Mayday 2010: Victory all along the line!
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Especially under the impact of the workers` struggles experiencing a revival during the economic crisis, Mayday was an important success this year, bearing the fruit of the hard struggle for Taksim going on for years 

01 May 2010 /International Bulletin / No: 93  

Mayday 2010 was in many aspects a big success in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan and an expression of the force of the workers' movement reviving more and more in the last time.
Among the big achievements of this years' Mayday we doubtlessly have to name first the reconquest of the traditional Mayday venue Taksim in Istanbul, which was seized in masses after an insistent struggle of especially the last three year for the first time since the massacre of Mayday 1977. However, also the fact that not the union bosses and the yellow trade-unions but the workers of the recent, militant and persistently carried out struggles like the TEKEL resistance decisively characterized the meeting is an important success pointing at a promising trend within the workers' movement which is gaining strength and militancy.
This year, all forces demonstrated together in Istanbul and thus met the character of Mayday as the day of unity, struggle and solidarity of the working class. This was also reflected by the massive participation: 250,000 people poured in a real holiday mood to the Taksim square. The broadness of the participants from different social stratums and movements, from unorganised labourers with pushchairs, football fans and nuclear opponents up to revolutionary organisations high in numbers was eye-catching. The participation of the patriotic Kurdish movement in the Mayday meeting with a block of over 10 thousand people was also a considerable number compared with last years.
The struggle for Taksim forwarded in the last years has turned into an open clash of two wills, which is far beyond the question of a location. The struggle for celebrating Mayday at the Taksim square stands at the same time for the consciousness of history of the working class, to be determinant in embracing its own history of struggle and the consciousness to ask account for the counter-guerrilla massacres and from the putschists from September 12, which had the intention to oppress and dissolve all kind of political and unionist organisation. Before, the fascist dictatorship has banned for years to celebrate Mayday at the street and banished it to the rooms of the yellow trade-unions. After the working class and the labourers had won in practical legitimate struggle and paying a high price the right to celebrate Mayday on the street, the dictatorship tried to coop it in isolated places and to pacify it. For this reason, the struggle to celebrate Mayday in Taksim became a direct and stron expression of a front of struggle, in with the capitalist system and its fascist dictatorship on the one hand and the front of the workers and labourers with its political representatives on the other hand stood face to face. Applying prohibitions, terror paralyzing the whole city of Istanbul and letting it disappear under a huge cloud of tear gas and mass detentions, the bourgeoisie left no stone unturned in order to impede that the workers and labourers may celebrate their day of struggle, Mayday, at its traditional square. However the determination of the labouring masses, the revolutionary and communist organisations and parties as well as parts of the trade-unions was growing every year not only claiming the release of Taksim for the labourers but also asking account for the massacres of Mayday 1977, 1989 and 1996. After a few thousand of people were able to conquer the Taksim square as a result of hard battles, this year, Hundreds of thousands poured unimpeded to the square celebrating Mayday. The long-time battle is settled; the masses of workers and labourers have irrevocably re-conquered Taksim and the fascist dictatorship has suffered a shattering defeat.
The revival of the workers' movement, specially the determinant struggle of the TEKEL workers continuing for 138 days, doubtlessly contributed a lot to this victory. This struggle, which managed to get support from broad stratums, united workers of different nationalities based on their objective class interests and did not admit the trade-union bureaucracy to sell them but stuck determinately to their demands, encouraged several other workers and triggered many more struggles in the meantime. The power and determinacy coming from the TEKEL resistance did not only put the leadership of the yellow unions under pressure but also has shown quite plainly the power of the working class to the colonialist fascist regime. Also on Mayday the TEKEL workers has been the vanguard; a group of TEKEL workers, who came from Istanbul, Diyarbakir, Izmir, Malatya, Adiyaman, Tokat, Bursa and Izmit, arrived this year at first at the Taksim square.
Besides trade-unions and many social sectors, revolutionary organisations, among them DHF , Partizan, ESP , Halk Cephesi took their place in the demonstration to the Taksim square organised mainly by DISK , KESK and Turk-Is , with well organised and eye-catching blocks of more than ten thousand in total. In the block of the ESP, where 3000 people demonstrated the majority of them being women, slogans like "The only way is revolution", "Long live revolution, long live socialism" and slogans for the fraternity of the peoples in different languages as well as expressing the victory of Taksim have been shouted during the whole march.
After the masses had entered in three marches into the square of Taksim shouting loudly different slogans, the president of Turk-Is, Mustafa Kumlu, prepared to make a speech. However, the union boss well-known as a workers' traitor was booed by the masses and finally the TEKEL workers, during whose resistant his class-reconciling has been more than obvious once more, stopped him from speaking. With the words "this is the tribune of the workers" the TEKEL workers occupied the tribune and snatched the microphone from the hands of the yellow unionist, who fled in panic. After the workers had occupied the stage, they hold a speech from there.
The masses mentioned with several slogans and banners among others the unemployment, the economic crisis, poverty, laws like 4/C as well as unsafe and flexible work. Next to the slogan "Long live Mayday" also slogans demanding a dignified life as well as calls for revolution and socialism could be heard a lot. Clarification of the massacre from 1977 and slogans claiming peace and fraternity were also in the spotlight.
Although many organisations had mobilised to come to Istanbul, to Taksim this year, also the events in many other places have been more crowded than before. In some cities, Mayday demonstrations and meetings took place for the first time for years. In Kurdistan, the biggest Mayday meeting with a participation of more than 30 Thousands participants from Diyarbakır, Urfa, Sirnak, Mardin and Siirt was organised in Batman.
The forces of our party MLCP have called upon the workers and labourers prior to Mayday with slogans on the wall, posters, leaflets, banners and armed actions to participate in the Mayday activities. On Mayday, the militants of our party opened a banner saying "For the victory of the revolutions, workers, to the party - MLCP" at the Taksim square conquered by the masses. Another banner with the name of the party was put up at the square.
Especially under the impact of the workers` struggles experiencing a revival during the economic crisis, Mayday was an important success this year, bearing the fruit of the hard struggle for Taksim going on for years. This success will encourage the class movement even more and make it more self confident. Now it is time to expand the victory of Taksim to all the struggles of the workers and labourers in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan.
 

