Opportunities for the United Struggle in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
 
Other articles
 

A period of an antifascist anti-chauvinist polarisation with the revolutionary and communist forces building their core and which comprises all the relevant progressive forces is both obligatory and possible. The struggle of the working class, the labouring masses and the oppressed Kurdish people contains these opportunities more than enough.

01 January 2008 / Red Dawn / Issue 12

"The alliance of the communist movement with petty bourgeois revolutionary groups, its action units, blocks and the development of a common front are not only the question of tactics but rather strategy. It is a concrete way of realizing the main alliance of strategy. Because of this reason the communists must give the alliance with these groups the strategic value they deserve. It is the same for the united actions, as they are the concrete form of this alliance today." (Documents of the Unity Congress, p. 73)

Our party, which defines the first step of the revolution as the "anti-imperialist democratic revolution" in its programme, considers the development of action units with petty bourgeoisie revolutionary groups to form blocks and common front not only as a question of tactics but of strategy, too. Considering the core of the anti-imperialist democratic revolution as winning political freedoms, in its 12 years of history our party has tried to use every opportunity to mobilise the other revolutionary parties and organisations to act together. The idea and efforts for a united struggle that have been developed since the middle of the 90ies of the last century have created positive experiences in many fields of the struggle.

This idea of an organisational front led our party to the thought formulated as the construction of a "united revolutionary leadership" or "a front of revolutionary party and organisations", and in this sense concrete plans and tendencies were developed to start moving on.

Our party does neither consider the question of constructing a united struggle and front to be its own question nor limit it with certain forces: Our party has tried to construct a freedom front that aims at the revolutionary solution in the struggle against the fascist dictatorship led mainly by the communist, revolutionary and patriotic revolutionary forces. Our party has tried to construct a freedom front that aims at the revolutionary solution led mainly by the communist, revolutionary and patriotic revolutionary forces in the struggle against the fascist dictatorship. Our party finds it important to strengthen the relations with progressive, anti-fascist parties and organisations -even when they are reformist and legalist- for the revolutionary development and by this, to prevent them from being a part of bourgeois liberalism's ranks. The fascist dictatorship makes every effort to isolate and marginalise the revolutionaries by organising the progressive reformist forces, reformist trade unions and the leaderships of mass organisations whenever possible within the ranks of bourgeois liberalism or poisoning them with chauvinism.

In this context, our party has organised numerous actions and activities for the development of the united revolutionary struggle. Although there were some revolutionary forces that had sectarian, negative and obstinate approaches regarding only themselves as the revolutionary movement and all this made it impossible to organise such united actions, all these efforts have let the revolutionary movement gain important experiences.

The Central Coordination of the Prisons FOOTNOTE 1 has become an experience where the united revolutionary leadership works concretely. Many other platforms that were founded locally or centrally at different fields of activities such as youth, women and boroughs, are other examples.

With its characteristics to unite and its initiative our party played an important role in organising many temporary platforms and some long-time institutional organisations dealing with certain concrete topics. The foundation of the Platform of the United Revolutionary Forces FOOTNOTE 2 was another quite important example for the revolutionary leadership in practice.

Our party aims at realising the revolution within the present borders imposed by the bourgeoisie. At the same time our party defines the revolution that will be realised in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan as a united revolution, based on the idea of the special situation that Northern Kurdistan is under colonial yoke. During the period until 1999, when the PKK leading the Kurdish national movement followed the petty bourgeois revolutionary line, our party was of the opinion that the united revolution had started in Northern Kurdistan and cared actively for the formation of a second front in the West in the centre of which were the workers and labourers. With the detention of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999, a new period started during which the Kurdish national revolution faced a defeat, the PKK started to follow a petty bourgeois reformist line, but the Kurdish national movement continued and revolutionary dynamics among the Kurdish labouring masses have been still present. Under all these present conditions our party continued to show solidarity with the Kurdish patriotic forces who followed the reformist line. Our party played an especially important role in raising the fraternity of the people with the united struggle in the West against the chauvinist aggression increased by the dictatorship on the Kurdish national forces.

The fascist dictatorship's biggest nightmare has been the foundation of a bridge between the Turkish workers` and labourers` resistance against the fascist oppression and neo-liberal attacks against the Kurdish nation's struggle for freedom against the colonial yoke, which is defined by our party's understanding of the united revolution.

This means that the dictatorship's leading strategy is based on dissolving the opportunity of any united struggle of the people and working class of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. Besides national divisions, the dictatorship tries to divide the power of the working class and labourers with reactionary polarisations such as Alevite-Sunnite and secular-Sharia.

"Nationalism and chauvinism are a big threat for the union of the proletariat and the labouring masses as well as an important arm to make the proletariat and the labourer masses be organised within the ranks of the ruling classes and the state and to prevent them from diverting from the bourgeois ideology and its policy. The systematic ideological struggle that must be lead against the fascist ideology that is based on Turkish nationalism and chauvinism among the broad proletarian and labourer masses plays an important role for the foundation of the revolutionary union of the masses." Documents of the Unity Congress)

For this reason, the anti-fascist and anti-chauvinist axis has always been an important line when organising the united struggle.

Although there is an important inner concurrence, a struggle for hegemony at the bourgeois front in a country where the fascist dictatorship is governing, all wings of the bourgeoisie unite and act together when there is the question on the agenda to oppress the communist and revolutionary movement and finish the Kurdish national movement. To get the support of the masses or reorganise the support by the masses it has lost, the bourgeoisie makes use of all means and first of all of the bourgeois media. With the means used, the dictatorship deceives the masses and manages in making them have hope in different wings of the bourgeois system and the army, its militarist force. The communist and revolutionary movement, however, that leads its struggle under unequal conditions in terms of force, are not able to always use the opportunities it has in an appropriate way.

The attacks of the counter revolutionary front to finish the revolutionary and communist movement and, if needed, to liquidate the vivid dynamic forces of the Kurdish national movement continue in an increased way. To continue with the realisation of its policy of neo-liberal attacks, the fascist dictatorship tries to hinder the development of an organised force on the basis of the dissatisfaction developing at workers and labourers` front. And for this, the dictatorship increases its attacks against the leading forces of the working classes and labourers, revolutionary organisations and the national movement.

The fascist dictatorship displayed its strategy most precisely during the current period with the statement made by the general staff on April 12, 2007. According to this statement the main aim of the coup is to oppress the Kurdish national movement or to break their will for a war. For this reason, the operations in the North (Northern Kurdistan -t.n.) will continue, and in the meantime, Kurdish institutions will be oppressed or made to lose their function and by this logistic sources will be liquidated; this approach will be completed with a military operation in Southern Kurdistan, as a result of which the movement will have to struggle for a long time to overcome this heavy stroke. During this period the revolutionary forces will not stay in the background, on the contrary, the oppression of these forces plays another important role in hindering the struggle of the Turkish workers and labourers uniting with the struggle of the Kurdish people. To isolate these forces in this context, the other reformist forces will be held away from the united struggle by threatening them or by manipulation.

Since the provocation in Mersin FOOTNOTE 3 that the fascist dictatorship organised with this aim in the month of Newroz (21 March 2007, Newroz- the national fiesta of the Kurdish people -t.n.) 2004, it has strengthened its initiative on the other forces of the regime, as well as increased its attacks against, first of all, the Kurdish people and the revolutionary, progressive and communist forces. The provocation in Mersin was the starting point for the lynching attempts of the Kurdish workers, youth, patriots and Turkish and Kurdish revolutionaries in the West. During this period, which is named the new concept of attacks, arrests and detentions as well as closures, bans and oppression on the labourers' freedom of speech, action and organisation have increased, such as the example of the closure of the trade union Egitim-Sen FOOTNOTE 4 showed it. In Semdinli , Yuksekova and Amed FOOTNOTE 5 bombings were realised by the counter guerrilla. Liquidation attacks on the revolutionary forces were increased. In an operation against the leading cadres of the MKP in June 2005 17 comrades in arms of the MKP were killed.

Especially since the provocation in Mersin the fascist dictatorship has tried to organise the Turkish workers and labourers within an active counter-revolutionary mass movement based on Turkish nationalism and chauvinism using racist and fascist organisations named "unarmed forces" and chauvinist provocations.

While the fascist dictatorship riotously continues to apply terror in Northern Kurdistan, it tries to brutally attack revolutionary forces and revolutionary searches in the West and to organise progressive reformist forces within their ranks. By this, it also aimed at marginalising the revolutionary forces and restricting the field of united resistance. With this aim, it uses the tactics of keeping open the way for making politics in a legal manner and within the borders of the system and attacks every attempt for illegal actions with the total power. These tactics are united with the chauvinist hysteria created among the Turkish workers and labourers, and this is how the growing resistance of the workers and labourers against the neo-liberal policies is surrounded and limited within certain borders. These policies do also have an important influence on the participants of the united struggle including mainly reformist trade unions such as DISK and KESK and mass organisations.

In June 2006 the fascist dictatorship launched the anti-terror law with the aim to create a legal basis for the attacks and massacres bound to this concept. This law considers all labourers and, first of all, the Kurdish national movement and the revolutionary forces as potential terrorists and had been prepared in an appropriate way to the laws applied in the UK and other imperialist countries. With this law, a green light was given to a broad wave of attacks.

During the period when the anti-terror law was discussed in parliament and later, the Marxist Leninist Communists have tried to create a united struggle on the basis of political freedoms against fascist oppression. They declared that this law on the agenda means new preparations for broad attacks.

However, despite all efforts, the progressive and revolutionary forces did not manage to create a struggle on the level to make enough pressure to cancel the anti-terror law. The law was approved by parliament. ...on the level sufficient enough to make enough pressure to cancel the anti-terror law.

September attacks and the united struggle

The first big attack carried out by the fascist dictatorship on the basis of this law was the attack in September. This was a wave of broad attacks for which the preparations took 2 years, according to the statements made in the media and which were realised in dozens of cities at the same time throughout Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. In the first statements made after the attacks, which ended up with the detention of dozens of revolutionaries and communists, the spokesmen of the fascist dictatorship announced that the "MLCP has been defeated". FOOTNOTE 6
The stance of the communist vanguard towards the Kurdish national movement, its efforts to raise the fraternity of the people in the centres of the West against the chauvinist provocations by the fascist dictatorship, and the fact that the communist vanguard took place in the first ranks as an influential and uniting force in every field of the social struggle, especially since the 3rd Congress, made it a target of the enemies` broad attacks.

