Unity against the fascist dictatorship on Mayday
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
 
Other articles
 

01 May 2012 /International Bulletin / No: 116 

In Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, Mayday is not only in a general meaning the day for unity, struggle and solidarity of the working class but has turned into a symbol of the struggle of will of the oppressors and the oppressed.
After the ban of the Taksim square following the massacre on Mayday 1977, the struggle for reconquering the square has been an important sign of will of struggle of the working class. Moreover, after the ban of the Kadikoy Square following the police murdering three workers on mayday 1996, the state insisted in keeping the demonstration far away from the centre, not only of the city of Istanbul but also of politics. The first successful breakout from this isolation and marginalization was achieved in 2004 by carrying out the demonstration in Sarachane. A long and fierce resistance focusing on reconquering of Taksim; of being in the political centre, of fighting uncompromisingly for the interests and demands of the working class symbolized by the Taksim square started especially since 2007, continued in the years to follow and finally in 2010, the mayday demonstration was back again in the heart of the country with 250,000 workers and labourers voicing their demands at the Taksim square and again hundreds of thousands in 2011.
The colonialist fascist regime could not stand this important victory of the labouring masses and looked for new ways in order to prevent the impressing mass protest against the fascist state and its government in turn. After the failure of the totally repressive means of banning the demonstrations, this time, they focussed their attack on the political content of the action accompanied by the usual threats of the governor of Istanbul. So this year the bourgeois state's main tactic was to create a division among the Mayday forces on the base of the discussions on the content of Mayday demonstrations. Unions close to the regime, at the first place Turk-Is , the biggest workers' confederation in the country, as well as minor unions such as Hak-Is (islamist workers' union), Kamu-Sen and Memur-Sen (public employees' unions islamist and fascist character), were positioned as the main instruments of this tactic. Through these unions, the bourgeois state imposed the mayday forces either "not voicing political demands" and limiting it with narrow economic demands or having a demonstration smaller in size when compared with the last years. From the beginning, the debates were carried out under the threat of a division. DISK , KESK , 4+4+4 klink_45','444kelime_45');" onmouseover="xKelime('444klink_45','444kelime_45');" id=444klink_45>TMMOB and TTB as the main labour organisations organising the demonstrations as well as a wide range of progressive, revolutionary and democratic mass organisations did not surrender before this imposition and decided to carry out the demonstrations with a political content against the fascist state at the risk of division.
As a result, all attempts of the bourgeoisie and its tools were in vain and mayday 2012 turned into a strong demonstration of determined mass struggle of the working class, the antifascist, progressive, revolutionary and communist forces all over the country. The demonstration at the Taksim square was with half million of participants not only big in numbers, but also widespread and including very broad sectors of the society. Moreover, Turk-Is, as the main tool of the division policy of the state, was divided itself! Turk-Is had mobilised not to Taksim but to Izmir and Bursa, but the Platform of Unity of Workers' Unions formed in the last congress of Turk-Is by 10 unions dissident to the centre of the confederation (these are also the unions with the highest power of mobilisation among all the affiliated unions of Turk-Is) participated at the rally in Taksim with high numbers.
Meanwhile trade-unions like Turk-Is lost again influence and were exposed in the eyes of the masses as forces dividing the unity and carrying out an anti-workers policy, like it happened also after their traitorous attitude during the TEKEL strike, the masses celebrated mayday in a worthy way voicing not only economic demands but also taking a stand to the important political issues of the country like first of all the Kurdish question demanding a democratic and just solution. Besides central topics like mortally work accidents, outsourcing and work conditions also protests against the draft law 4+4+4, the aggression against Syria and the situation in the prisons were on the agenda.
Trade-unions like those organised in DISK, KESK, TMMOB and TTB, Platform of Unity of Workers' Unions and revolutionary organisations such as the ESP , People's Front, DHF broadly participated in the rally in Taksim. Moreover, various progressive political parties and groups such as Halkevleri and SDP as well as several football fan groups, feminists, several organisations of the national minorities such as the Armenian, Georgian, Circassian, Las etc., democratic mass organisations, human rights organisations, youth organisations and organisations of the oppressed Allevite denomination and the illegal hacker organisation RedHack were present with their banners and demands. Our party MLCP as well as TIKB and TKP/ML were present with banners of the underground parties, too.
An important aspect for the development of the united struggle in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan was the high participation of political and democratic organisations of the Kurdish freedom movement. Besides many mayday demonstrations in Kurdistan, first of all in Amed, the forces of the Kurdish freedom movement also participated massively in the Taksim rally. The HDK , being itself a product of the need and will of the peoples of our geography to unite in the struggle against the same enemy; the fascist dictatorship, was not only present as one of the most prepared sectors at the central demonstration in Taksim but even in parts of the country like central Anatolia, where the Turkish and Kurdish left and revolutionary movement is traditionally weak, the HDK played an important role on mayday.
To put it in a nutshell, mayday 2012, which was an expression of the special tendency of growth in quantity and quality in the mass movement in the last one year especially after the sharpening of the repressive policies of AKP after the general elections in June 2011, has shown that a political mass movement is developing on the basis of the united struggle of the workers and other oppressed parts of the society as well as of the workers and labourers of Turkey and the Kurdish freedom movement.  
 

