Mass Crowds Dare to Fascism on May Day
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Mass Crowds Dare to Fascism on May Day
This year, the May Day meant, more than anything, a challenge for the working class and the oppressed in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan to show the fascist colonialist dictatorship that they did not surrender to the extermination policies. It was also a challenge for the Palace regime to suppress what is left behind from the organized laboring left movement, trade unions and associations. After seeing millions of people filling the squares all over the country, daring fascism by not stepping back, we can clearly put forward that the masses did not hesitate one moment when they have a chance to breathe a bit of freedom. Starting from the 8th of March, then the Newroz celebrations and now the mass May Day meetings prove that demand of political freedom is the most urgent topic of the political struggle. Everyone has carried their own struggle to the squares. Workers, women, Kurdish people, youth, Alevis, other oppressed religious groups and national communities have long been in search for fields to express themselves and they just walked onto the fear tried to be pumped by Erdoğan.
However, we must of course state that the general political effect of this day and the political campaigns towards the May Day was not enough to send a strong message to the fascist bourgeois state. Especially, 4 big workers' organizations which traditionally undertake the organization process and the negotiations with the state to determine where the meetings are held and the conditions of them, DISK , KESK , TTB and TMMOB (first two are the largest confederations of trade unions, third one is union of workers from health sector and the last one is the union of engineers and architectures), easily accepted the square proposals of the state, Maltepe square in Istanbul and Tandoğan square in Ankara. Taksim or Kadıköy squares in Istanbul and Kızılay or Sıhhiye squares in Ankara, which are both historically important and politically meaningful squares, were all banned by the state and did not even become a matter of discussions. The conditions of state of emergency pushed these workers' organizations back despite there are objections from their bases. Yet these objections didn't loud enough to force these squares on the May Day militantly.
And the vanguard revolutionary forces also didn't manage to put such practices. But the socialists demonstrated an ardent effort and unyielding determination up to the May Day. Tens of socialists in cities like Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Amed, Van, Samsun and so on were detained, bu still continued to go out to the streets to call people for the May Day. Just delivering legal brochures was even a reason for detention and of course, this also affected the quality of the whole campaign and the plans for the meetings. HDP joined the May Day with the banner ‘For labor, honor nd freedom, we stand side by side, long live the 1st of May' and the Socialist Party of the Oppressed carried the banner ‘Socialism will prevail'. Even though this May Day itself did not open a big door in the antifascist struggle or uplift it to a higher level, it surely gave a feeling of confidence to the masses. The people saw the determination both among themselves and the vanguard socialist forces. This realization is more significant than it normally should be since this May Day was just before the newly announced elections on June 24th. This May Day was also a political message to the bourgeois opposition and some sections of laboring left movement who expect to remove Erdoğan from power via elections. The large number of HDP flags in the crowds was the sign of waves waiting to uprise. It will definitely be a building stone during this period of jumping board for mass struggle.
Marxist Leninist communists were among the masses on the streets and the squares both on the upcoming days with their political mass work and on the May Day from Rojava cantons to Bakur Kurdistan cities, from Turkey to European cities. In Rojava, in cities of Girkê Legê, Tirbespiye, Qamişlo, Dirbesiye, Serêkaniye, Haseke, Kobanê, Manbij in the regions of Cizire and Fırat, massive celebrations were held with the joining of Kurdish, Arabic and other peoples. The special contribution of Marxist Leninist communists in Rojava must be underlined for bringing the May Day into agenda, for press releases, preparation picnics, political works among workers and laborers. The Initiative for the Unity and Solidarity of Peoples (SYPG) and Free Socialist Women (JAS), which have taken an active role in organizing the May Day celebrations in Rojava, attended the rallies with banners "Protect Rojava Revolution, Liberate Afrin", "Long live May Day, Long Live Socialism". First time this year, the fighters that belong to the Serêkaniye province celebrated the May Day with a special event. Speeches made by MLKP/Rojava, MLKP/KKÖ, YPG and YPJ forces are all gave once again the promise to fight for honor and freedom. Women participation in the demonstrations in Rojava were especially high and once more out the women's will as an assurance of the revolution. In Europe, what was coming forth different than usual demonstrations of the Turkish and Kurdish organizations was the call for boycott of tourism to Turkey and the solidarity slogans for the heroic Afrin resistance and the condemnation of fascist Turkish state. HBDH (Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement) members also joined the demos with their banners and flags.
With all these laborious but worthy effort of the communists in all the regions they organize, the May Day was faced standing tall and turned into an encouraging stepping point for the working class. Let the internationalism revive shoulder to shoulder with the working class of the world!