However, it answered the September attacks which aimed at repelling this stance with its same influential and uniting line. Although the September attacks were carried out against our party, revolutionaries, democratic circles and many progressive forces have seen that the attacks were not restricted only to us. It became clear within a short time that if this attack was not fought off, then other parts of the revolutionary movement and finally the whole opposition would be targeted. The communist vanguard that analysed the attacks from the beginning on right way knew that it faced the duty not only to defend its own and historical right of existence, but at the same time the revolutionary movement's right of existence.

The party did not make a step backwards after the wave of September attacks and broad arrests and detentions. With a reflex that was developed immediately our party displayed the practice of defending all posts. Those posts which became empty because of the detentions were filled with communists who made a step forward. While our party entered its 13th year of history under heavy attacks it faced the attacks standing tall. "Hope is standing tall" and "You are not strong enough to defeat us" became the main slogans. This resisting stance of the communists and their call for solidarity found great sympathy within short time. From revolutionary and progressive circles to an important group of the intellectuals, a movement of defense and solidarity was developed that let the friends hope and the enemy fear. This movement even managed to get the support of reformist and liberal groups from time to time.

The attacks on the communists and their resisting stance created a huge solidarity wave internationally, too. The international solidarity that could be considered as the display of the party's approach to international relations and the importance it pays to these relations was shown by many countries, from Latin America to Europe, from the Balkans to Asia.

The common act that could not be created when the anti-terror law had been launched was, however, successfully displayed with the fight against the first broad attack on the basis of this law. Here, the vanguard played an important role in the mature and constructive relations and alliances created with the other revolutionary forces, as well as with the forces of the Kurdish national movement and the progressive intellectual circles, on the basis of its understanding of a united revolutionary struggle for years.

The vanguard whose posts were attacked answered the fascist terror in many cities with the political campaign developed immediately after the September attacks and was led until the beginning of this year with the aim to defend the political freedoms with the main demand of "freedom". The vanguard understood that the attack on it was at the same time an attack on the freedom of speech, organisation and freedom of all progressive, revolutionary forces, as well as the workers and labourers. For this reason, the demand for political freedom for the broad masses was put in the centre of the struggle against the September attacks. The aim of the September attacks to make the vanguard marginalised and isolated and to make it concentrate only on themselves and deviate from the line of the masses was revealed with this way of acting. Due to this stance, the September attacks were the basis for the line of a united struggle that had been created against the terror of the anti-terror law and was later also defended to some extent concerning the topics of social struggle. While at the same time its area of acting politically on the revolutionary and democratic opposition was enlarged, it aimed at restricting the area of attacks of fascism and chauvinism. The communist vanguard that managed to resist the September attacks concentrated on the aim to repel the attacks. By repelling the attacks it acted with the consciousness to prevent the attacks oriented towards other parts of the revolutionary movement. The line of the united struggle that was developed against the September attacks managed to create the foundation of organisations. The experience of the "Emergency line" that consisted of dozens of organisations to show an urgent reaction to the attacks of the anti-terror law was an example of this. However, the attacks on HOC and different organisations on December 7 showed that by this line, many steps have already been taken. FOOTNOTE 7

While the anniversary of the massacre of December 19 was in the near future, social awareness that had been increased concentrated on the question of isolation. The death fast held by the lawyer Behic Asci, the revolutionary prisoner Sevgi Saymaz and the relative of a prisoner Gulcan Goruroglu caused a lot of trouble for the state. The state had already before carried out a bloody operation FOOTNOTE 8 on the house where Behic Asci carried out his death fast. This operation was the trial run of the state's raids on more then ten revolutionary institutions at the same time in Istanbul. At some places the communist and revolutionary forces surrounded the enemies` forces taking part in the raids with street actions and made the enemy abandon its attack, forcing them to retreat.

In some quarters of Istanbul street battles took place. This played an important role for the organisation of the "Emergency line" developed after the September attacks to be able to oppose. The response developed was a new experience for the revolutionary movement for the united struggle and the comradeship-in-arms, as well as the power of resistance. The raids in December were important, since the united response against the anti-terror law made the attacks of the dictatorship stay incomplete and in the streets of the labourers it was shown that victory could also be achieved. Therefore, this was important, since the struggle (or resistance) reached a new level.

On the other hand, the support for the resistance created by the death fast of the lawyer Behic Asci and developing towards December 19 managed to make trade unions, some intellectuals and different democratic mass organisations that did not care for this topic until then join this movement. The lawyers went on the streets with mass actions against isolation. The unions conducted actions with press statements and made solidarity visits. This common resistance reached a level where it made the dictatorship take a step backward, albeit limited, in its 6-year isolation politics. With a decree published in January by the Ministry of Justice the state accepted that 10 prisoners could gather for 10 hours per week and the death fast was finished.

United struggle for freedom and liberty

The Marxist Leninist Communists have foreseen that the attacks on the Kurdish national movement, revolutionary forces and the whole social opposition will continue in an increased way on the basis of the concept of attack started with the flag provocation in Mersin by the dictatorship and accelerated with the provocations in Semdinli and Amed and the approval of the anti-terror law. How about this version: The state answered the ceasefire announced by the guerrillas in September 2006, which was to continue until May 2007, with attacks by arrests, imprisonments, closures and bans of publications and organizations, as well as military operations in the North. It showed once again that the denial and annihilation will continue without cease. Yet in April, the month during which the presidential elections were due to be held, there were the signs of clash between the ruling forces were becoming stronger.)

It was necessary to develop the united struggle line and create a freedom front against these attacks of the fascist dictatorship. The united struggle should create an anti-chauvinist and anti-fascist front with the masses` demand for "freedom" and "peace". In this sense, a proposal was made to the revolutionary, progressive forces and the Kurdish national movement.

The proposal was made for the period of March to May and aimed at creating a united anti-fascist movement dealing with the demand of the Kurdish people for "peace" and our people's demand for "freedom". It was said that the demands for peace and freedom are two uniting demands covering the struggle of the workers and labourers of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, and that these two demands would represent the basis with which the Kurdish people with the Turkish workers and labourers' needs would be expressed together, where they could meet and lead a common struggle.

Turkish chauvinism is the main obstacle for the Turkish workers and labourers starting to fight for their own demands against the capitalist exploitation and fascist oppression. Because of this, it is vital that they understand the Kurdish people's demand for an honourable and just peace.

For the Kurdish people, it is stressed that the real addressees of the demand for an honourable and just peace are the Turkish workers and labourers, and that the addressees of this question are not the state or imperialist forces such as the EU or the USA, but the Turkish workers and labourers.

The proposal has foreseen that all progressive, revolutionary forces, political parties and organisations, intellectuals and artists could participate in the broad alliance of "peace and freedom" that is planned to be founded and that will be constructed for a specific period. This proposal that concentrates on the action and mass activities has foreseen to unite the dynamic forces of the Kurdish people that it saved and that could not be destroyed so far, with the potential in the West, the field where revolutionary and democratic forces are influential. The communists emphasized that a third front could be created against the efforts of both cliques of the ruling forces to make the workers and labourers organise within their ranks in case the forces could be united on the basis of the demand for peace and freedom and could be directed in a creative activity. If this could not be achieved, an important opportunity appearing during the period from January to May would be missed.

This proposal suggested by the communists around the end of 2006 did not find its practical implementation. However, their efforts for a united struggle by revolutionary, progressive and Kurdish-patriotic forces have continued.

 

United anti-chauvinist struggle on the streets against counter-guerrilla massacres

With the murder of the Armenian intellectual Hrant Dink on January, 19 in front of the office of the newspaper he worked for, the level of previewing of the proposal of the Marxist Leninist Communists aiming at "creating a union of a anti-chauvinist movement around the demand for `peace´ by the Kurdish people and a antifascist movement around the demand for `freedom´ of our peoples" has been proved once more. The line of the united struggle reached in the period of September-December entered into a new phase with this political murder. The chief editor of the newspaper Agos, a true democrat and Armenian intellectual Hrant Dink is one of dozens of intellectuals assassinated through counterrevolutionary murders in the history of our country. By attacking the Armenian identity of Hrant Dink, the state signalled that in the ongoing period the chauvinist provocations would increase, the counterrevolutionary actions and the methods of the dirty war will be intensified. This political murder is a threat against the sensibility of the intellectuals which has developed in the last months. That also included the aim of making them step back from some concessions that they had made to the Kurdish national movement and the revolutionary and progressive forces, and of hindering the relations between the more reformist sectors of the intellectuals with the revolutionary forces and the Kurdish national movement. In our country being Armenian has been converted into an offence, they are aiming at creating a reactionary polarisation into Turkish-Armenian-Kurdish in the society and also within the social opposition.

But the results of their plans were all the contrary of what they wanted. The political response to the defence of Hrant Dink on the day of his murder was a strong answer to the fascist dictatorship. The signs of the brotherhood of the peoples against racism and chauvinism expressed in the slogans "We are all Armenians, we are all Hrant Dink" were first defended by tens of thousands and later at the funeral by hundreds of thousands and thus turned into a great antifascist and anti-chauvinist mass meeting. The state has been exposed and caught red-handed once again.

In our country, innumerable progressive, revolutionary and patriotic intellectuals from Sabahat Ali to Musa Anter became the victims of counterrevolutionary murders. Also, the dozens of massacres and counterrevolutionary actions carrying the mark of the state from the massacres from Mayday 1977, March 16, Beyazit massacre, the massacres in Corum and Maras to the massacre in Gazi and the dozens of secret counterrevolutionary actions, which have been revealed, from Susurluk to Semdinli in which the state and the army were involved, and which showed the existence of the state gangs and the anger that had developed over dozens of years are the reasons for the massive action. None of the trials of these massacres ever ended with sentencing and punishing the counterrevolutionaries, by responding to the demand of the workers and labourers for justice. When Hrant Dink was murdered, the struggle united on the axis of the antifascist struggle against the counterrevolutionary state and the anti-chauvinist struggle against the chauvinist provocation. The accumulated anger against assassinations and counterrevolutionary murder turned into an anti-chauvinist, antifascist flood of the masses on the basis of the Turkish-Kurdish-Armenian fraternity comprising hundreds of thousands. This street movement became also in the period afterwards the main channel through which the united struggle flowed. In this time, one could feel the opportunities for the united struggle in the strongest form.

