Erdogan vs Coup: The two sides of the same coin

COMMENTARY.

By Nikos Mottas.

It is certainly too early in order to draw solid conclusions about the attempted military coup in Turkey. The developments and the information we receive are rapid and continuous. Numerous questions arise: Who was really behind the attempted Coup? What were the real motives of this action? How will Tayip Erdogan and his government respond in the next few days? However, what is sure is the framework within which the developments in Turkey are taking place: It is a framework of inter-bourgeois contradictions which reflect a sharp rivalry between different parts of the Turkish Capital.

The attempted military coup- as well as the almost immediate response from Erdogan and AKP supporters- reflect a situation of internal war within Turkey's bourgeoisie. Taking into account the significant geostrategic role of Turkey in the region, we can understand that this intra-bourgeois, intra-capitalist war consists part of broader inter-imperialist contradictions in the Middle East.

The situation in Turkey cannot be explained on the basis of the- nevertheless existing- political rivalry between pro-Islamists (Erdogan) and Kemalist forces; It is a deeper and much more complicated situation. The internal political turmoil in Turkey is interdependent with the imperialist activity in the region- with the ongoing war in Syria and the relations of the Turkish government with foreign powers such as the US, NATO, Russia, the EU, ISIS etc.

"There is no alternative but people"- Statement of the Communist Party, Turkey (KP) on the attempted military coup

Statement from the Communist Party, Turkey. Source: International Communist Press, 16th July 2016.

Communist Party, Turkey (KP) released a statement on the military activities ongoing since the night of 15th July. Following is the full text of the statement from KP:

"The Communist Party is calling on our people to organize in the Party's ranks against the enemies of the people and humanity.

The liberation is in our own hands.

We do not have all the details of what happened during the coup attempt that took place in Turkey in the hours between July 15 and July 16.

However, we know very well that plans that are supported by foreign forces, that do not take its power from the working class can not defeat AKP darkness and solve Turkey's problems.

"No one will save you in your stead! Rise up!"- Statement by the Communist Party, Turkey on Istanbul terrorist attack

Statement by the Communist Party, Turkey (Komünist Parti) regarding the terrorist attack in Istanbul's airport / Source: International Communist Press.

No people is by nature predisposed to take massacres for granted, to kneel before tyranny, and to keep silent against fundamentalism. Any people who do so lose their humanity.

We reject to get used to massacres, bomb attacks, and political murders.

We reject to put up with a government who always try to present massacres, bomb attacks, and political murders as usual events.

We reject to keep silent against a government who interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, who prompt terrorists to attack those lands, and who back the same terrorists in the name of “sacred values” in its own country. 

We reject to recognize the law of those who pass new bills in the parliament while tens die due to the indifference, hypocrisy, sinister plans, and ineptitude of the government.

KKE: Solidarity message to the Communist Party, Turkey (KP) for the criminal attack in Istanbul's airport

Source: 902.gr / Translation: In Defense of Communism.

The International Relations Department of the CC of KKE sent the following message of solidarity to the Communist Party, Turkey (KP):

Dear comrades,

We express our condolences for the victims of the criminal attack in the airport of Istanbul.

The people of the region must be alerted, because the contradictions and the clashes of imperialists in the region consist the soil upon which people shed their blood and such actions are imbedded in escalation plans of interventions and wars for the profits of the monopolies, imposing of repressive measures against the working people.

The AKP goverment bears serious responsibilities as long as with its policy has directly implicated Turkey in imperialist plans and antagonisms.

The people of the region, who pay a heavy toll of blood for the movements and upheavals between NATO, EU, US and Russia, Israel and the Gulf's monarchies, have every interest to unite in a common struggle, contrasting their interests against the interests of the monopolies, of the bourgeoisies, of the imperialists. 

Communist Party, Turkey: German Parliament's resolution on the Armenian genocide and AKP government's reaction

Source: International Communist Press (ICP).

Communist Party, Turkey (KP) released a statement on the AKP government's reaction to the German parliament's resolution on the Armenian genocide

The German parliament approved a resolution declaring that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One was a "genocide", at the beginning of this month. The vote was responded by harsh statement by the AKP government and Erdoğan himself. Turkey recalled its ambassador and Erdoğan threatened Germany with further action and indicated the Europen countries had mcuh more dark archives in the sense of "genocide". Additionally Turkey's newly assigned Prime Minister Binali Yildirim blamed a "racist Armenian lobby" for the resolution.

Interview with Kemal Okuyan, First Secretary of Communist Party of Turkey (Rizospastis, 15 May 2016)

COMMUNIST PARTY OF TURKEY

Discussion with Kemal Okuyan, First Secretary of the Central Committee.

Source: Rizospastis / Translation: In Defense of Communism.

For the developments in Turkey, the activity of the communists, the difficulties but also the existing potential, we had the opportunity to discuss with comrade Kemal Okuyan, First Secretary of the CC of Communist Party, Turkey, and representative of 'Gelenek' magazine in the International Communist Review. 