 

 

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Mass Crowds Dare to Fascism on May Day
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Mass Crowds Dare to Fascism on May Day
This year, the May Day meant, more than anything, a challenge for the working class and the oppressed in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan to show the fascist colonialist dictatorship that they did not surrender to the extermination policies. It was also a challenge for the Palace regime to suppress what is left behind from the organized laboring left movement, trade unions and associations. After seeing millions of people filling the squares all over the country, daring fascism by not stepping back, we can clearly put forward that the masses did not hesitate one moment when they have a chance to breathe a bit of freedom. Starting from the 8th of March, then the Newroz celebrations and now the mass May Day meetings prove that demand of political freedom is the most urgent topic of the political struggle. Everyone has carried their own struggle to the squares. Workers, women, Kurdish people, youth, Alevis, other oppressed religious groups and national communities have long been in search for fields to express themselves and they just walked onto the fear tried to be pumped by Erdoğan.
However, we must of course state that the general political effect of this day and the political campaigns towards the May Day was not enough to send a strong message to the fascist bourgeois state. Especially, 4 big workers' organizations which traditionally undertake the organization process and the negotiations with the state to determine where the meetings are held and the conditions of them, DISK , KESK , TTB and TMMOB (first two are the largest confederations of trade unions, third one is union of workers from health sector and the last one is the union of engineers and architectures), easily accepted the square proposals of the state, Maltepe square in Istanbul and Tandoğan square in Ankara. Taksim or Kadıköy squares in Istanbul and Kızılay or Sıhhiye squares in Ankara, which are both historically important and politically meaningful squares, were all banned by the state and did not even become a matter of discussions. The conditions of state of emergency pushed these workers' organizations back despite there are objections from their bases. Yet these objections didn't loud enough to force these squares on the May Day militantly.
And the vanguard revolutionary forces also didn't manage to put such practices. But the socialists demonstrated an ardent effort and unyielding determination up to the May Day. Tens of socialists in cities like Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Amed, Van, Samsun and so on were detained, bu still continued to go out to the streets to call people for the May Day. Just delivering legal brochures was even a reason for detention and of course, this also affected the quality of the whole campaign and the plans for the meetings. HDP joined the May Day with the banner ‘For labor, honor nd freedom, we stand side by side, long live the 1st of May' and the Socialist Party of the Oppressed carried the banner ‘Socialism will prevail'. Even though this May Day itself did not open a big door in the antifascist struggle or uplift it to a higher level, it surely gave a feeling of confidence to the masses. The people saw the determination both among themselves and the vanguard socialist forces. This realization is more significant than it normally should be since this May Day was just before the newly announced elections on June 24th. This May Day was also a political message to the bourgeois opposition and some sections of laboring left movement who expect to remove Erdoğan from power via elections. The large number of HDP flags in the crowds was the sign of waves waiting to uprise. It will definitely be a building stone during this period of jumping board for mass struggle.
Marxist Leninist communists were among the masses on the streets and the squares both on the upcoming days with their political mass work and on the May Day from Rojava cantons to Bakur Kurdistan cities, from Turkey to European cities. In Rojava, in cities of Girkê Legê, Tirbespiye, Qamişlo, Dirbesiye, Serêkaniye, Haseke, Kobanê, Manbij in the regions of Cizire and Fırat, massive celebrations were held with the joining of Kurdish, Arabic and other peoples. The special contribution of Marxist Leninist communists in Rojava must be underlined for bringing the May Day into agenda, for press releases, preparation picnics, political works among workers and laborers. The Initiative for the Unity and Solidarity of Peoples (SYPG) and Free Socialist Women (JAS), which have taken an active role in organizing the May Day celebrations in Rojava, attended the rallies with banners "Protect Rojava Revolution, Liberate Afrin", "Long live May Day, Long Live Socialism". First time this year, the fighters that belong to the Serêkaniye province celebrated the May Day with a special event. Speeches made by MLKP/Rojava, MLKP/KKÖ, YPG and YPJ forces are all gave once again the promise to fight for honor and freedom. Women participation in the demonstrations in Rojava were especially high and once more out the women's will as an assurance of the revolution. In Europe, what was coming forth different than usual demonstrations of the Turkish and Kurdish organizations was the call for boycott of tourism to Turkey and the solidarity slogans for the heroic Afrin resistance and the condemnation of fascist Turkish state. HBDH (Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement) members also joined the demos with their banners and flags.
With all these laborious but worthy effort of the communists in all the regions they organize, the May Day was faced standing tall and turned into an encouraging stepping point for the working class. Let the internationalism revive shoulder to shoulder with the working class of the world!