In this period, the mass struggle did comprise very broad parts from the liberal intellectuals up to revolutionary organisations, trade-unionist confederations and professional organisations. Even some bourgeois parties tried to make the anger against counter-guerrillas unclear in order to organise the reaction against the murder in their ranks. But the happiness of these sectors was interrupted when tens of thousands of people raised the slogan "We are all Hrant Dink, we are all Armenian". As this slogan is one that none of the representatives of the rulers could accept, it become an element of demarcation and left its mark on the movement and made vain all the efforts of forces, which tried to profit from the murder.

This broad composition, naturally, was made up by forces, which approached the murder of Hrant Dink from very different points of view and tried to give very different directions to this mass movement and it was inevitable that certain stratums would separate within little time. Precisely this happened. The anti-chauvinist anger of hundreds of thousands cold be organised. It stayed a loose coalition.

The Marxist Leninist Communists parted from the aim to canalize the defence of Hrant Dink by the masses and the progressive parts of the forces into the struggle to be carried out into the March-May period FOOTNOTE 9 under the slogan "Ask account from the counterrevolutionary state" and thus to develop further and consolidate the line of the united struggle which appeared, to guarantee to obtain a new position by getting concrete results.

When the celebrations of Newroz, one of the central events in March, were approaching, it was the principal task of the revolutionary and progressive forces to strengthen the anti-chauvinist struggle and the fraternity of the peoples. This had to be united from March going on until Mayday with the anger on the streets breaking out on the anniversaries of the massacres.


The day of uprising of the Kurdish People: Newroz

With the assassination of Hrant Dink the attacks against the Kurdish people were intensified even more. In the whole time before the celebrations of Newroz on March 21, offices and houses of the DTP were raided several times and dozens of its leaders and members imprisoned. In many cities lynch attempts developed against Kurdish workers. The Kurdish press was exposed to attacks in the form of publication bans. It would have been necessary to continue with the practice of broad defence that developed after the murder of Hrant Dink against these attacks.

The state concentrated on preventing a mass participation in the Newroz celebration. However, in spite of all attacks, Newroz was celebrated by the masses. The practice of defending Newroz has developed well among the most progressive parts of the Turkish workers and labourers, even though, in the previous years their participation had been weak. It has been seen once again that strengthening the conciseness of the embracement of the peoples and the feeling of fraternity is the principal task of the revolutionary movement.

However, the revolutionary and progressive movement did not manage to carry on the solidarity movement and the "united active defence", which it had established after the September attacks, in March. This fact has shown once more that social-chauvinism has still not been destroyed in the revolutionary and progressive ranks and that this is an important and urgent task in order to build the united antifascist struggle in our country.



The efforts of the dictatorship to pull the masses to its side

The polarization at the front of the fascist dictatorship, which started around the presidential elections, continued and deepened. The army started its manoeuvres in order to prevent the AKP from electing the president of the republic and to organise the anger existing in the society against the AKP and the state at the same time for itself and to prevent this anger from going to a third front.

The General staff defended its Cankaya post on the streets. From April 14 on they brought millions of people to the streets by organising "Republic Meetings" through "NGOs", which they named "the unarmed forces". The masses, which had a great anger against the collaboration with the US imperialism and which accumulated their protest against the neoliberal politics of the government, participated in these meetings. The participation was thousand times higher than the masses belonging to the supporters of the putsch, who organised the meetings and the racist and fascist organisations themselves. These meetings appeared to take place in the framework of the polarisation between secularism-sharia and also included leftist and anti-imperialist words. They even managed to include DISK and similar circles, even shortly before Mayday, in spite of the de facto existing alliance with progressive, revolutionary forces they were in. The meetings organised support on the streets for the putschist generals. In spite of its topical content to prevent Tayyip Erdogan from becoming the president of the republic and bringing to the fore political parties, which are taking a stand on its side like CHP - DSP and MHP , and to present them as alternatives in the elections, these meetings were part of a more long-term plan of the militarist fascist front. The plan consisted in making these masses, which today are on the streets to protest against the presidency of Tayyip Erdogan, in the future a part of mass provocations against the Kurdish people.

When the government presented Abdullah Gul as its candidate and thus insisted on a president from its own ranks, which means on the Cankaya post in spite of these meetings, the April 27 memorandum was issued. By that the army fully continues to follow its concept, which also contains the plan for an operation in Southern Kurdistan and absolutely dominated the government.

One of the most important aspects of the April 27 memorandum was also that it was a "breaking the will concept" against the national Kurdish movement and the communist and revolutionary movement. The memorandum, which was discussed before at the meeting of the MGK (National Security Council) and which contains the words "to continue the struggle against terror with all determination" was the continuation of the claims that the Kurdish, Allevite and similar minorities in Turkey are enemies and that one could not even speak of any existence of them and of the negation and liquidation of the Kurdish people, the concept to oppress the communist and revolutionary movement and not only a continuation but also a step further. Starting with the memorandum, the process of the military intervention concentrated rapidly on the attacks and operations against the Kurds. The memorandum declared Kurdish people the enemy and reintroduced to the agenda the topic of a military operation against Southern Kurdistan. The military prevented the election of the president of the republic from the ranks of the AKP. Then the parliament took the decision to hold early general elections on July 22, 2007.

To put it in a nutshell; the situation was as follow before Mayday:

Since the September attacks the line of revolutionary solidarity and united struggle developed on a new level. In December, it reached the level of resisting on the street barricades against the repression of the police and achieved some success. The developments concerning the topic of the F-type isolation has been an important motivation for the movement on this line and in January, after the murder of Hrant Dink, hundreds of thousands took to the streets on an anti-chauvinist, antifascist line and the conditions for the united struggle developed. In spite of a certain drop in the actions during March they still continued on this line. The internal crisis of the regime and the confrontations among the rulers heated up so much, that the army, for the first time in many years, took the highest measure and issued the memorandum, revealing itself and its sinister intentions in the full light. During April, it was the pro-USA army that organised mass street actions with anti-imperialist slogans but on a reactionary, chauvinist basis. The military, juridical, physical attacks against the Kurdish people intensified a lot and the bellicosity was reached to peak on the basis of a possible intervention in Southern Kurdistan.

There were two axes of street actions: on one hand, the developing antifascist, anti-chauvinist street axis, especially against the counter-guerrilla attacks and chauvinist provocations, and on the other hand, actions organised by the general staff - consisting of the same sectors who are, in fact, the base of the struggle on the first axis- against the wing of the government in order to get them to move later during chauvinist provocations.

It was a task of main importance to follow a united, mass and militant line in Taksim on Mayday on the anniversary of the massacre of 1977 at the prohibited square.



The attitude of the communists towards the period and the trial of April 13

Under these conditions, the Marxist Leninist Communists focussed on the aim of a Mayday in Taksim on a united, mass and militant line on the anniversary of the massacre of 1977.

During the whole period the Marxist Leninist Communists raised solidarity with the DTP, which was attacked, and strengthened the fraternity of the peoples in the West against the provocations and lynch attempts and by this way, they tried to finalize March-May period with success in building of the untied struggle against chauvinism and fascism.

When it was announced that the trial of those, who had been detained at the operations of September 21 in Istanbul, would be on April 13, the task to transform the trial into a tribune where fascism will be accused became the agenda of the Marxist Leninist Communists.

It was a political duty for the whole revolutionary movement to continue with the solidarity and the line of united struggle, which had been developed against the September attacks, and to defend the communists, the representatives of socialist organisations, who had been imprisoned during the September attacks, at the trial in a massive and united way.

After the campaign, which was launched after the September attacks focussing on the "freedom", demand of the masses, the Marxist Leninist Communists put the demand for "freedom and justice" in the centre in the period of the April trial. Around the idea that the rulers cannot sentence the socialists and socialism with their "justice", the demand for justice of the masses, which has not been fulfilled for decades concerning the counterrevolutionary massacres and the other crimes of the fascist dictatorship, have been raised. By underlining that the one, who had to sit in the dock in which they put the socialists, should be the counterrevolutionary state, which killed 36 workers and labourers on Mayday 1977, they combined the activities for the April 13 with those of Mayday and the process was treated as a whole.

Lessons were taken from September and Marxist Leninist Communists tried to organize and institutionalize the achievements of September. The aim was to go on with the solidarity and defence movement beyond September on the axis of the trial.

In this range, a broad mass work was organised. They called upon the workers and labourers to support the socialists, to defend the idea of socialism. The work treated together with the day of unity, struggle and solidarity of the working class, Mayday, intended to bring the idea of socialism to the working class. Strong efforts were undertaken in order to make the revolutionary and democratic organisations start actions with their demand for justice in order to condemn the counterrevolutionary state.

On April 13, inside the court and also outside in front of the building in Istanbul, a war of wills between revolutionary forces and the forces of the state took place. Meanwhile the socialists defended the legitimacy of their actions from the tribune of the trial. Communists, revolutionaries, comrades-in-arms, democratic and progressive intellectuals from all over Turkey and Northern Kurdistan and an international delegations with dozens of observers from different countries stood up for the September 10 prisoners. In order to prevent the expression of revolutionary solidarity, revolutionary posts in front of the court, the enthusiastic and militant defending of the socialist ideals and the proudly raising of the flags which they try to ban, the fascist dictatorship brutally attacked the masses gathering in front of the court building. The attack was a test of the police terror on Mayday. But the masses responded to this attack with a resistance, which was also a test of the determination of the masses which they were to show on Mayday. In spite of dozens of detentions and imprisonments they did not retreat.

The communists moved uninterruptedly on the way opened on April 13 with the perspective to get ready to go to Taksim on Mayday and to win Mayday with the united struggle and also made this call upon all their friends.



