Down with Erdogan's repression: Solidarity to Turkish communists and Gezi Park protesters

Source: haber.sol.org.tr

Once again, the government of Rejep Tayyip Erdogan resorts to violent repression against protesters, young men and women who resist his authoritarian regime.

On the 9th anniversary of the Gezi Park protests, known as June Resistance, dozens of people were detained following a police attack against protesters in Taksim, Istanbul. Among the detainees are 16 members of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) and its youth. 

Turkey: 8th anniversary of the Gezi Park protests

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) made a statement on the 8th anniversary of the civil resistance that started in Taksim’s Gezi Park in June 2013.

Stating that the June Resistance was a people's movement in which secular and patriotic sensibilities were determinant from beginning to end, TKP drew attention to the fact that the hope and confidence that the people aroused through this resistance were tried to be extinguished in the halls of order politics.

KKE: Statement on Cavusoglu-Dendias meeting in Ankara

On Thursday 15 April, the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Greece, Mevlut Çavuşoğlu and Nikos Dendias respectively, hold a meeting in Ankara where they discussed major issues concerning the relations between the two countries.

In a statement about the meeting, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) points out:

Our people cannot and should not become complacent about the meeting of Foreign Minister N. Dendias with President Erdoğan and Foreign Minister M. Çavuşoğlu in Ankara, following the “exploratory talks” between the two NATO allies.

Turkish communists in Germany: Petition against Erdogan's decision to withdraw Turkey from Istanbul Convention

The Germany branch of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) has launched a petition against the recent decision of Erdogan's AKP government to withdraw Turkey from Istanbul Convention.

In a declaration the TKP Party organization in Germany points out that "AKP does not have the legitimacy to draw the boundaries of womens' right to life and living space in this country", adding that "it should not be forgotten that in Turkey, where feminicide and violence against women are on the rise, all reactionary sects and religious communities, together with the AKP, targeted the Istanbul Convention". 

Erdogan Vs Women: Turkish communists on the front line of the struggle for women's rights

In the early hours of March 20, Turkey's government issued a decree deciding to pull out of the Istanbul Convention to combat the violence against women. Although the AKP government was giving signs of this decision earlier and peaked the debate in August 2020, by lobbying against the Convention, the decree came as a sudden decision after midnight and sparked tension.

Hundreds of women took to the streets on Saturday afternoon, declaring the decision as an attack of the AKP government against the health and lives of the women in Turkey. Several protests were organized in different cities of the country. While Erdogan's cabinet and pro-AKP circles celebrated the decision, the progressive organizations and opposition groups condemned the decision.

Turkey's communists filed complaint against Erdogan for the torture of protesters at Bogazici University

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) filed complaints against President Erdogan, the minister of interior Süleyman Soylu and his spokesperson, fascist party leader Bahçeli, and the police that tortured the protesters during Bogazici resistance.

Turkish police detained 159 students on the 1st of February, trying to prevent the protests against the newly appointed pro-AKP president of the Bogazici University. The protests at Bogazici University started right after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed the new rector on January 2 and continued with the participation of students, university staff, and citizens. Protests spread nationwide and further reactions from the right-wing politicians continue to come.

Greek-Turkish relations are entangled in wider imperialist competition and plans

Eliseos Vagenas, member of the CC and head of the section of International Relations of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) was interviewed by soL news concerning the new round of exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece. The full interview is the following:

The AKP government has made almost a U-turn regarding the relations with the EU, and Erdoğan has totally changed his hostile attitude towards some European leaders. As the people of Turkey, we are very much used to these radical maneuvers of the Erdoğan government. But how was this move interpreted in Greece?

Solidarity with the students in Istanbul's Bogazici University — Statement by the Communist Youth of Turkey

Once again, the reactionary regime of Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey has shown its repressive and authoritarian face. This time, the target of police violence are the students of Boğaziçi University who protest against the appointment of Melih Bulu, known for his close ties to the ruling party AKP, as the new rector of the institution. 

Melih Bulu has held various managerial positions within the AKP since 2002. He was a mayoral candidate in 2009 as well as a candidate for parliamentary deputy position from the AKP in the 2015 elections. 

AKEL condemns Erdogan's provocative visit to occupied Cyprus

In a statement concerning the provocative visit of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in the occupied territories of Cyprus and especially to the abandoned city of Famagusta, the Press Office of the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) points out:

"AKEL unequivocally condemns the provocative visit of Tayyip Erdogan to the occupied territories, the celebrations for the 37th anniversary of the proclamation of the so-called “TRNC” and the “picnic” planned tomorrow within the fenced off city of Famagusta.

KKE: Erdogan's decision to open Varosha in occupied Cyprus reveals the hypocrisy of EU-USA-NATO

In a provocative decision the authorities of the illegal state entity of Northern Cyprus announced on Tuesday the opening of the coastal section of the long fenced-off occupied town of Varosha (Famagusta).

Speaking after a meeting in Ankara with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Cypriot official Ersin Tatar told reporters that "the coast will open to the public from Thursday morning."

