The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) extends its revolutionary greetings and unwavering solidarity to the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) and the heroic workers and youth of Turkey who took to the streets this weekend in a powerful stand against NATO.
We congratulate the TKP on the success of its multi-city mobilization against the 36th NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government, which opens in Ankara on July 7–8. Despite a sweeping ban on demonstrations, barricades closing off large parts of the capital, and the deployment of tens of thousands of police, the TKP fulfilled its promise: communists and anti-imperialists filled Kızılay Square in Ankara, marched from Taksim Square to Dolmabahçe in Istanbul, and rallied in İzmir and beyond.
As TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan declared: “We said that we would not hand over Ankara to supporters of NATO, that we would not allow Ankara to remain silent. We have fulfilled that promise”.
We denounce in the strongest possible terms the despicable police violence unleashed against TKP members and all who participated in these peaceful protests. Riot police intervened with tear gas and attacked communists, with multiple reports of head injuries, broken ribs, and other serious wounds. More than 100 party members—including administrators—were detained in Ankara alone, while a total of 145 party members were taken into custody across Ankara, Kocaeli, and Soma. We demand that all detained comrades be freed immediately and unconditionally. We demand that all police and security forces responsible for these brutal attacks be held accountable and punished. The use of the NATO summit as a pretext to turn the country into “a detention center” and impose a state of “undeclared martial law,”, is an assault on the most basic democratic rights.
As the military arm of U.S.-led imperialism, NATO is the largest terrorist organization in the world. It is the force behind coups, political assassinations, invasions, and massacres across the globe. It is an enemy of the working class everywhere, and its presence is a threat to all working people. As Kemal Okuyan declared: “We have gathered here to protest NATO, which we describe as the most dangerous organization in the world”. “The bloody-handed, militarist, occupying, coup-mongering, massacre organization”—these are the words Okuyan used to describe NATO as he addressed the assembled masses.
We applaud the TKP’s heroic and militant stance against NATO, and we salute their courageous call to expose the hypocrisy of all the bourgeois parties that are subservient to NATO’s interests—whether the ruling AKP or the opposition parties. As the TKP’s Central Committee has noted, the entire “order politics” of Turkey’s parliamentary parties is engaged in a collective effort to legitimize NATO. Not a single one of these parties dares to oppose NATO; they are all equally guilty. While the AKP government rolls out red carpets for the planners of massacres in Palestine and the architects of aggression against Iran, the TKP alone has the courage to tell the truth.
The massive participation of workers in these TKP-led actions this weekend proves that the working people of Turkey know exactly which side they are on: the side of the working class and the oppressed, against the bosses and their imperialist masters who welcome NATO. “We have gathered today in many parts of Turkey to protest against NATO,” Okuyan said. The response was overwhelming.
As long as there are any NATO and U.S. bases in Turkey or anywhere else, that country is under occupation. It is the undeniable right of the working people to stand up and fight against foreign occupation—as the working people of Turkey are doing, led by their Party, the TKP. The TKP’s militant resistance, rooted in the proud tradition of those who threw the U.S. Sixth Fleet soldiers into the sea decades ago, is an inspiration to communists and anti-imperialists everywhere.
As the Party for Socialism and Liberation, we pledge to raise the voices of our TKP comrades in our own organizing in the heart of the empire and to mobilize all possible solidarity efforts in support of their anti-imperialist struggle.
Kahrolsun emperyalizm, kahrolsun NATO! İşgalciler her zaman kaybeder!
Long live international solidarity! Long live the workers of Turkey and their Party, the TKP! No to NATO!
