resistance, in which our party MLCP also took place, lasted until evening.
In the evening, the revolutionary organizations such as HOC , ESP , Partisan, DHP, SODAP and OYH made a statement to the people of the district and to the public opinion. In the statement, they expressed the following: "On 19 December 2000 , approximately 8 thousand soldiers and police attacked to 22 prisons and killed 28 revolutionaries. Today, they are trying to "kill" the revolutionary and democratic associations. These attacks have the same target: to break the vanguard will, to terrorise the society and to put the labourers in silence. The new Anti-terror Law was made with on this purpose and the ground for new attacks was strengthened by this way. Just as yesterday, we will again respond these attacks by the power of revolutionary solidarity and we will defend our posts. These will fight these attacks off with a united revolutionary struggle."
Also in Gazi district, the respond to the raid against Basic Rights Association was the formation of barricades. The conflicts between the police and the revolutionaries including HOC (Front of Rights and Freedoms) and ESP (Socialist Platform of the Oppressed) lasted for hours. 500 revolutionaries opened a banner "The repression cannot intimidate us!" and made a march beginning form Dortyol towards the police station. The police, who attacked to the mass with gas bombs and panzers, was repelled by the resistance at the barricades.
In the district Gulsuyu, ESP, HOC and DHP (Platform of Democratic Rights) marched from Heykel Square towards the bus station. They formed barricades and clashed with the police. The police attacked to the mass with gas bombs and panzers and took one ESP activist and two HOC activists under custody.
In the district 1 Mayis, the revolutionary forces made a march to protest the raids. After the police attack to this march, they formed barricades and resisted the police by using Molotov coctails and stones.
In the evening, 25 revolutionary and democratic organisations including ESP, SGD , Tekstil-Sen , EKD , DHP and Partizan wanted to organize a protest action in front of the office of Basic Rights Federation in Sisli to protest the raids. The police attacked to this action and took 31 people under custody.
The families affiliated to TAYAD made a statement on this issue and calificated the raids as "an operation by the Istanbul Police to rescue the gangs, prostitution and mafia" and informed that the official pretext of the raids and searches was "the campaign against degeneration and prostitution". TAYAD expressed the following in its statement: "We will put this complot in vain, just as the complot of 1 April. These attacks also show who is the responsible for organising and protecting the gangs, prostitution and drugs traffic."
And ESP made a statement expressing the following: "It is clear that the attacks of raid, arrestment and imprisonment which has been continuing since September until today are aiming to repress the revolutionary forces and to intimidate the people. We announce once more today: The hope is still on its feet! You will not be able to break the revolutionary will and to darken our hope. Now, all of us are from TAYAD, all of us are from HOC. Long live revolutionary solidarity!"
The same organizations were attacked and raided again two years ago and tens of revolutionaries were imprisoned in the context of an international operation of the bourgeosie against DHKP-C (Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front) which took place in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Turey and N. Kurdistan on 1 April 2004.
Last week, on 27 November, the associations affiliated to the Anatolian Federation in Germany were raided by the German Police.