On the line of the united struggle to the Taksim victory

During the whole month of April the contradictions around the presidential elections at the front of the inner forces of the regime became more and more fierce and proceeded with street posts in the form of the Republic meetings with which they pulled millions of labourers on their side and it became an even more vital duty to show a strong attitude in favour of the working class and the labouring masses on Mayday. Many revolutionary and progressive forces announced for months that this way went through conquering the square of Taksim against the counterrevolutionary state on the anniversary of the massacre of 1977.

The vast majority of the revolutionary and progressive forces announced their determination to celebrate Mayday in a united way with masses of people in Taksim. The revolutionary organisations and even some reformist organisations stated officially, independently of each other, their will to be in Taksim. DISK was under the impact of the pressure of their members accumulated for years. It became obligatory for them to submit to the will to be in Taksim at Mayday and to get through with as little damage as possible. KESK, as a reformist but to a certain extent still energetic trade-union, showed its tendency towards participating at Taksim. They took a stand on the side of this "will for Taksim", formed also by TMMOB , TTB and several democratic mass organisations. Finally, the celebrations of Mayday 2007 turned into an important confrontation between the state and the labouring masses. In spite of all the prohibitions and their efforts to transform Istanbul into a prison it was the militancy of the mass and the revolutionary determination which left their mark on Mayday 2007.

The state tried to divide the class by making the yellow trade-unions like Turk-Is organise a meeting at another place, but it was not successful. The communists, revolutionaries, progressive organisations and trade-unions resisted by insisting on Taksim. Almost all the reformist forces (except EMEP , which did not dare to go to Taksim but tailed after Turk-Is) also took part in the ranks of Taksim.

The celebrations of Mayday have been the most advanced example of the united struggle and the polarization in the last period. The trade-unions, democratic mass organisations, reformist parties moved on the grounds of the slogans of the revolutionaries. Doubtlessly, this happened not through the direct influence of the revolutionaries, but showed that the social struggle has reached a considerable level concerning its development and the revolutionary opportunities.

Mayday 2007 entered into history as an important achievement of the united struggle. The state interrupted the public transports (ferryboats and buses) in Istanbul in order to impede Mayday and thus paralysed traffic and exerted terror. Under the leadership of the revolutionaries, the neighbourhoods of the workers and labourers were turned into arenas of struggle as a response. In spite of these measures by the state, more than ten thousand workers and labourers besieged the square of Taksim and fought with the police. Despite more than 800 detentions and hundreds of people hurt thousands of workers and labourers took the police barricades, conquered Taksim and burst the Taksim prohibition.

For the rulers, Mayday 2007 was a political defeat. However, for the front of the workers and labourers it was a political triumph.


Despite the confrontation of the inner cliques of the regime advancing to its crisis, the presidential elections, and the general staff making millions of people demonstrate on the streets, the mass militancy and the revolutionary determination of Mayday have shown that under the surface there also exist many opportunities.


Despite the confrontation of the inner cliques of the regime advancing to its crisis, the presidential elections, and the general staff making millions of people demonstrate on the streets, the mass militancy and the revolutionary determination of Mayday have shown that under the surface there also exist many opportunities.


An important element was the success that the progressive trade-unions and the professional mass organisations moved together with the revolutionary parties and organisations. The victory of Mayday strengthened the progressive, revolutionary forces and the class itself and also the confidence in unity. The togetherness achieved on Mayday has shown once again the opportunities of the united struggle, the orientation towards a polarization, in which all the forces of the workers and labourers, the revolutionaries, the progressive and patriotic Kurds may participate. This was an important proof that it is absolutely possible to proceed in this period in favour of the revolution.



A new chance for the united struggle: elections

Immediately after Mayday, the crisis developing around the presidential elections between the cliques of the army and the government unavoidably brought early general elections to the agenda and this caused conditions for a special form of the united struggle: elections.

The elections were an important channel to develop in an organised form the spirit of the united struggle which developed during the whole period from the September attacks to the murder of Hrant Dink until Mayday. Facts also showed that a lot had been achieved already concerning that topic. The fact, that progressive intellectuals made a common call for candidates in a way that had not happened for years, is one example of that.

The Marxist Leninist Communists stated that it is an important chance to intervene in the elections with a block of independent candidates, to build a third front against the confrontations between the two cliques of the ruling classes, which they present to the workers and labourers as different alternatives. They underlined that it is necessary to break the chauvinist mass mobilization of the huge agitation and propaganda apparatus carried out by the clique of the army with a broad front alliance of the revolutionary forces, progressive reformist parties, progressive intellectuals, progressive trade-unions and democratic mass organisations. This alliance had to be built, first of all, on the streets. It was necessary to respond with the voice of the street to the juridical manoeuvres and physical attacks of the dictatorship aiming at keeping away the Kurdish patriotic, the progressive and the revolutionary forces from the parliament and to make them superfluous. The street movement was the principal tool in the hands of the social opposition, which it could use against the fascist dictatorship. In a period, in which the dictatorship tried to organise the workers and labourers taking to the streets on a reactionary basis against the revolutionary and patriotic forces in mass actions this was even more urgent. In such a period, it was not possible to undertake decisive leaps through concentrating on the ballots without the power of the united struggle on the streets.

However, the attitude towards elections, first of all, of the DTP to focus on the field of parliament and not the street and to exclude the revolutionary forces and the negative attitudes of many other forces impeded the formation of such a front. The fact, that the revolutionary and progressive forces were not able to develop a common intervention in the early general elections of July 22 showed a considerable weakness of the social struggle.


The direction of the development of the united struggle

Today, the concept to destroy the will to fight of the Kurdish people and the revolutionary forces, of which also the discussion about a military intervention in Southern Kurdistan forms an important dimension, is applied with all strength in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. However, this situation also bears important revolutionary opportunities.

A period of an antifascist anti-chauvinist polarisation with the revolutionary and communist forces building their core and which comprises all the relevant progressive forces is both obligatory and possible. The struggle of the working class, the labouring masses and the oppressed Kurdish people contains these opportunities more than enough. In order to rescue the Turkish workers and labourers from the quagmire of chauvinism and to make them move based on their own demands it is necessary to unite the struggle of the Kurdish patriotic masses and the Turkish people and that the progressive, revolutionary and communist forces create a united resistance and institutionalised united posts.

Such a polarisation will be created inside the street movement itself. Every strong response given to the fascist attacks, the chauvinist provocations and the state terror as a whole will be a step towards this polarisation.

As they have been doing during the 13 years of their history, Marxist Leninist Communists will continue mobilizing their energy to fulfil their task in this process.



FOOTNOTE 1:

The Central Coordination of the Prisons is the coordination that was founded by 7 revolutionary parties and organisations to give a common answer to the decree introduced by the fascist dictatorship on May 6 1996 containing different attacks on the revolutionary prisoners.

FOOTNOTE 2:

The Platform of the United Revolutionary Forces was a revolutionary alliance whose foundation was announced in June 1998. Together with our party MLCP, there were the PKK, TKP(ML), TKP/ML, TDP, DHP, TKP (K) and the Revolutionary Left participating. The platform lost its function and was dissolved later when together with the statements of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan taken hostage, the PKK changed its petty bourgeois revolutionary line into a petty bourgeois reformist line together.



FOOTNOTE 3:

During the celebrations of Newroz 2005 a provocation act was realised in Mersin with the claim that a Turkish flag had been thrown on the ground and tramped down. The provocation in Mersin was the starting point for the lynching attempts on revolutionaries and Kurdish patriots that were later carried out in many cities.

FOOTNOTE 4:

In 2004 a trial was opened to close down the trade union Egitim-Sen (Education Workers´ Union) following the order of Ankara Governorship with the reason of the union's demand for "education in the mother tongue". Following the wish of the general staff, it was decided to close down the union within one year.



FOOTNOTE 5:

On November 9, 2005, the counter-guerrilla organisation JITEM (Gendarmerie Intelligence Organisation) bombed a bookstore in the provincial city of Semdinli, Northern Kurdistan. While one Kurdish patriot lost his life, two people were injured. Determined and bravely, the people of Semdinli caught the responsible forces of JITEM and handed the weapons, plans of attack and black lists over to its owner, the state. With the Kurdish people's common sense and determined stance, the provocation in Semdinli was busted in the hand of the murderers. The counter-guerrilla that got into trouble opened the fire on the state's prosecutor who had been instructed to investigate this case and was on the ground for the investigation, deputy Esat Canan and the people. Another patriot was killed here.



FOOTNOTE 6:

Between September 8-12, 23 revolutionaries and communists were imprisoned after operations carried out in 7 different cities. The forces of the fascist dictatorship called the operation "Gaye" (Engl. Aim, tn.), and with this operation it was announced that our party MLCP had been "defeated".

FOOTNOTE 7:

On December 19, 2000 the fascist dictatorship realised a bloody massacre in 20 prisons of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan in which thousands of gendarmes, special unit members and different military forces took place. The aim of the massacre was to transfer the revolutionary prisoners to the f type isolation cells and by that, to break their will. As a result of the massacre, 28 revolutionaries were killed by heavy weapons, nerve gas and different chemical substances, dozens were injured and became disabled. The revolutionary prisoners answered the massacre with the resistance of the death fast.



FOOTNOTE 8:

As a result of an attack with heavy weapons, gas bombs and machines organised by the state on November 5, 2001 on a house in the Istanbul borough Kucuk Armutlu where the death fast was realised, four revolutionaries lost their life. Later on, police attacks continued to be carried out against houses in Kucuk Armutlu and Alibeykoy where the death fast was taking place



FOOTNOTE 9:

The March-May period includes the March 8, Day of Labouring Women, the anniversary of March 12, 1995, the massacre of Gazi and afterwards the kidnapping and murdering of our comrade Hasan Ocak, the commander of Gazi, the anniversary of the massacre from March 16, 1977 in Beyazit, the anniversary of March 15, 1988 in Halabja, the holiday of brotherhood of the Kurdish people and the peoples of the Middle East, Newroz on March 21 and the anniversary of the massacre in Kizildere on March 30, 1972 until Mayday and is a period in which the social struggle flares up.
 

