I am happy, today, I am happy after a long time on this planet!
A city in Turkey, yes, a city mayorship of Turkey was took by the Communist Party Turkey, TKP. I had shared with you in December 2017, Ovacik county municipality has ruled by communist party member Mehmet Fatih Macoglu with my post “Communist bees” you would remember. And that man, was the candidate of the city Tunceli where Ovacik in at today’s election 31 March! And he took the Tunceli city’s mayorship! He rised such a star from among many ugly politics!
I want to cry!!! But I cannot, because of the extraterrestrial situations, as you know, our eye drops are not working too much. But if I had I would do!
I was waiting until that moment. Right now, the vote boxes open 85% in Tunceli(Dersim). But the difference between his votes and the closer competitor, HDP’s candidate is about 4,5%. This is not a difference easy to close. So Macoglu took!
You fly all red flags my earthling friends! I am happy, I am drinking vodka right now as you can guess, and this happiness I guess due to I felt real hope light! Nazdorovya! Haha!
This will change many things I know!
Salute you all my earthling friends and comrades! One of the city of Turkey will be ruled by Communist party after this! If it is happenning in Turkey, it can be in everywhere! Don’t lose your hopes ever!!! This order will change! Nobody has to live with this capitalist slavery order!
And salute you Fatih Mehmet Macoglu proudly!
Let’s fly all RED FLAGS today or tonight!
I guess, I will edit this post tomorrow with sober head, whatever, haha!
AK Parti or AKP acronym belongs to the ruling party and is managed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan
CHP: The opposition Ataturkist party, the largest number of seats in the oppositions parties at parliament, managed by Kemal Kilicdaroglu
MHP: Turkish nationalist party at parliament
HDP: Kurdish nationalist party at parliament
You can see at upper image where Communist Party Turkey has taken. I’ve put TKP symbol on Tunceli(Dersim), of course! What a wonderful feeling to do this, haha!
In 2014 the results was like that:
Also, interesting results came today especially from Istanbul and Ankara. Istanbul and Ankara have been ruling by AKP for last 25 years. And today we can see that both city taken by CHP.
The voters’ figures of Istanbul is about 9.3 millon, and Ankara is about 3,5 million. Both of their votes is equal almost another 10-15 cities in Anatolia. And such as Izmir (its voters about 2.9 millon), many city with a lot of voters especially at the shores taken by CHP in this election. I guess, these results will bring interesting period for Turkey’s political agenda in next days.
This interview was taken from SoL.news. These comments of Kemal Okuyan are providing to more understand especially the situations of the Turkey’s pro-system opponent parties and they help to explain the leanings of the electors of Turkey.
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
soL news interviewed Kemal Okuyan, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), on the results of June 24 election results. Okuyan reminded that the political power had organised electoral manipulations quite before the elections and that the TKP pointed this out strongly in those days. He highlights that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “success” should be evaluated starting right from this point. Okuyan also noted that the coalition of the opposition was designed as a “project of the capitalists”, and that the “pro-establishment left” quit adhering to leftist values since anti-establishment left moved away from these values.
Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) had unlawfully prevented TKP from entering June 24 elections and TKP undid this inhibition by running independent communist candidates in parliamentary elections through This Social Order Must Change Platform. The platform was established following the call of TKP. The platform ran a total of 17 independent candidates in different provinces of Turkey.
Erdoğan portrayed quite an incapacitated and disqualified image before June 24 elections. However, Erdoğan won the elections in the first round. What do you think had happened?
We have to talk about the electoral system first of all. Electoral manipulations are being set before the elections, not on the day of the elections, as we always say. We warned about electoral inks, unsealed envelopes and ballots, ballot box relocations and such before when we said: “no to elections under these circumstances”. The [parliamentary main opposition party, CHP] Republican People’s Party and others just let people put up with all that, saying “they cannot do anything”. And yet, the problem is not only related to the electoral system. The strategy of defeating the [ruling party] AKP by resembling the AKP itself also failed.
We will come back to this point again but I would like to resolve the issue of electoral frauds. What could have they done, really?
Apart from the things they did on the day of the election, the real issue rests on voter lists. The electoral turnout is quite high. I personally do not believe that the ratio of turnout is real. We know that people voted instead of the dead and the ones in abroad. Also multiple votes… We witnessed countless times that civil servants voted more than once with their officer IDs. More importantly, the system in Turkey makes it impossible to track down “virtual citizens”. They are in control of the ID system. The ballot boxes are a complete mess and no one can inspect; people living in the same apartment are registered in different ballot boxes. When you gather all that together, it makes something huge.
