7-29-05, 8:32 am
Patriots’ Oath: 'We Will Defeat Imperialism!'
Members of the Patriotic Front held a demonstration on June 18 for the anniversary of the opening of Incirlik Military Base, which has been under the US control since its foundation. Patriots gathered in front of the Galatasaray High School on the Istiklal Street with banners and TKP flags.
In the press statement, which was red out by a member of the Patriotic Front, it was declared that the patriots, who had the will to shut down the Incirlik Base, had no intention to replace it with the headquarters of the European Army. The press statement ended with call to the struggle against the US and the EU imperialism.
After the press statement, patriots marched with slogans to the Beyoglu Branch office of TKP, which was also on the Istiklal Street. In front of the TKP's Beyoglu Branch office, the patriots red out altogether the oath of a patriot, and pledged to shut down the Incirlik Base, kick the US imperialism out of our country, and save it from the trap of the EU.
Workers' Council Held The 2nd Labor Symposium
The 2nd Labor Symposium, which was organized by the Workers' Council, took place at the Nazim Hikmet Culture Center on June 19. While the title of the symposium was 'The EU and Working Class Patriotism', participants discussed on the policies of the EU about the working class, the situation of the working class in the EU member countries, the place of trade unions in the struggle, the impact of the EU membership process on the working class in Turkey, the judicial changes done for adjustment, and the role of trade unions and unionists in the process. George Boulougaris from PAME in Greece also attended the symposium and talked about the resistance of the working class of Greece against the EU policies.
The symposium started with an opening speech by Erhan Nalcaci, who was a member of the Executive Board of the Workers' Council and Central Committee of TKP. In the first session titled 'What does the EU demands from the working class?', the speakers were Onder Atay, who was the Organization Secretary of DISK Bank-Sen, trade union of bank workers, and member of the Executive Board of the Workers' Council, Ilhami Alkan, who is researcher and member of the Left Council, and George Boulougaris, who was the representative of PAME. The speakers explained how the central policies of the European Union affected the lives and organizations rights of the workers in the EU countries. The also talked about the situation of trade unionism and how some trade unions cooperated in the labor hostile policies of the EU.
In the second session, which was titled as 'The EU and the working class of Turkey', the speakers were Ilhan Akalin, who was a member of the Executive Board of the Workers' Council, Ali Onder Ondes from the CC of TKP, Ozan Gulhan, who was the editor of the 'Gun Isigi Magazine' and member of the Patriotic Lawyers' Initiative, and Alpaslan Savas, who was the former organization specialist of the United Metal Union. The speakers talked about the meaning of the EU membership process for the working class of Turkey, the new legal adjustments, which implemented new work conditions, and the role of the trade unions in this process.
In the last part, the audience contributed the meeting with questions and comments. Throughout the symposium, speakers stressed out that the best response to the capitalists' assaults to the working class would be struggling against imperialism and carrying the working class a patriotic identity.
In addition to that, the foundation of the 'Patriotic Front Metal Workers' Initiative of Gebze' was announced at the symposium. It was also declared that many new patriotic workers' initiatives would be founded in the upcoming period. Parallel to the building of the patriotic identity of the working class, the Workers' Council would concentrate on exposing trade unions and unionists, which support the European Union, and tracking the connections between privatizations and imperialist institutions and companies.
In the 12 anniversary of the Sivas Massacre, at which Islamist fundamentalist murdered 33 leftists intellectuals in Sivas on July 2, 1993, TKP branches all over the country commemorated them with various activities. At the commemoration events, communists stressed out the cooperation of Islamist fundamentalists, fascists and the state officials.
Among the many commemoration events, the most significant one took place in Sivas, a city in Middle Anatolia. As TKP is getting organized in Sivas, communists joined the commemoration events in Sivas on July 2. TKP members gathered at the Hukumet Square and marched to the Madimak Hotel, where the massacre took place. The event ended with a press statement. Meeting of the anti-imperialists from Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey
The anti-imperialist meeting, which was hosted by Peace Committee of Greece, took place in the past week in Alexandroupolis, which is a town near the Turkish border in Greece. Peace Committee of Bulgaria, Eastern Macedonian and Thracian Peace Committee from Greece, and Peace Association from Turkey participated at the events, which were titled as 'Long Live the Fraternity of Peoples - Down with the New Order of Imperialists'.