 

Archive

 

2019
March
2018
November September
June March
2017
October
2008
December January
2007
January
2006
January
2005
April
2004
September

 

Opportunities for the United Struggle in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan
fc Share on Twitter
 

A period of an antifascist anti-chauvinist polarisation with the revolutionary and communist forces building their core and which comprises all the relevant progressive forces is both obligatory and possible. The struggle of the working class, the labouring masses and the oppressed Kurdish people contains these opportunities more than enough.

01 January 2008 / Red Dawn / Issue 12

"The alliance of the communist movement with petty bourgeois revolutionary groups, its action units, blocks and the development of a common front are not only the question of tactics but rather strategy. It is a concrete way of realizing the main alliance of strategy. Because of this reason the communists must give the alliance with these groups the strategic value they deserve. It is the same for the united actions, as they are the concrete form of this alliance today." (Documents of the Unity Congress, p. 73)

Our party, which defines the first step of the revolution as the "anti-imperialist democratic revolution" in its programme, considers the development of action units with petty bourgeoisie revolutionary groups to form blocks and common front not only as a question of tactics but of strategy, too. Considering the core of the anti-imperialist democratic revolution as winning political freedoms, in its 12 years of history our party has tried to use every opportunity to mobilise the other revolutionary parties and organisations to act together. The idea and efforts for a united struggle that have been developed since the middle of the 90ies of the last century have created positive experiences in many fields of the struggle.

This idea of an organisational front led our party to the thought formulated as the construction of a "united revolutionary leadership" or "a front of revolutionary party and organisations", and in this sense concrete plans and tendencies were developed to start moving on.

Our party does neither consider the question of constructing a united struggle and front to be its own question nor limit it with certain forces: Our party has tried to construct a freedom front that aims at the revolutionary solution in the struggle against the fascist dictatorship led mainly by the communist, revolutionary and patriotic revolutionary forces. Our party has tried to construct a freedom front that aims at the revolutionary solution led mainly by the communist, revolutionary and patriotic revolutionary forces in the struggle against the fascist dictatorship. Our party finds it important to strengthen the relations with progressive, anti-fascist parties and organisations -even when they are reformist and legalist- for the revolutionary development and by this, to prevent them from being a part of bourgeois liberalism's ranks. The fascist dictatorship makes every effort to isolate and marginalise the revolutionaries by organising the progressive reformist forces, reformist trade unions and the leaderships of mass organisations whenever possible within the ranks of bourgeois liberalism or poisoning them with chauvinism.

In this context, our party has organised numerous actions and activities for the development of the united revolutionary struggle. Although there were some revolutionary forces that had sectarian, negative and obstinate approaches regarding only themselves as the revolutionary movement and all this made it impossible to organise such united actions, all these efforts have let the revolutionary movement gain important experiences.

The Central Coordination of the Prisons FOOTNOTE 1 has become an experience where the united revolutionary leadership works concretely. Many other platforms that were founded locally or centrally at different fields of activities such as youth, women and boroughs, are other examples.

With its characteristics to unite and its initiative our party played an important role in organising many temporary platforms and some long-time institutional organisations dealing with certain concrete topics. The foundation of the Platform of the United Revolutionary Forces FOOTNOTE 2 was another quite important example for the revolutionary leadership in practice.

Our party aims at realising the revolution within the present borders imposed by the bourgeoisie. At the same time our party defines the revolution that will be realised in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan as a united revolution, based on the idea of the special situation that Northern Kurdistan is under colonial yoke. During the period until 1999, when the PKK leading the Kurdish national movement followed the petty bourgeois revolutionary line, our party was of the opinion that the united revolution had started in Northern Kurdistan and cared actively for the formation of a second front in the West in the centre of which were the workers and labourers. With the detention of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999, a new period started during which the Kurdish national revolution faced a defeat, the PKK started to follow a petty bourgeois reformist line, but the Kurdish national movement continued and revolutionary dynamics among the Kurdish labouring masses have been still present. Under all these present conditions our party continued to show solidarity with the Kurdish patriotic forces who followed the reformist line. Our party played an especially important role in raising the fraternity of the people with the united struggle in the West against the chauvinist aggression increased by the dictatorship on the Kurdish national forces.

The fascist dictatorship's biggest nightmare has been the foundation of a bridge between the Turkish workers` and labourers` resistance against the fascist oppression and neo-liberal attacks against the Kurdish nation's struggle for freedom against the colonial yoke, which is defined by our party's understanding of the united revolution.

This means that the dictatorship's leading strategy is based on dissolving the opportunity of any united struggle of the people and working class of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. Besides national divisions, the dictatorship tries to divide the power of the working class and labourers with reactionary polarisations such as Alevite-Sunnite and secular-Sharia.

"Nationalism and chauvinism are a big threat for the union of the proletariat and the labouring masses as well as an important arm to make the proletariat and the labourer masses be organised within the ranks of the ruling classes and the state and to prevent them from diverting from the bourgeois ideology and its policy. The systematic ideological struggle that must be lead against the fascist ideology that is based on Turkish nationalism and chauvinism among the broad proletarian and labourer masses plays an important role for the foundation of the revolutionary union of the masses." Documents of the Unity Congress)

For this reason, the anti-fascist and anti-chauvinist axis has always been an important line when organising the united struggle.

Although there is an important inner concurrence, a struggle for hegemony at the bourgeois front in a country where the fascist dictatorship is governing, all wings of the bourgeoisie unite and act together when there is the question on the agenda to oppress the communist and revolutionary movement and finish the Kurdish national movement. To get the support of the masses or reorganise the support by the masses it has lost, the bourgeoisie makes use of all means and first of all of the bourgeois media. With the means used, the dictatorship deceives the masses and manages in making them have hope in different wings of the bourgeois system and the army, its militarist force. The communist and revolutionary movement, however, that leads its struggle under unequal conditions in terms of force, are not able to always use the opportunities it has in an appropriate way.

The attacks of the counter revolutionary front to finish the revolutionary and communist movement and, if needed, to liquidate the vivid dynamic forces of the Kurdish national movement continue in an increased way. To continue with the realisation of its policy of neo-liberal attacks, the fascist dictatorship tries to hinder the development of an organised force on the basis of the dissatisfaction developing at workers and labourers` front. And for this, the dictatorship increases its attacks against the leading forces of the working classes and labourers, revolutionary organisations and the national movement.

The fascist dictatorship displayed its strategy most precisely during the current period with the statement made by the general staff on April 12, 2007. According to this statement the main aim of the coup is to oppress the Kurdish national movement or to break their will for a war. For this reason, the operations in the North (Northern Kurdistan -t.n.) will continue, and in the meantime, Kurdish institutions will be oppressed or made to lose their function and by this logistic sources will be liquidated; this approach will be completed with a military operation in Southern Kurdistan, as a result of which the movement will have to struggle for a long time to overcome this heavy stroke. During this period the revolutionary forces will not stay in the background, on the contrary, the oppression of these forces plays another important role in hindering the struggle of the Turkish workers and labourers uniting with the struggle of the Kurdish people. To isolate these forces in this context, the other reformist forces will be held away from the united struggle by threatening them or by manipulation.

Since the provocation in Mersin FOOTNOTE 3 that the fascist dictatorship organised with this aim in the month of Newroz (21 March 2007, Newroz- the national fiesta of the Kurdish people -t.n.) 2004, it has strengthened its initiative on the other forces of the regime, as well as increased its attacks against, first of all, the Kurdish people and the revolutionary, progressive and communist forces. The provocation in Mersin was the starting point for the lynching attempts of the Kurdish workers, youth, patriots and Turkish and Kurdish revolutionaries in the West. During this period, which is named the new concept of attacks, arrests and detentions as well as closures, bans and oppression on the labourers' freedom of speech, action and organisation have increased, such as the example of the closure of the trade union Egitim-Sen FOOTNOTE 4 showed it. In Semdinli , Yuksekova and Amed FOOTNOTE 5 bombings were realised by the counter guerrilla. Liquidation attacks on the revolutionary forces were increased. In an operation against the leading cadres of the MKP in June 2005 17 comrades in arms of the MKP were killed.

Especially since the provocation in Mersin the fascist dictatorship has tried to organise the Turkish workers and labourers within an active counter-revolutionary mass movement based on Turkish nationalism and chauvinism using racist and fascist organisations named "unarmed forces" and chauvinist provocations.

While the fascist dictatorship riotously continues to apply terror in Northern Kurdistan, it tries to brutally attack revolutionary forces and revolutionary searches in the West and to organise progressive reformist forces within their ranks. By this, it also aimed at marginalising the revolutionary forces and restricting the field of united resistance. With this aim, it uses the tactics of keeping open the way for making politics in a legal manner and within the borders of the system and attacks every attempt for illegal actions with the total power. These tactics are united with the chauvinist hysteria created among the Turkish workers and labourers, and this is how the growing resistance of the workers and labourers against the neo-liberal policies is surrounded and limited within certain borders. These policies do also have an important influence on the participants of the united struggle including mainly reformist trade unions such as DISK and KESK and mass organisations.

In June 2006 the fascist dictatorship launched the anti-terror law with the aim to create a legal basis for the attacks and massacres bound to this concept. This law considers all labourers and, first of all, the Kurdish national movement and the revolutionary forces as potential terrorists and had been prepared in an appropriate way to the laws applied in the UK and other imperialist countries. With this law, a green light was given to a broad wave of attacks.

During the period when the anti-terror law was discussed in parliament and later, the Marxist Leninist Communists have tried to create a united struggle on the basis of political freedoms against fascist oppression. They declared that this law on the agenda means new preparations for broad attacks.

However, despite all efforts, the progressive and revolutionary forces did not manage to create a struggle on the level to make enough pressure to cancel the anti-terror law. The law was approved by parliament. ...on the level sufficient enough to make enough pressure to cancel the anti-terror law.

September attacks and the united struggle

The first big attack carried out by the fascist dictatorship on the basis of this law was the attack in September. This was a wave of broad attacks for which the preparations took 2 years, according to the statements made in the media and which were realised in dozens of cities at the same time throughout Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. In the first statements made after the attacks, which ended up with the detention of dozens of revolutionaries and communists, the spokesmen of the fascist dictatorship announced that the "MLCP has been defeated". FOOTNOTE 6
The stance of the communist vanguard towards the Kurdish national movement, its efforts to raise the fraternity of the people in the centres of the West against the chauvinist provocations by the fascist dictatorship, and the fact that the communist vanguard took place in the first ranks as an influential and uniting force in every field of the social struggle, especially since the 3rd Congress, made it a target of the enemies` broad attacks.