 

Archive

 

2020
January
2019
December November
October September
August July
June May
April March
February

 

Unity against the fascist dictatorship on Mayday
fc Share on Twitter
 

01 May 2012 /International Bulletin / No: 116 

In Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, Mayday is not only in a general meaning the day for unity, struggle and solidarity of the working class but has turned into a symbol of the struggle of will of the oppressors and the oppressed.
After the ban of the Taksim square following the massacre on Mayday 1977, the struggle for reconquering the square has been an important sign of will of struggle of the working class. Moreover, after the ban of the Kadikoy Square following the police murdering three workers on mayday 1996, the state insisted in keeping the demonstration far away from the centre, not only of the city of Istanbul but also of politics. The first successful breakout from this isolation and marginalization was achieved in 2004 by carrying out the demonstration in Sarachane. A long and fierce resistance focusing on reconquering of Taksim; of being in the political centre, of fighting uncompromisingly for the interests and demands of the working class symbolized by the Taksim square started especially since 2007, continued in the years to follow and finally in 2010, the mayday demonstration was back again in the heart of the country with 250,000 workers and labourers voicing their demands at the Taksim square and again hundreds of thousands in 2011.
The colonialist fascist regime could not stand this important victory of the labouring masses and looked for new ways in order to prevent the impressing mass protest against the fascist state and its government in turn. After the failure of the totally repressive means of banning the demonstrations, this time, they focussed their attack on the political content of the action accompanied by the usual threats of the governor of Istanbul. So this year the bourgeois state's main tactic was to create a division among the Mayday forces on the base of the discussions on the content of Mayday demonstrations. Unions close to the regime, at the first place Turk-Is , the biggest workers' confederation in the country, as well as minor unions such as Hak-Is (islamist workers' union), Kamu-Sen and Memur-Sen (public employees' unions islamist and fascist character), were positioned as the main instruments of this tactic. Through these unions, the bourgeois state imposed the mayday forces either "not voicing political demands" and limiting it with narrow economic demands or having a demonstration smaller in size when compared with the last years. From the beginning, the debates were carried out under the threat of a division. DISK , KESK , 4+4+4 klink_45','444kelime_45');" onmouseover="xKelime('444klink_45','444kelime_45');" id=444klink_45>TMMOB and TTB as the main labour organisations organising the demonstrations as well as a wide range of progressive, revolutionary and democratic mass organisations did not surrender before this imposition and decided to carry out the demonstrations with a political content against the fascist state at the risk of division.
As a result, all attempts of the bourgeoisie and its tools were in vain and mayday 2012 turned into a strong demonstration of determined mass struggle of the working class, the antifascist, progressive, revolutionary and communist forces all over the country. The demonstration at the Taksim square was with half million of participants not only big in numbers, but also widespread and including very broad sectors of the society. Moreover, Turk-Is, as the main tool of the division policy of the state, was divided itself! Turk-Is had mobilised not to Taksim but to Izmir and Bursa, but the Platform of Unity of Workers' Unions formed in the last congress of Turk-Is by 10 unions dissident to the centre of the confederation (these are also the unions with the highest power of mobilisation among all the affiliated unions of Turk-Is) participated at the rally in Taksim with high numbers.
Meanwhile trade-unions like Turk-Is lost again influence and were exposed in the eyes of the masses as forces dividing the unity and carrying out an anti-workers policy, like it happened also after their traitorous attitude during the TEKEL strike, the masses celebrated mayday in a worthy way voicing not only economic demands but also taking a stand to the important political issues of the country like first of all the Kurdish question demanding a democratic and just solution. Besides central topics like mortally work accidents, outsourcing and work conditions also protests against the draft law 4+4+4, the aggression against Syria and the situation in the prisons were on the agenda.
Trade-unions like those organised in DISK, KESK, TMMOB and TTB, Platform of Unity of Workers' Unions and revolutionary organisations such as the ESP , People's Front, DHF broadly participated in the rally in Taksim. Moreover, various progressive political parties and groups such as Halkevleri and SDP as well as several football fan groups, feminists, several organisations of the national minorities such as the Armenian, Georgian, Circassian, Las etc., democratic mass organisations, human rights organisations, youth organisations and organisations of the oppressed Allevite denomination and the illegal hacker organisation RedHack were present with their banners and demands. Our party MLCP as well as TIKB and TKP/ML were present with banners of the underground parties, too.
An important aspect for the development of the united struggle in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan was the high participation of political and democratic organisations of the Kurdish freedom movement. Besides many mayday demonstrations in Kurdistan, first of all in Amed, the forces of the Kurdish freedom movement also participated massively in the Taksim rally. The HDK , being itself a product of the need and will of the peoples of our geography to unite in the struggle against the same enemy; the fascist dictatorship, was not only present as one of the most prepared sectors at the central demonstration in Taksim but even in parts of the country like central Anatolia, where the Turkish and Kurdish left and revolutionary movement is traditionally weak, the HDK played an important role on mayday.
To put it in a nutshell, mayday 2012, which was an expression of the special tendency of growth in quantity and quality in the mass movement in the last one year especially after the sharpening of the repressive policies of AKP after the general elections in June 2011, has shown that a political mass movement is developing on the basis of the united struggle of the workers and other oppressed parts of the society as well as of the workers and labourers of Turkey and the Kurdish freedom movement.