 

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Mayday 2010: Victory all along the line!
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Especially under the impact of the workers` struggles experiencing a revival during the economic crisis, Mayday was an important success this year, bearing the fruit of the hard struggle for Taksim going on for years 

01 May 2010 /International Bulletin / No: 93  

Mayday 2010 was in many aspects a big success in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan and an expression of the force of the workers' movement reviving more and more in the last time.
Among the big achievements of this years' Mayday we doubtlessly have to name first the reconquest of the traditional Mayday venue Taksim in Istanbul, which was seized in masses after an insistent struggle of especially the last three year for the first time since the massacre of Mayday 1977. However, also the fact that not the union bosses and the yellow trade-unions but the workers of the recent, militant and persistently carried out struggles like the TEKEL resistance decisively characterized the meeting is an important success pointing at a promising trend within the workers' movement which is gaining strength and militancy.
This year, all forces demonstrated together in Istanbul and thus met the character of Mayday as the day of unity, struggle and solidarity of the working class. This was also reflected by the massive participation: 250,000 people poured in a real holiday mood to the Taksim square. The broadness of the participants from different social stratums and movements, from unorganised labourers with pushchairs, football fans and nuclear opponents up to revolutionary organisations high in numbers was eye-catching. The participation of the patriotic Kurdish movement in the Mayday meeting with a block of over 10 thousand people was also a considerable number compared with last years.
The struggle for Taksim forwarded in the last years has turned into an open clash of two wills, which is far beyond the question of a location. The struggle for celebrating Mayday at the Taksim square stands at the same time for the consciousness of history of the working class, to be determinant in embracing its own history of struggle and the consciousness to ask account for the counter-guerrilla massacres and from the putschists from September 12, which had the intention to oppress and dissolve all kind of political and unionist organisation. Before, the fascist dictatorship has banned for years to celebrate Mayday at the street and banished it to the rooms of the yellow trade-unions. After the working class and the labourers had won in practical legitimate struggle and paying a high price the right to celebrate Mayday on the street, the dictatorship tried to coop it in isolated places and to pacify it. For this reason, the struggle to celebrate Mayday in Taksim became a direct and stron expression of a front of struggle, in with the capitalist system and its fascist dictatorship on the one hand and the front of the workers and labourers with its political representatives on the other hand stood face to face. Applying prohibitions, terror paralyzing the whole city of Istanbul and letting it disappear under a huge cloud of tear gas and mass detentions, the bourgeoisie left no stone unturned in order to impede that the workers and labourers may celebrate their day of struggle, Mayday, at its traditional square. However the determination of the labouring masses, the revolutionary and communist organisations and parties as well as parts of the trade-unions was growing every year not only claiming the release of Taksim for the labourers but also asking account for the massacres of Mayday 1977, 1989 and 1996. After a few thousand of people were able to conquer the Taksim square as a result of hard battles, this year, Hundreds of thousands poured unimpeded to the square celebrating Mayday. The long-time battle is settled; the masses of workers and labourers have irrevocably re-conquered Taksim and the fascist dictatorship has suffered a shattering defeat.