However, it answered the September attacks which aimed at repelling this stance with its same influential and uniting line. Although the September attacks were carried out against our party, revolutionaries, democratic circles and many progressive forces have seen that the attacks were not restricted only to us. It became clear within a short time that if this attack was not fought off, then other parts of the revolutionary movement and finally the whole opposition would be targeted. The communist vanguard that analysed the attacks from the beginning on right way knew that it faced the duty not only to defend its own and historical right of existence, but at the same time the revolutionary movement's right of existence.

The party did not make a step backwards after the wave of September attacks and broad arrests and detentions. With a reflex that was developed immediately our party displayed the practice of defending all posts. Those posts which became empty because of the detentions were filled with communists who made a step forward. While our party entered its 13th year of history under heavy attacks it faced the attacks standing tall. "Hope is standing tall" and "You are not strong enough to defeat us" became the main slogans. This resisting stance of the communists and their call for solidarity found great sympathy within short time. From revolutionary and progressive circles to an important group of the intellectuals, a movement of defense and solidarity was developed that let the friends hope and the enemy fear. This movement even managed to get the support of reformist and liberal groups from time to time.

The attacks on the communists and their resisting stance created a huge solidarity wave internationally, too. The international solidarity that could be considered as the display of the party's approach to international relations and the importance it pays to these relations was shown by many countries, from Latin America to Europe, from the Balkans to Asia.

The common act that could not be created when the anti-terror law had been launched was, however, successfully displayed with the fight against the first broad attack on the basis of this law. Here, the vanguard played an important role in the mature and constructive relations and alliances created with the other revolutionary forces, as well as with the forces of the Kurdish national movement and the progressive intellectual circles, on the basis of its understanding of a united revolutionary struggle for years.

The vanguard whose posts were attacked answered the fascist terror in many cities with the political campaign developed immediately after the September attacks and was led until the beginning of this year with the aim to defend the political freedoms with the main demand of "freedom". The vanguard understood that the attack on it was at the same time an attack on the freedom of speech, organisation and freedom of all progressive, revolutionary forces, as well as the workers and labourers. For this reason, the demand for political freedom for the broad masses was put in the centre of the struggle against the September attacks. The aim of the September attacks to make the vanguard marginalised and isolated and to make it concentrate only on themselves and deviate from the line of the masses was revealed with this way of acting. Due to this stance, the September attacks were the basis for the line of a united struggle that had been created against the terror of the anti-terror law and was later also defended to some extent concerning the topics of social struggle. While at the same time its area of acting politically on the revolutionary and democratic opposition was enlarged, it aimed at restricting the area of attacks of fascism and chauvinism. The communist vanguard that managed to resist the September attacks concentrated on the aim to repel the attacks. By repelling the attacks it acted with the consciousness to prevent the attacks oriented towards other parts of the revolutionary movement. The line of the united struggle that was developed against the September attacks managed to create the foundation of organisations. The experience of the "Emergency line" that consisted of dozens of organisations to show an urgent reaction to the attacks of the anti-terror law was an example of this. However, the attacks on HOC and different organisations on December 7 showed that by this line, many steps have already been taken. FOOTNOTE 7

While the anniversary of the massacre of December 19 was in the near future, social awareness that had been increased concentrated on the question of isolation. The death fast held by the lawyer Behic Asci, the revolutionary prisoner Sevgi Saymaz and the relative of a prisoner Gulcan Goruroglu caused a lot of trouble for the state. The state had already before carried out a bloody operation FOOTNOTE 8 on the house where Behic Asci carried out his death fast. This operation was the trial run of the state's raids on more then ten revolutionary institutions at the same time in Istanbul. At some places the communist and revolutionary forces surrounded the enemies` forces taking part in the raids with street actions and made the enemy abandon its attack, forcing them to retreat.

In some quarters of Istanbul street battles took place. This played an important role for the organisation of the "Emergency line" developed after the September attacks to be able to oppose. The response developed was a new experience for the revolutionary movement for the united struggle and the comradeship-in-arms, as well as the power of resistance. The raids in December were important, since the united response against the anti-terror law made the attacks of the dictatorship stay incomplete and in the streets of the labourers it was shown that victory could also be achieved. Therefore, this was important, since the struggle (or resistance) reached a new level.

On the other hand, the support for the resistance created by the death fast of the lawyer Behic Asci and developing towards December 19 managed to make trade unions, some intellectuals and different democratic mass organisations that did not care for this topic until then join this movement. The lawyers went on the streets with mass actions against isolation. The unions conducted actions with press statements and made solidarity visits. This common resistance reached a level where it made the dictatorship take a step backward, albeit limited, in its 6-year isolation politics. With a decree published in January by the Ministry of Justice the state accepted that 10 prisoners could gather for 10 hours per week and the death fast was finished.

United struggle for freedom and liberty

The Marxist Leninist Communists have foreseen that the attacks on the Kurdish national movement, revolutionary forces and the whole social opposition will continue in an increased way on the basis of the concept of attack started with the flag provocation in Mersin by the dictatorship and accelerated with the provocations in Semdinli and Amed and the approval of the anti-terror law. How about this version: The state answered the ceasefire announced by the guerrillas in September 2006, which was to continue until May 2007, with attacks by arrests, imprisonments, closures and bans of publications and organizations, as well as military operations in the North. It showed once again that the denial and annihilation will continue without cease. Yet in April, the month during which the presidential elections were due to be held, there were the signs of clash between the ruling forces were becoming stronger.)

It was necessary to develop the united struggle line and create a freedom front against these attacks of the fascist dictatorship. The united struggle should create an anti-chauvinist and anti-fascist front with the masses` demand for "freedom" and "peace". In this sense, a proposal was made to the revolutionary, progressive forces and the Kurdish national movement.

The proposal was made for the period of March to May and aimed at creating a united anti-fascist movement dealing with the demand of the Kurdish people for "peace" and our people's demand for "freedom". It was said that the demands for peace and freedom are two uniting demands covering the struggle of the workers and labourers of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, and that these two demands would represent the basis with which the Kurdish people with the Turkish workers and labourers' needs would be expressed together, where they could meet and lead a common struggle.

Turkish chauvinism is the main obstacle for the Turkish workers and labourers starting to fight for their own demands against the capitalist exploitation and fascist oppression. Because of this, it is vital that they understand the Kurdish people's demand for an honourable and just peace.

For the Kurdish people, it is stressed that the real addressees of the demand for an honourable and just peace are the Turkish workers and labourers, and that the addressees of this question are not the state or imperialist forces such as the EU or the USA, but the Turkish workers and labourers.

The proposal has foreseen that all progressive, revolutionary forces, political parties and organisations, intellectuals and artists could participate in the broad alliance of "peace and freedom" that is planned to be founded and that will be constructed for a specific period. This proposal that concentrates on the action and mass activities has foreseen to unite the dynamic forces of the Kurdish people that it saved and that could not be destroyed so far, with the potential in the West, the field where revolutionary and democratic forces are influential. The communists emphasized that a third front could be created against the efforts of both cliques of the ruling forces to make the workers and labourers organise within their ranks in case the forces could be united on the basis of the demand for peace and freedom and could be directed in a creative activity. If this could not be achieved, an important opportunity appearing during the period from January to May would be missed.

This proposal suggested by the communists around the end of 2006 did not find its practical implementation. However, their efforts for a united struggle by revolutionary, progressive and Kurdish-patriotic forces have continued.

 

United anti-chauvinist struggle on the streets against counter-guerrilla massacres

With the murder of the Armenian intellectual Hrant Dink on January, 19 in front of the office of the newspaper he worked for, the level of previewing of the proposal of the Marxist Leninist Communists aiming at "creating a union of a anti-chauvinist movement around the demand for `peace´ by the Kurdish people and a antifascist movement around the demand for `freedom´ of our peoples" has been proved once more. The line of the united struggle reached in the period of September-December entered into a new phase with this political murder. The chief editor of the newspaper Agos, a true democrat and Armenian intellectual Hrant Dink is one of dozens of intellectuals assassinated through counterrevolutionary murders in the history of our country. By attacking the Armenian identity of Hrant Dink, the state signalled that in the ongoing period the chauvinist provocations would increase, the counterrevolutionary actions and the methods of the dirty war will be intensified. This political murder is a threat against the sensibility of the intellectuals which has developed in the last months. That also included the aim of making them step back from some concessions that they had made to the Kurdish national movement and the revolutionary and progressive forces, and of hindering the relations between the more reformist sectors of the intellectuals with the revolutionary forces and the Kurdish national movement. In our country being Armenian has been converted into an offence, they are aiming at creating a reactionary polarisation into Turkish-Armenian-Kurdish in the society and also within the social opposition.

But the results of their plans were all the contrary of what they wanted. The political response to the defence of Hrant Dink on the day of his murder was a strong answer to the fascist dictatorship. The signs of the brotherhood of the peoples against racism and chauvinism expressed in the slogans "We are all Armenians, we are all Hrant Dink" were first defended by tens of thousands and later at the funeral by hundreds of thousands and thus turned into a great antifascist and anti-chauvinist mass meeting. The state has been exposed and caught red-handed once again.

In our country, innumerable progressive, revolutionary and patriotic intellectuals from Sabahat Ali to Musa Anter became the victims of counterrevolutionary murders. Also, the dozens of massacres and counterrevolutionary actions carrying the mark of the state from the massacres from Mayday 1977, March 16, Beyazit massacre, the massacres in Corum and Maras to the massacre in Gazi and the dozens of secret counterrevolutionary actions, which have been revealed, from Susurluk to Semdinli in which the state and the army were involved, and which showed the existence of the state gangs and the anger that had developed over dozens of years are the reasons for the massive action. None of the trials of these massacres ever ended with sentencing and punishing the counterrevolutionaries, by responding to the demand of the workers and labourers for justice. When Hrant Dink was murdered, the struggle united on the axis of the antifascist struggle against the counterrevolutionary state and the anti-chauvinist struggle against the chauvinist provocation. The accumulated anger against assassinations and counterrevolutionary murder turned into an anti-chauvinist, antifascist flood of the masses on the basis of the Turkish-Kurdish-Armenian fraternity comprising hundreds of thousands. This street movement became also in the period afterwards the main channel through which the united struggle flowed. In this time, one could feel the opportunities for the united struggle in the strongest form.