The events started on June 4, as the Committees met at the border. The meeting was followed by a symposium on the 'developments in Balkans and the role of the anti-imperialist movement'. The opening speech of the symposium was made by Manolis Lironis from the Peace Committee of Greece. In his speech, Lironis stressed out the seeds of hostility planted by the presence of NATO and European Army in Balkans and their military and political interferences. Lironis mentioned that the interests of the Balkan peoples were common, and warned that these relations shouldn't be distorted by the forces in service of the capital. He concluded his speech by emphasizing that the hope was in the strengthening and spreading out of the internationalist struggle of peoples in Balkans. George Havatzas, who spoke in the name of the Balkan Anti-NATO Center, talked about NATO and the 'preventive war' doctrine of the USA and the EU. Havatzas explained that imperialist states were trying to reset the borders in an attempt of forming states in their own control, and he said that Balkan operations of NATO and the Greater Middle Eastern Project should be seen in that way. He commented that the only barricade against the aggression of imperialism would be the rise of the anti-imperialist and anti-war struggle at the national level and its coordination at the international level, and that these activities were serving to that purpose. Emin Cetin, who talked in the name of the Peace Association from Turkey, said that the prime responsibility for the wars and massacres in Balkans belonged to the imperialist powers, who were planting seeds of hostility among the peoples. Cetin also mentioned that the conflicts between the US and the EU imperialisms in Balkans shouldn't be exaggerated, and added that the collaboration among imperialists for the plundering of Balkan countries is dominant. He concluded his speech by saying that the imperialist aggression in Balkans should be stopped and that the common struggle of the Balkan peoples was capable of doing that.
On the next day, the anti-imperialists from Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey attended the 'anti-imperialist march' and events. The meeting started with the march in the city center, while the anti-imperialists from the three countries demonstrated an important example of the fraternity of peoples and anti-imperialist struggle with their songs, marches and slogans. The meeting at the lighthouse of Alexandroupolis started with poems of peace. The famous Turkish communist poet Nazim Hikmet's poem 'Kerem Gibi' was also red out in Greek. Afterwards, the representatives of peace committees once again had to chance to appeal to the people of Alexandroupolis. The meeting continued with songs and short drama performances by Greek artists, while Irfan Ertel from the Executive Board of the Peace Association of Turkey performed folksongs.
June 15-16 Commemorated
Communist Party of Turkey held a demonstration in Ankara on June 15, which was the 35th anniversary of the workers' resistance of June 15-16. The demonstration took place in the industrial zone called OSTIM, where over 70 thousand people work. The demonstrators met in front of the Yenimahalle Branch office of TKP and marched through OSTIM to the metro station. While by standing workers applauded the demonstrators in solidarity, slogans like 'The unity of workers will defeat the capital', 'The workers of OSTIM won't let the country to be sold', and 'Nor the USA, neither the EU, socialist Turkey' were chanted.
After the march, a meeting was held with the participation of many workers at the metro station. Patriotic Front's OSTIM Workers' Initiative and Public Workers' Initiative were also at the meeting.
The first speaker of the meeting was a worker from OSTIM, who said that the exploitation of the workers was not their destiny, and that it was in the workers' hands to change their destiny. They had to get organized to do, he added. After the OSTIM worker, the author Ilhan Akalin, talked about the importance of the resistance of June 15-16 and stressed out that the organized struggle of the workers would be the best response to the attack of capital.
The next speaker was a worker from the Extrametal factory in the Organized Industrial Zone of Sincan. He talked about their hardships as they got unionized and stressed out that the workers should trust in their own power only and that this power could only be realized through the determination for struggle and getting organized.
The meeting ended as the workers and party members marched back to the Yenimahalle Branch office of TKP.
From the Communist Party of Turkey’s (TKP) Bulletin, No. 94, July 25th, 2005, Solidarity Network