- What is the political, socio-economic reality in Turkey? We know about the persecutions of party's members and yours personally. How does the Party react?

Turkey passes through a long and deep political crisis which, for the time being, doesn't include the financial crisis, despite the fact that Turkish economy is very fragile, with dissolution of state property and a continuous attack on the working class' rights, while there is a huge leak of wealth and high level of foreigh investors. The government evolves a generalized social attack, which includes the Kurds, the secular forces against religious fundamentalism. And, of course, we the communists are permanently the target. Attacks on our offices occur, (attacks) against our members with the accusation of insulting President Erdogan. I personally face prosecution in three different cases (one began on May 5th, but was re-scheduled for the coming September). The Party has agreed to intensify the offensive political struggle.

- What are the priorities of the Party this period?

Shameful distortion of Nazim Hikmet's lyrics from car manufacturer company - Response from Turkey's Komünist Parti (KP)

Communist Party, Turkey (KP) came out strongly against an OPEL company ad using and distorting Nazım Hikmet's lyrics.

Source: International Communist Press, 3rd May 2016.

The CC of the Communist Party, Turkey (KP) released a statement protesting the OPEL company and the YKY publications for their abusement of communist poet Nazım Hikmet's legacy.

"...Our communist poet's legacy cannot be accounted in banks or kept in safe boxes. That legacy can only be saved forever with the reason and the labour of the communists..." wrote the statement.

An advertisement of OPEL distorting Nazım's lyrics was published on one of the best selling newspaper Hürriyet of Turkey today. Immediately after that, KP  claimed the legacy of the internationally recognised communist poet. Similarly, in the 2002 after the YKY publication company had declared material rights over Nazım Hikmet's works, the communists had objected strongly and had published Nazım's works as the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP).

Communist Party, Turkey (KP): "Karanlığa Meydan Okuyoruz" (We dare the darkness)

KP First Secretary Kemal Okuyan.

The Communist Party, Turkey (KP) held a mass meeting denouncing the darkness of Erdoğan's fundamentalism and calling for struggle.

Source: ICP, 19th April 2016.

Communist Party, Turkey (KP) held a mass meeting against the reactionism and fundamentalism in İstanbul last Sunday. At the meeting titled "We dare the darkness!", thousands gathered to challenge the reactionary and fundamentalist politics of President Erdoğan and the AKP regime.

KKE: Solidarity with the people of Turkey against Erdoğan's authoritarianism

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) released a text calling for solidarity against the authoritarianism of Erdoğan and Turkey's intervention in Syria.

International Communist Press, 10th April 2016.

The text which was calling for solidarity by signature, condemned Turkey's interventions in Syria and stated solidarity with the ones who are subject to prosecutions by the AKP government and President Erdoğan himself.

The full text and the initial signatories are as follows:

"AGAINST THE ANTIDEMOCRATIC POLICY OF LAW SUITS AND PROSECUTIONS IMPLEMENTED BY THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT AND PRESIDENT T. ERDOGAN.

The SYRIZA-ANEL government ratified the wretched bargain of the EU with Turkey's ruling class

         

(VIDEO from PAME's rally in support of the refugees in Athens)

Republished from inter.kke.gr.

On the 1^st of April 2016, the draft law related to the ratification of the European Union’s agreement with Turkey on the issue of refugees and immigrants was discussed and passed in the Greek parliament. All the reactionary EU decisions from September 2015 to its most recent Summit that have been co-signed to by the SYRIZA-ANEL government were integrated into Greek legislation in this way.

The European bourgeois states adjust- in a more reactionary direction- their legislation on asylum and regarding those who are entitled to international protection in line with these decisions. This is in complete contradiction to International Law regarding refugees, despite the hypocritical references to and invocations of the Geneva Convention.

Turkish communists defy Erdoğan: 'We call the thief "a thief", the murderer "a murderer"'

Republished from International Communist Press.

Members of the Communist Party, Turkey released a public statement to inform on themselves for challenging Erdoğan's numerous libel lawsuits.

ICP, 23rd March 2016.

50 members of the Communist Party, Turkey (KP) released a statement saying "The facts are stronger than Erdoğan" as an opposition to President Erdoğan's numerous lawsuits on libel against many people all over Turkey. 

The positions of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) on the refugee-immigrant question

A Syrian refugee in Idomeni, Greece.
REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis.

Source: inter.kke.gr

The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, during the meeting of the political leaders called by the President of the Republic on the refugee question last Friday (4/3/2016) submitted a paper with the full and elaborated positions of the party on the specific issue.

“1.The KKE, from the very first moment of the sharpening of the refugee-immigration issue, attempted to explain its causes to the Greek people, which are the wars and interventions unleashed by the USA, NATO and the EU in the wider region of the Middle East, the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, in the framework of their competition with other forces, like Russia.

2. Needless to say the people who are victims of wars, interventions and reactionary regimes have the right to seek a safer life in other countries, despite the fact that a permanent solution to the problem can be found if the people of each country organize and struggle to overthrow the system that creates wars, poverty and refugees.