In this period, the mass struggle did comprise very broad parts from the liberal intellectuals up to revolutionary organisations, trade-unionist confederations and professional organisations. Even some bourgeois parties tried to make the anger against counter-guerrillas unclear in order to organise the reaction against the murder in their ranks. But the happiness of these sectors was interrupted when tens of thousands of people raised the slogan "We are all Hrant Dink, we are all Armenian". As this slogan is one that none of the representatives of the rulers could accept, it become an element of demarcation and left its mark on the movement and made vain all the efforts of forces, which tried to profit from the murder.

This broad composition, naturally, was made up by forces, which approached the murder of Hrant Dink from very different points of view and tried to give very different directions to this mass movement and it was inevitable that certain stratums would separate within little time. Precisely this happened. The anti-chauvinist anger of hundreds of thousands cold be organised. It stayed a loose coalition.

The Marxist Leninist Communists parted from the aim to canalize the defence of Hrant Dink by the masses and the progressive parts of the forces into the struggle to be carried out into the March-May period FOOTNOTE 9 under the slogan "Ask account from the counterrevolutionary state" and thus to develop further and consolidate the line of the united struggle which appeared, to guarantee to obtain a new position by getting concrete results.

When the celebrations of Newroz, one of the central events in March, were approaching, it was the principal task of the revolutionary and progressive forces to strengthen the anti-chauvinist struggle and the fraternity of the peoples. This had to be united from March going on until Mayday with the anger on the streets breaking out on the anniversaries of the massacres.


The day of uprising of the Kurdish People: Newroz

With the assassination of Hrant Dink the attacks against the Kurdish people were intensified even more. In the whole time before the celebrations of Newroz on March 21, offices and houses of the DTP were raided several times and dozens of its leaders and members imprisoned. In many cities lynch attempts developed against Kurdish workers. The Kurdish press was exposed to attacks in the form of publication bans. It would have been necessary to continue with the practice of broad defence that developed after the murder of Hrant Dink against these attacks.

The state concentrated on preventing a mass participation in the Newroz celebration. However, in spite of all attacks, Newroz was celebrated by the masses. The practice of defending Newroz has developed well among the most progressive parts of the Turkish workers and labourers, even though, in the previous years their participation had been weak. It has been seen once again that strengthening the conciseness of the embracement of the peoples and the feeling of fraternity is the principal task of the revolutionary movement.

However, the revolutionary and progressive movement did not manage to carry on the solidarity movement and the "united active defence", which it had established after the September attacks, in March. This fact has shown once more that social-chauvinism has still not been destroyed in the revolutionary and progressive ranks and that this is an important and urgent task in order to build the united antifascist struggle in our country.



The efforts of the dictatorship to pull the masses to its side

The polarization at the front of the fascist dictatorship, which started around the presidential elections, continued and deepened. The army started its manoeuvres in order to prevent the AKP from electing the president of the republic and to organise the anger existing in the society against the AKP and the state at the same time for itself and to prevent this anger from going to a third front.

The General staff defended its Cankaya post on the streets. From April 14 on they brought millions of people to the streets by organising "Republic Meetings" through "NGOs", which they named "the unarmed forces". The masses, which had a great anger against the collaboration with the US imperialism and which accumulated their protest against the neoliberal politics of the government, participated in these meetings. The participation was thousand times higher than the masses belonging to the supporters of the putsch, who organised the meetings and the racist and fascist organisations themselves. These meetings appeared to take place in the framework of the polarisation between secularism-sharia and also included leftist and anti-imperialist words. They even managed to include DISK and similar circles, even shortly before Mayday, in spite of the de facto existing alliance with progressive, revolutionary forces they were in. The meetings organised support on the streets for the putschist generals. In spite of its topical content to prevent Tayyip Erdogan from becoming the president of the republic and bringing to the fore political parties, which are taking a stand on its side like CHP - DSP and MHP , and to present them as alternatives in the elections, these meetings were part of a more long-term plan of the militarist fascist front. The plan consisted in making these masses, which today are on the streets to protest against the presidency of Tayyip Erdogan, in the future a part of mass provocations against the Kurdish people.

When the government presented Abdullah Gul as its candidate and thus insisted on a president from its own ranks, which means on the Cankaya post in spite of these meetings, the April 27 memorandum was issued. By that the army fully continues to follow its concept, which also contains the plan for an operation in Southern Kurdistan and absolutely dominated the government.

One of the most important aspects of the April 27 memorandum was also that it was a "breaking the will concept" against the national Kurdish movement and the communist and revolutionary movement. The memorandum, which was discussed before at the meeting of the MGK (National Security Council) and which contains the words "to continue the struggle against terror with all determination" was the continuation of the claims that the Kurdish, Allevite and similar minorities in Turkey are enemies and that one could not even speak of any existence of them and of the negation and liquidation of the Kurdish people, the concept to oppress the communist and revolutionary movement and not only a continuation but also a step further. Starting with the memorandum, the process of the military intervention concentrated rapidly on the attacks and operations against the Kurds. The memorandum declared Kurdish people the enemy and reintroduced to the agenda the topic of a military operation against Southern Kurdistan. The military prevented the election of the president of the republic from the ranks of the AKP. Then the parliament took the decision to hold early general elections on July 22, 2007.

To put it in a nutshell; the situation was as follow before Mayday:

Since the September attacks the line of revolutionary solidarity and united struggle developed on a new level. In December, it reached the level of resisting on the street barricades against the repression of the police and achieved some success. The developments concerning the topic of the F-type isolation has been an important motivation for the movement on this line and in January, after the murder of Hrant Dink, hundreds of thousands took to the streets on an anti-chauvinist, antifascist line and the conditions for the united struggle developed. In spite of a certain drop in the actions during March they still continued on this line. The internal crisis of the regime and the confrontations among the rulers heated up so much, that the army, for the first time in many years, took the highest measure and issued the memorandum, revealing itself and its sinister intentions in the full light. During April, it was the pro-USA army that organised mass street actions with anti-imperialist slogans but on a reactionary, chauvinist basis. The military, juridical, physical attacks against the Kurdish people intensified a lot and the bellicosity was reached to peak on the basis of a possible intervention in Southern Kurdistan.

There were two axes of street actions: on one hand, the developing antifascist, anti-chauvinist street axis, especially against the counter-guerrilla attacks and chauvinist provocations, and on the other hand, actions organised by the general staff - consisting of the same sectors who are, in fact, the base of the struggle on the first axis- against the wing of the government in order to get them to move later during chauvinist provocations.

It was a task of main importance to follow a united, mass and militant line in Taksim on Mayday on the anniversary of the massacre of 1977 at the prohibited square.



The attitude of the communists towards the period and the trial of April 13

Under these conditions, the Marxist Leninist Communists focussed on the aim of a Mayday in Taksim on a united, mass and militant line on the anniversary of the massacre of 1977.

During the whole period the Marxist Leninist Communists raised solidarity with the DTP, which was attacked, and strengthened the fraternity of the peoples in the West against the provocations and lynch attempts and by this way, they tried to finalize March-May period with success in building of the untied struggle against chauvinism and fascism.

When it was announced that the trial of those, who had been detained at the operations of September 21 in Istanbul, would be on April 13, the task to transform the trial into a tribune where fascism will be accused became the agenda of the Marxist Leninist Communists.

It was a political duty for the whole revolutionary movement to continue with the solidarity and the line of united struggle, which had been developed against the September attacks, and to defend the communists, the representatives of socialist organisations, who had been imprisoned during the September attacks, at the trial in a massive and united way.

After the campaign, which was launched after the September attacks focussing on the "freedom", demand of the masses, the Marxist Leninist Communists put the demand for "freedom and justice" in the centre in the period of the April trial. Around the idea that the rulers cannot sentence the socialists and socialism with their "justice", the demand for justice of the masses, which has not been fulfilled for decades concerning the counterrevolutionary massacres and the other crimes of the fascist dictatorship, have been raised. By underlining that the one, who had to sit in the dock in which they put the socialists, should be the counterrevolutionary state, which killed 36 workers and labourers on Mayday 1977, they combined the activities for the April 13 with those of Mayday and the process was treated as a whole.

Lessons were taken from September and Marxist Leninist Communists tried to organize and institutionalize the achievements of September. The aim was to go on with the solidarity and defence movement beyond September on the axis of the trial.

In this range, a broad mass work was organised. They called upon the workers and labourers to support the socialists, to defend the idea of socialism. The work treated together with the day of unity, struggle and solidarity of the working class, Mayday, intended to bring the idea of socialism to the working class. Strong efforts were undertaken in order to make the revolutionary and democratic organisations start actions with their demand for justice in order to condemn the counterrevolutionary state.

On April 13, inside the court and also outside in front of the building in Istanbul, a war of wills between revolutionary forces and the forces of the state took place. Meanwhile the socialists defended the legitimacy of their actions from the tribune of the trial. Communists, revolutionaries, comrades-in-arms, democratic and progressive intellectuals from all over Turkey and Northern Kurdistan and an international delegations with dozens of observers from different countries stood up for the September 10 prisoners. In order to prevent the expression of revolutionary solidarity, revolutionary posts in front of the court, the enthusiastic and militant defending of the socialist ideals and the proudly raising of the flags which they try to ban, the fascist dictatorship brutally attacked the masses gathering in front of the court building. The attack was a test of the police terror on Mayday. But the masses responded to this attack with a resistance, which was also a test of the determination of the masses which they were to show on Mayday. In spite of dozens of detentions and imprisonments they did not retreat.

The communists moved uninterruptedly on the way opened on April 13 with the perspective to get ready to go to Taksim on Mayday and to win Mayday with the united struggle and also made this call upon all their friends.