Doesn’t the opposition parties know about that?
Let’s call them pro-system opposition. They are responsible from the continuation of this damned system as much as the parties in power, and they act accordingly! They acted accordingly during the Gezi Park resistance, after the local elections in 2014, and the referendum [in 2017], and during the period when they devised Yenikapı spirit [AKP’s meeting at Yenikapı in İstanbul after the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.] They never want the people to question the legitimacy of the system. It is absurd to have elections under such an electoral system and yet they made people accept it by saying “we are in charge of everything.” Erdoğan should thank such an opposition.
Then, what about the TKP? Why did it enter the elections, even by means of independent candidates?
Apart from the regulations in the electoral system that favour the political power, obstacles that hinder the toiling masses to get involved with politics are present all along. There is the 10 percent electoral threshold, treasury grants, obstacles before getting organised and making propaganda… TKP is not a party for elections and yet responsible for spreading its voice in the elections, getting organised and point at a real alternative. We could not, and did not, have abstained from such duties when a large section of the society had high hopes from the elections. You cannot call for a boycott whenever you are right. We are always right against the dictatorship of the capital.
Elections have been the only option of the people of Turkey until yesterday. We shared our warnings regarding that and it was not a waste of time for us. We are used to discourses like “let’s talk about after the elections”. The elections are over now and the number of people who find us right is increasing. People always look for a solution, a way to survive. Elections and pro-establishment politics were “solutions”, and yet they blew up. Organised struggle and the demand for social order change are the only solutions at the moment and they never miss the target. In that sense, the TKP whispered in the people’s ear “you know it best, but this is not the solution” during the whole electoral period.
A CERTAIN SECTION OF THE SOCIETY THAT HAS ENMITY TOWARDS ERDOĞAN DO NOT SEEK SOCIAL ORDER CHANGE
What about the reactions of the people you contacted?
A certain section of the society who have enmity towards the political power is not interested with the demand of social order change, and even more, do not have such a demand. They cling on the system, and some of them even have interests in the maintenance of the system. These people do not even want to hear us. They gave up defending secularism except for their sensitivity for “way of life”. They remember the “sovereignty of Turkey” when Erdoğan gets closer to the West, and the “Western civilisation” when Erdoğan rows with the West. These people used to close their ears when they saw us; now some of them will hide in their nests, while some others easily adapt to the conditions, and a small number of them will leave the country. In other words, we and these people reciprocally avoided each other. Our common ground “anti-Erdoğan stance” is not enough to breach the gap between us, it cannot…
Do we need to consider these people as belonging to the middle class?
Some of them are the privileged segments of the working class with higher wages. Some other have small enterprises, or entrepreneurs, as usually called…There is a segment who are executives…Some are rentiers… They are also influenced by economic developments and yet they manage in some way.
You noted that you were not able to contact them during the electoral period…
We preferred not to. However, there are intersections between the classes in Turkey and in social life. When we try to contact them, it becomes obvious that we are not talking the same language. There are of course exceptions. The sections within this social segment who strive for social change and willing to act on it with their intellect, consciousness and life practice, but they are of the minority.
We are essentially interested in the ones who are harmed by this social order, and are conscious of that, and who have nothing to hold on to against economic hardship. These people do outnumber. Some of them cling to the political power when poverty strains them, search for stability with fear of security and there are some who are deaf to any kind of voice. However, we realised that some people among them listened to us, approved of what we said and even supported us. There is also a certain toiling mass who had long disapproved the political power and increasingly turns it towards social system criticism. That segment was the one we especially strengthened our contact.
Getting the working class organised is our main priority. This electoral period showed us that there is a considerable increase in the anger, rage and search of the toiling masses.
Then why didn’t it transform into votes for the independent candidates?
We didn’t make all these just to get votes. We were aware of the pressure on the people. We did all we could to save them from the trap and yet it was also obvious that quite a few of the ones we convinced were to vote for us. We were not blind to the feeling that “First Erdoğan has to go, and then we can discuss”. Some people who were close to our party even said they were going to become a member of our party on the 25th of June. They thought “I would have to vote for the independent candidates if I become a member of the party.” We also get in contact with a considerable number of new people with whom we settled to meet on the 25th of June, and now we discuss with them. We cannot get crossed with them only because they did not vote for us. After all, they are in fact cross with themselves!
