TKP Secretary General Kemal Okuyan: "A lasting peace is impossible without the struggle of the peoples"

In an exclusive interview with l'AntiDiplomatico and Natalya Vinkler, Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), laid out his strategy of fighting for a better future and building international cooperation under capitalism. The interview is the following:

— Comrade Okuyan, does Turkey, the Balkans, Central Asia - the Turkic world, which is inextricably linked to the world of Slavic peoples, currently have the opportunity to break out of the established paradigm of subordination to the United States and submission to comprador elites?

KKE Secretary: "9 May will forever be engraved in the peoples' memory as the day of the Anti-Fascist Victory"

Various activities are being held by the party organizations of the KKE and KNE throughout Greece to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the Anti-Fascist Victory.

On 4 May 2025, at the Kaisariani Shooting Range, right next to the site where on May Day 1944 the Nazis executed 200 communists, a large rally of the Attica Party Organization of the KKE was held to mark the 80^th anniversary of the Anti-Fascist Victory of the Peoples, with Dimitris Koutsoumbas, GS of the CC of the KKE, as the keynote speaker.

KKE - TKP: Greek and Turkish Communist leaders meet, reaffirm strong fraternal relations

Koutsoumbas and Okuyan

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumbas met on Sunday (4/5) morning with Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), 902 portal reported. 

The meeting took place at the headquarters of the KKE in Perissos, Athens and was also attended by Giorgos Marinos, member of the Political Bureau of the KKE Central Committee, Elisseos Vagenas, member of the KKE Central Committee and head of the KKE International Relations Department. 

Kemal Okuyan: Boycott, Republic and Revolutionary Stance

Article by Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), which was published on April 8, 2025, on soL News Portal (Boykot, Cumhuriyet ve devrimci iddia):

It is impossible for the discussions on “”Who’s part of the boycott, why are they included, and who’s in and who’s out of its scope?” not to shift towards “where does the capital start, where it ends”. 

Communist Party of Turkey leader Kemal Okuyan on the solution process regarding the Kurdish Issue

Interview with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), Kemal Okuyan, published in the March issue of TKP's monthly newspaper, Boyun Eğme:

Nowadays, everyone asks everyone else: "Do you support or oppose the new Solution Process?". So, let's start from here: How does TKP view this new process? 

Jihadism, capitalism and neo-Ottomanism

Interview of Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey-TKP given to journalist Marinella Correggia and published on Italian News Portal Il Manifesto with the title of "Jihadism, capitalism and neo-Ottomanism: There is nothing good for the Syrian people" on January 3:

– About this sudden change in Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister, said he had convinced Russia and Iran in Doha not to intervene on the side of the Syrian government, otherwise it would have been a bloodbath. It means that militarily the Russian and Iranian forces would have to face huge weaponry and mercenaries supplied by forces outside the country. Which ones?

 

TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan: War is knocking Middle East's door

Recent article by Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), published on soL News Portal on August 2, 2024.

 

Here is the reality: War is knocking at the door

Israel wants a full-scale conflict. Its interests and the fanaticism it constantly nurtures require that. It believes that it has seized a favourable opportunity to consolidate and expand the territories it has occupied. 

Communist mayor of Patras Kostas Peletidis visits Turkey, meets with TKP delegation

Kostas Peletidis, the communist mayor of Patras, Greece's third largest city, visited Turkey as a guest of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP). In a joint meeting with TKP, the communists of both countries evaluated the elections and communist approach to municipalities. 

 

Delegations from TKP and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) met journalists in Istanbul on Friday morning.

Turkey's Communist Party nominates journalist Orhan Gökdemir to run for Istanbul mayor

In a meeting held at Nazim Hikmet Cultural Center in Istanbul, the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) presented its candidates for the local elections that are scheduled to take place on 31 March 2024. 

TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan underlined: “We are a Marxist party. We know that it is the central political power that will change everything. "However, local elections offer the opportunity to create some cracks in the order", he said.

European Communist Action Conference in Istanbul: Two Years Since the Imperialist War in Ukraine

The European Communist Action (ECA) convened in Istanbul in a conference that is hosted by the Communist Party of Turkey, on the second anniversary of the imperialist war in Ukraine. 

Delegates from the Party of Labour of Austria, the Communist Workers’ Party – for Peace and Socialism (Finland), Communist Revolutionary Party of France, Communist Party of Greece, the Workers Party of Ireland, Communist Front (Italy), New Communist Party of the Netherlands, Communist Party of the Workers of Spain, Communist Party of Sweden, Swiss Communist Party, Union of Communists of Ukraine, and Communist Party of Turkey participated in the conference entitled “Two Years Since the Imperialist War in Ukraine: The Experience and Conclusions of the Communists”.

Turkey and the Socialist Revolution: Are We Chasing a Dream?

By Kemal Okuyan, TKP General Secretary 

October 2023 

The question “Do you really believe in revolution?” is probably not asked only to Turkish communists. 

It has been 32 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. We labeled the 20th century the era of transition from capitalism to socialism. In the last decade of that century and in the period that followed, we did not encounter even a single example that could mean “transition to socialism”. 

"We will not suffocate under rubble once again!": Large solidarity event by the Communist Party of Turkey held in Ankara

On the dawn of the 6th of February, the southern region of Turkey was hit by a grave earthquake, followed by another one during the day, of 7.7 and 7.6 magnitudes, respectively. The earthquake impacted a wide zone of more than 10 cities. The Communist Party of Turkey initiated its rescue and solidarity work immediately after the earthquake, in the impacted region as well as other parts of the country, collecting aid materials and channeling them to those in need. 

On Saturday, the 18th of February, a massive event in the Kocatepe Cultural Center of Ankara was held, with the slogan “We are standing up, not to suffocate under rubble once again!

Turkish communist leader Kemal Okuyan assesses the earthquake disaster: "A big storm is brewing"

On February 10th, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), Kemal Okuyan, made an assessment about the disaster in the earthquake-hit region of southern Turkey:

"The darkness of the AKP along with the market economy based on exploitation and plunder cost the lives of tens of thousands of our citizens , and left millions of people homeless. This is a terrible, unacceptable, revolting situation. There is more. Turkey has become completely open to a new operation of domestic and foreign capital and imperialist centers.

Turkey: Communist Party's 102nd founding anniversary celebrated in Istanbul

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) celebrated its 102nd anniversary with a political and cultural event held in Istanbul. Under the slogan “victory belongs to the workers who resist”, ETF workers who have been fighting for their rights entered the hall receiving the warm applause by the large crowd, including workers, unionists, associations' members, young men and women.

Speaking at the opening of the event, the head of TKP Istanbul Provincial Organization Senem Doruk Inam underlined: “We know that we can rebuild this country together. The owners of this country can and will rule this country”. 

Quadripartite meeting of Communist Parties of Greece, Spain, Mexico and Turkey to be held in Athens

A quadripartite meeting between the Communist Parties of Greece (KKE), Workers of Spain (PCTE), Mexico (PCM) and Turkey (TKP) is going to be held on Friday 8 July in Athens. 

The theme of the meeting, which will take place at the KKE Party headquarters in Perissos, is "We strengthen the workers-people's struggle against the imperialist war and capital's attack, for socialism". According to Rizospastis, all the four parties will be represented by their heads. More specifically, the participant comrades are:

Turkish and Greek communists: "USA and NATO, get out of our neighborhood"!

With a large anti-imperialist political event held on Sunday 15 May in the southern Turkish city of Adana, the five-day visit of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) delegation in Turkey was concluded. 

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) and the KKE, two parties that share a long history of fraternal relations, organized bilateral meetings and joint events in Turkey between 11 and 15 May. 

During the week, cadres from the two parties jointly traveled in different provinces, visiting TKP's District Houses and attended in political activities. Communists from the two countries have voiced their demands together, against NATO and US imperialism, against exploitation and capitalist barbarity.

TKP-KKE: Turkish, Greek communists strengthen joint struggle against imperialism-exploitation

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), two parties with a long history of fraternal relations, organize bilateral meetings and joint events in Turkey between 11 and 15 May.

More specifically, TKP will host a delegation of the KKE within the framework of comprehensive program of visits, meetings and political events throughout Turkey, including major cities Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya and Adana. 

KKE-TKP: Joint statement by Dimitris Koutsoumbas and Kemal Okuyan

On Monday 11 April, the General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas met with Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), in Athens where they talked about the developments with the war in Ukraine as well as the political situation in Turkey, Greece and the broader region.

Following the meeting, the two leaders signed the following joint statement (in Greek and in Turkish): 

Kemal Okuyan: Who will stop NATO?

The following article was published earlier this month, in the midst of the war in Ukraine, by Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP):

 

WHO WILL STOP NATO?

“NATO is not an organization, a force, or an alliance system that can be defeated militarily.” We have been stating this since the Russian armies entered Ukraine. 

The world’s plunge into ever increasing darkness and the fact that the international working class movement has for a long time been in retreat undoubtedly leads people to despair and the tendency to fall for the first “remedy” they come across.

Okuyan: "The Communist Party of Turkey will not enter into an alliance with any party of existing social order"

Interview with Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), on the recent extraordinary conference and political debates on the opposition, by journalist Özlem Temenna:

— The Communist Party of Turkey shared the resolutions taken at the extraordinary conference with the press. The title of the conference was declared as “One More Step Further”. What kind of roadmap did you employ while preparing the conference resolutions? What kind of a country did you call the masses for?