KKE: Turkey’s aggression in East Mediterranean is fostered by the U.S, NATO and EU

The situation in eastern Mediterranean and the tensions between Turkey and Greece was one of the major issues discussed during the extraordinary EU Foreign Ministers Council which was concluded on Friday. Earlier, Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias met with the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Vienna.  

Referring to his meeting with Pompeo, Dendias expressed his satisfaction for the “clear stance of the State Department” against Turkey’s provocations, thanking the U.S. Secretary of State on behalf of the Greek government. He also expressed satisfaction for the EU partners’ “support to Greece and Cyprus”. 

Turkey's communists at the forefront of the struggle for women's rights, against femicides

Thousands of women took the streets in more than 16 cities in Turkey, on August 5, demonstrating under the slogan "We are not giving up our rights, implement the Istanbul Convention". 

In Istanbul's Kadıköy district, women carried placards with the name of 350 murdered women and the slogan "She would be alive if the Istanbul Convention was implemented". 

In Izmir, protesters faced with police's violent response and 16 women werre detained. 

Turkey-Greece tensions: The USA-EU stance adds fuel to Turkish government's aggression

Tensions in Eastern Mediterranean are, once again, at high level after the NAVTEX issued by Turkey on Tuesday, with which Ankara blocks the maritime zone south-east of the Greek island of Kastellorizo in order to carry out seismic surveys. 

From its side, the Greek government filed a protest demarche to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and raised the issue with the EU, NATO and the United Nations. 

“Today’s announcement of Turkish surveys in a section of the Greek continental shelf through a new illegal NAVTEX constitutes an escalation of tension in our region”, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement issued on Tuesday. 

Hagia Sophia: The EU-NATO policy stimulates Turkey's provocation and aggression

The European Parliament group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) condemned on Monday the decision of Tayyip Erdogan's government to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. 

As 902 portal reports, in an urgent question submitted to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, KKE MEP Kostas Papadakis points out:

Hagia Sophia: Turkish and Greek communists condemn its conversion into a mosque

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's decision to sign a decree which converts Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, a World Heritage Monument, into a mosque has provoked negative reactions. 

In a statement issued today, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) condemns the decision, stating that the conflict is not between Christianity and Islam, but between reactionalism and secularism. TKP also calls the world's communists to denounce Erdogan's decision and the bourgeois reactionary mindset behind it, which obscures the future of Turkey’s working class. 

Turkey and Covid-19: Interview of TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan in "Rizospastis"

In an interview with the daily newspaper of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) "Rizospastis", the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) Kemal Okuyan commented on the Covid-19 pandemic, its effects on working-class and TKP's initiatives to protect the health and rights of the workers. Okuyan noted that they have built solidarity networks organized by the district organizations of TKP:

— What is the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic in Turkey? How does the TKP judge the measures of the Erdogan government and the positions of other bourgeois parties?

Turkey: While Erdogan cares about capitalists' profits, TKP communists say "people first!"

The response of Tayyip Erdogan's AKP government to the COVID-19 pandemic has  primarily focused on the safeguarding of big businesses and monopolies' profitability, criminally neglecting the health and security of the working people. 

Fundamental rights of healthcare workers have been suspended, while thousands of working men and women (at least 811,000 workers between the ages of 18-20) are forced to work without the basic protection measures. 

KKE: On the death of Grup Yorum member Helin Bölek after 288 days of hunger strike

In a statement published today on 902 portal, the International Relations Section of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) expresses its condolences to the family of Helin Bölek, the 28 year-old member of the Turkish music band Grup Yorum who died on Friday after 288 days of hunger strike.

The KKE condemns the persecutions industry against workers, trade uninionists, party officials, artists, academics and journalists set by Erdogan’s government, which enjoys the tolerance- even encouragement- of the EU, USA and NATO. The Party expresses its solidarity to the people’s struggle and its support to their rights and freedoms. 

Dimitris Koutsoumbas on refugee crisis: "Dublin Regulation, EU-Turkey deal must be abolished"

The General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas gave an interview to “Real News” newspaper where, among other things, he refered to the ongoing refugee situation in the Greek-Turkish borders. Below you can read the excerpts of his answers:

“There is no greatest depravity than using uprooted, tortured people for your own aspirations, like Erdogan does, who blackmails for more support by the EU and NATO for his intervention in Northern Syria as well as in his other plans. For that reason, the needed protection of the borders can neither target the refugees nor acquitting EU and NATO which uproot people and have led to the entrapment of thousands of refugees in the Aegean islands and in Evros, thus playing Erdogan’s game. And certainly it cannot be utilized for the emboldenment of reactionary, racist voices”.

"This war must be ended!": Turkey's Communist Party (TKP) reacts to the Idlib massacre

At least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed and 36 wounded in an airstrike in the Syrian province of Idlib, Turkish officials announced on February 27. The Turkish government has decided to open its southwestern border with Syria for the next 72 hours. 

On this occasion, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) has issued a statement on the war waged by Erdogan's government in Syria.