On the line of the united struggle to the Taksim victory

During the whole month of April the contradictions around the presidential elections at the front of the inner forces of the regime became more and more fierce and proceeded with street posts in the form of the Republic meetings with which they pulled millions of labourers on their side and it became an even more vital duty to show a strong attitude in favour of the working class and the labouring masses on Mayday. Many revolutionary and progressive forces announced for months that this way went through conquering the square of Taksim against the counterrevolutionary state on the anniversary of the massacre of 1977.

The vast majority of the revolutionary and progressive forces announced their determination to celebrate Mayday in a united way with masses of people in Taksim. The revolutionary organisations and even some reformist organisations stated officially, independently of each other, their will to be in Taksim. DISK was under the impact of the pressure of their members accumulated for years. It became obligatory for them to submit to the will to be in Taksim at Mayday and to get through with as little damage as possible. KESK, as a reformist but to a certain extent still energetic trade-union, showed its tendency towards participating at Taksim. They took a stand on the side of this "will for Taksim", formed also by TMMOB , TTB and several democratic mass organisations. Finally, the celebrations of Mayday 2007 turned into an important confrontation between the state and the labouring masses. In spite of all the prohibitions and their efforts to transform Istanbul into a prison it was the militancy of the mass and the revolutionary determination which left their mark on Mayday 2007.

The state tried to divide the class by making the yellow trade-unions like Turk-Is organise a meeting at another place, but it was not successful. The communists, revolutionaries, progressive organisations and trade-unions resisted by insisting on Taksim. Almost all the reformist forces (except EMEP , which did not dare to go to Taksim but tailed after Turk-Is) also took part in the ranks of Taksim.

The celebrations of Mayday have been the most advanced example of the united struggle and the polarization in the last period. The trade-unions, democratic mass organisations, reformist parties moved on the grounds of the slogans of the revolutionaries. Doubtlessly, this happened not through the direct influence of the revolutionaries, but showed that the social struggle has reached a considerable level concerning its development and the revolutionary opportunities.

Mayday 2007 entered into history as an important achievement of the united struggle. The state interrupted the public transports (ferryboats and buses) in Istanbul in order to impede Mayday and thus paralysed traffic and exerted terror. Under the leadership of the revolutionaries, the neighbourhoods of the workers and labourers were turned into arenas of struggle as a response. In spite of these measures by the state, more than ten thousand workers and labourers besieged the square of Taksim and fought with the police. Despite more than 800 detentions and hundreds of people hurt thousands of workers and labourers took the police barricades, conquered Taksim and burst the Taksim prohibition.

For the rulers, Mayday 2007 was a political defeat. However, for the front of the workers and labourers it was a political triumph.


Despite the confrontation of the inner cliques of the regime advancing to its crisis, the presidential elections, and the general staff making millions of people demonstrate on the streets, the mass militancy and the revolutionary determination of Mayday have shown that under the surface there also exist many opportunities.


Despite the confrontation of the inner cliques of the regime advancing to its crisis, the presidential elections, and the general staff making millions of people demonstrate on the streets, the mass militancy and the revolutionary determination of Mayday have shown that under the surface there also exist many opportunities.


An important element was the success that the progressive trade-unions and the professional mass organisations moved together with the revolutionary parties and organisations. The victory of Mayday strengthened the progressive, revolutionary forces and the class itself and also the confidence in unity. The togetherness achieved on Mayday has shown once again the opportunities of the united struggle, the orientation towards a polarization, in which all the forces of the workers and labourers, the revolutionaries, the progressive and patriotic Kurds may participate. This was an important proof that it is absolutely possible to proceed in this period in favour of the revolution.



A new chance for the united struggle: elections

Immediately after Mayday, the crisis developing around the presidential elections between the cliques of the army and the government unavoidably brought early general elections to the agenda and this caused conditions for a special form of the united struggle: elections.

The elections were an important channel to develop in an organised form the spirit of the united struggle which developed during the whole period from the September attacks to the murder of Hrant Dink until Mayday. Facts also showed that a lot had been achieved already concerning that topic. The fact, that progressive intellectuals made a common call for candidates in a way that had not happened for years, is one example of that.

The Marxist Leninist Communists stated that it is an important chance to intervene in the elections with a block of independent candidates, to build a third front against the confrontations between the two cliques of the ruling classes, which they present to the workers and labourers as different alternatives. They underlined that it is necessary to break the chauvinist mass mobilization of the huge agitation and propaganda apparatus carried out by the clique of the army with a broad front alliance of the revolutionary forces, progressive reformist parties, progressive intellectuals, progressive trade-unions and democratic mass organisations. This alliance had to be built, first of all, on the streets. It was necessary to respond with the voice of the street to the juridical manoeuvres and physical attacks of the dictatorship aiming at keeping away the Kurdish patriotic, the progressive and the revolutionary forces from the parliament and to make them superfluous. The street movement was the principal tool in the hands of the social opposition, which it could use against the fascist dictatorship. In a period, in which the dictatorship tried to organise the workers and labourers taking to the streets on a reactionary basis against the revolutionary and patriotic forces in mass actions this was even more urgent. In such a period, it was not possible to undertake decisive leaps through concentrating on the ballots without the power of the united struggle on the streets.

However, the attitude towards elections, first of all, of the DTP to focus on the field of parliament and not the street and to exclude the revolutionary forces and the negative attitudes of many other forces impeded the formation of such a front. The fact, that the revolutionary and progressive forces were not able to develop a common intervention in the early general elections of July 22 showed a considerable weakness of the social struggle.


The direction of the development of the united struggle

Today, the concept to destroy the will to fight of the Kurdish people and the revolutionary forces, of which also the discussion about a military intervention in Southern Kurdistan forms an important dimension, is applied with all strength in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. However, this situation also bears important revolutionary opportunities.

A period of an antifascist anti-chauvinist polarisation with the revolutionary and communist forces building their core and which comprises all the relevant progressive forces is both obligatory and possible. The struggle of the working class, the labouring masses and the oppressed Kurdish people contains these opportunities more than enough. In order to rescue the Turkish workers and labourers from the quagmire of chauvinism and to make them move based on their own demands it is necessary to unite the struggle of the Kurdish patriotic masses and the Turkish people and that the progressive, revolutionary and communist forces create a united resistance and institutionalised united posts.

Such a polarisation will be created inside the street movement itself. Every strong response given to the fascist attacks, the chauvinist provocations and the state terror as a whole will be a step towards this polarisation.

As they have been doing during the 13 years of their history, Marxist Leninist Communists will continue mobilizing their energy to fulfil their task in this process.



FOOTNOTE 1:

The Central Coordination of the Prisons is the coordination that was founded by 7 revolutionary parties and organisations to give a common answer to the decree introduced by the fascist dictatorship on May 6 1996 containing different attacks on the revolutionary prisoners.

FOOTNOTE 2:

The Platform of the United Revolutionary Forces was a revolutionary alliance whose foundation was announced in June 1998. Together with our party MLCP, there were the PKK, TKP(ML), TKP/ML, TDP, DHP, TKP (K) and the Revolutionary Left participating. The platform lost its function and was dissolved later when together with the statements of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan taken hostage, the PKK changed its petty bourgeois revolutionary line into a petty bourgeois reformist line together.



FOOTNOTE 3:

During the celebrations of Newroz 2005 a provocation act was realised in Mersin with the claim that a Turkish flag had been thrown on the ground and tramped down. The provocation in Mersin was the starting point for the lynching attempts on revolutionaries and Kurdish patriots that were later carried out in many cities.

FOOTNOTE 4:

In 2004 a trial was opened to close down the trade union Egitim-Sen (Education Workers´ Union) following the order of Ankara Governorship with the reason of the union's demand for "education in the mother tongue". Following the wish of the general staff, it was decided to close down the union within one year.



FOOTNOTE 5:

On November 9, 2005, the counter-guerrilla organisation JITEM (Gendarmerie Intelligence Organisation) bombed a bookstore in the provincial city of Semdinli, Northern Kurdistan. While one Kurdish patriot lost his life, two people were injured. Determined and bravely, the people of Semdinli caught the responsible forces of JITEM and handed the weapons, plans of attack and black lists over to its owner, the state. With the Kurdish people's common sense and determined stance, the provocation in Semdinli was busted in the hand of the murderers. The counter-guerrilla that got into trouble opened the fire on the state's prosecutor who had been instructed to investigate this case and was on the ground for the investigation, deputy Esat Canan and the people. Another patriot was killed here.



FOOTNOTE 6:

Between September 8-12, 23 revolutionaries and communists were imprisoned after operations carried out in 7 different cities. The forces of the fascist dictatorship called the operation "Gaye" (Engl. Aim, tn.), and with this operation it was announced that our party MLCP had been "defeated".

FOOTNOTE 7:

On December 19, 2000 the fascist dictatorship realised a bloody massacre in 20 prisons of Turkey and Northern Kurdistan in which thousands of gendarmes, special unit members and different military forces took place. The aim of the massacre was to transfer the revolutionary prisoners to the f type isolation cells and by that, to break their will. As a result of the massacre, 28 revolutionaries were killed by heavy weapons, nerve gas and different chemical substances, dozens were injured and became disabled. The revolutionary prisoners answered the massacre with the resistance of the death fast.



FOOTNOTE 8:

As a result of an attack with heavy weapons, gas bombs and machines organised by the state on November 5, 2001 on a house in the Istanbul borough Kucuk Armutlu where the death fast was realised, four revolutionaries lost their life. Later on, police attacks continued to be carried out against houses in Kucuk Armutlu and Alibeykoy where the death fast was taking place



FOOTNOTE 9:

The March-May period includes the March 8, Day of Labouring Women, the anniversary of March 12, 1995, the massacre of Gazi and afterwards the kidnapping and murdering of our comrade Hasan Ocak, the commander of Gazi, the anniversary of the massacre from March 16, 1977 in Beyazit, the anniversary of March 15, 1988 in Halabja, the holiday of brotherhood of the Kurdish people and the peoples of the Middle East, Newroz on March 21 and the anniversary of the massacre in Kizildere on March 30, 1972 until Mayday and is a period in which the social struggle flares up.