The revival of the workers' movement, specially the determinant struggle of the TEKEL workers continuing for 138 days, doubtlessly contributed a lot to this victory. This struggle, which managed to get support from broad stratums, united workers of different nationalities based on their objective class interests and did not admit the trade-union bureaucracy to sell them but stuck determinately to their demands, encouraged several other workers and triggered many more struggles in the meantime. The power and determinacy coming from the TEKEL resistance did not only put the leadership of the yellow unions under pressure but also has shown quite plainly the power of the working class to the colonialist fascist regime. Also on Mayday the TEKEL workers has been the vanguard; a group of TEKEL workers, who came from Istanbul, Diyarbakir, Izmir, Malatya, Adiyaman, Tokat, Bursa and Izmit, arrived this year at first at the Taksim square.
Besides trade-unions and many social sectors, revolutionary organisations, among them DHF , Partizan, ESP , Halk Cephesi took their place in the demonstration to the Taksim square organised mainly by DISK , KESK and Turk-Is , with well organised and eye-catching blocks of more than ten thousand in total. In the block of the ESP, where 3000 people demonstrated the majority of them being women, slogans like "The only way is revolution", "Long live revolution, long live socialism" and slogans for the fraternity of the peoples in different languages as well as expressing the victory of Taksim have been shouted during the whole march.
After the masses had entered in three marches into the square of Taksim shouting loudly different slogans, the president of Turk-Is, Mustafa Kumlu, prepared to make a speech. However, the union boss well-known as a workers' traitor was booed by the masses and finally the TEKEL workers, during whose resistant his class-reconciling has been more than obvious once more, stopped him from speaking. With the words "this is the tribune of the workers" the TEKEL workers occupied the tribune and snatched the microphone from the hands of the yellow unionist, who fled in panic. After the workers had occupied the stage, they hold a speech from there.
The masses mentioned with several slogans and banners among others the unemployment, the economic crisis, poverty, laws like 4/C as well as unsafe and flexible work. Next to the slogan "Long live Mayday" also slogans demanding a dignified life as well as calls for revolution and socialism could be heard a lot. Clarification of the massacre from 1977 and slogans claiming peace and fraternity were also in the spotlight.
Although many organisations had mobilised to come to Istanbul, to Taksim this year, also the events in many other places have been more crowded than before. In some cities, Mayday demonstrations and meetings took place for the first time for years. In Kurdistan, the biggest Mayday meeting with a participation of more than 30 Thousands participants from Diyarbakır, Urfa, Sirnak, Mardin and Siirt was organised in Batman.
The forces of our party MLCP have called upon the workers and labourers prior to Mayday with slogans on the wall, posters, leaflets, banners and armed actions to participate in the Mayday activities. On Mayday, the militants of our party opened a banner saying "For the victory of the revolutions, workers, to the party - MLCP" at the Taksim square conquered by the masses. Another banner with the name of the party was put up at the square.
Especially under the impact of the workers` struggles experiencing a revival during the economic crisis, Mayday was an important success this year, bearing the fruit of the hard struggle for Taksim going on for years. This success will encourage the class movement even more and make it more self confident. Now it is time to expand the victory of Taksim to all the struggles of the workers and labourers in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan.