The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) and the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) joined forces in Amsterdam on November 12, protesting outside the Dutch premises of Turkish industrial giant HABAŞ following a deadly workplace disaster in İzmir that claimed the lives of 19 workers.
The joint action, organized by the TKP's Netherlands branch and the CPN, condemned the November 9 disaster at HABAŞ's facilities in Aliağa, western Turkey, demanding full accountability for the deaths and an end to the capitalist practices that sacrifice workers' lives for profit.
The joint action, organized by the TKP's Netherlands branch and the CPN, condemned the November 9 disaster at HABAŞ's facilities in Aliağa, western Turkey, demanding full accountability for the deaths and an end to the capitalist practices that sacrifice workers' lives for profit.
The communists deliberately brought their protest to Amsterdam, where HABAŞ operates through HABAS International B.V., while Anadolubank Nederland belongs to the same business group. They stressed that the wealth accumulated through the labour of Turkish workers also finances the company's international operations.
"We refuse to accept a system that subjects workers' lives to calculations of profit," the parties declared, insisting that responsibility must extend beyond individual managers and engineers to those controlling production, workplace safety and regulatory oversight.
The joint statement demanded the immediate nationalization of all HABAŞ enterprises without compensation, the protection of workers' wages and rights, and comprehensive support for injured workers and the families of those killed.
Calling on Dutch trade unions, workers' organizations and the broader working class to demonstrate solidarity, the two communist parties underlined that the struggle for justice would continue beyond the ongoing criminal investigation.
"We refuse to accept a system that subjects workers' lives to calculations of profit," the parties declared, insisting that responsibility must extend beyond individual managers and engineers to those controlling production, workplace safety and regulatory oversight.
The joint statement demanded the immediate nationalization of all HABAŞ enterprises without compensation, the protection of workers' wages and rights, and comprehensive support for injured workers and the families of those killed.
Calling on Dutch trade unions, workers' organizations and the broader working class to demonstrate solidarity, the two communist parties underlined that the struggle for justice would continue beyond the ongoing criminal investigation.
In a separate statement issued on November 10, the Central Committee of the TKP denounced the disaster as a direct consequence of capitalist exploitation, demanding that steel production be placed under public ownership and organized according to the needs of society rather than private profit.
"The massacre at the HABAŞ Iron and Steel Plant in Aliağa is nothing other than the brutality of the system of monopolies. And yes, this brutality must now come to an end," the TKP declared, concluding with an unequivocal message:
"Not one more worker must die so that capitalists can grow even richer."