‘WHY WOULD A COALITION SAYING NOTHING NEW APART FROM POSITIONING AGAINST ERDOĞAN ATTRACT THE PEOPLE?’
I would like to go back to my first question. Why did Erdoğan win? You talked about the electoral system but also noted: “this is not the main reason”.
Winning and losing are relative concepts. I will answer with this caution. The bourgeois opposition did establish the widest possible coalition against Erdoğan. However, it was not clear why these actors were against Erdoğan. One man rule, authoritarianism? These are abstract concepts. This widest coalition put secularism aside, propagated pro-NATO politics, and reassured TÜSİAD (Turkish Industry and Business Association). Then, what was their problem with Erdoğan? When differences get blurred, the voters naturally prefer a single person, the one man. For one thing, there is a floating segment apart from the fixed party supporters. There is the youth who vote for the first time in each election, who don’t even have any party affiliation. Why would a coalition say nothing new apart from positioning against Erdoğan attract the people?
Did Erdoğan say anything new?
By saying new, I mean an alternative. If you rival with Erdoğan in İslamism and right-wing politics, and if you say “There are politicians within the AKP who are well-trained there and useful for the country”, where would you end up? It became obvious that creating an opposing camp within the society through Erdoğan has come to its limits, it is of no use, or it is of use for Erdoğan himself. You should also add discussions regarding [the pro-Kurdish] HDP party to this. HDP’s all electoral propaganda rested on the argument “If you don’t vote for me, AKP wins.” HDP did not have to undertake any electoral work since [parliamentary main opposition party] CHP had done it instead of HDP. HDP is being continuously either drawn towards the system or pushed away from it. The people who orchestrate this believe that their social engineering will reverberate exactly within the society. The unexpected conservation of [the pro-Turkish] MHP party’s votes definitely rests on concerns regarding discussions on HDP.
In terms of Erdoğan…In some senses, Erdoğan says something new every day, and repeats the same things in other sense. Turkish society has an interesting adaptation capacity in the face of economic, cultural and social complications. This contradicts the definition of conservatism in some senses. The political definition of this is opportunism. Erdoğan is capable of manipulating this. He will secure a certain support until such political behaviour does not answer the security need of the people.
Are other politicians not capable of doing this?
It is odd to expect principled and consistent behaviour in bourgeois politics. Erdoğan’s sharp turns exceed this. The rivalry of the bourgeois opposition rests partly on right-wing propaganda and partly on imitating Erdoğan’s opportunism. It seems that they will keep this track at full speed following the June 24 elections.
THERE IS A CERTAIN ‘LEFT-WING’ TENDENCY AT EASE WITH ADOPTING SHEIK SAID TEACHINGS AND FLIRTING WITH THE TÜSİAD
Isn’t it logical to address to the right-wing voters to increase votes?
The success criteria of the bourgeois politics and ours are quite different. Votes obtained in an election do neither legitimate you nor are they the only criteria of success. This is how we perceive it. Everything rests on the elections in bourgeois politics. There is also the rooted perception that “the left cannot get votes more than a certain amount.”
Isn’t that perception true?
This perception rests on a distorted perception of the “left” and “right”. But let’s accept that the pro-establishment left assumes the role of blocking the real left and keeping the masses within the limits of the social order. The left has some values. These are laicism, anti-imperialism and being on the side of the toiling masses in Turkey. The pro-establishment left gave up adhering to these.
Why?
Because a considerable segment of the anti-establishment left moved away from these values. Therefore the social order does not necessitate a firm leftist stance of the pro-establishment left. Then what are we discussing! There was a “progressive left” who championed that the AKP “accomplished a democratic revolution.” And now, they are easy with adopting Sheik Said teachings [Sheik Said Nursi was a reactionary Kurdish theologian who was of service to the anti-communist initiatives of Turkey’s right-wing governments] and flirting with the TÜSİAD. Then CHP can slide to the right even more, until the psychological barrier in front of the strong organisation of the communists within the society. It is soon…
But a second Ekmeleddin case did not happen. There was a strong objection to Abdullah Gül’s candidacy…
(Migarium note-Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu was the common candidate of CHP and MHP at the presidental election in 2014. The influence of the name of this candidate on the CHP electors was a big disappointment.)
Abdullah Gül(former AKP deputy also was president of Turkey in 2007-2014) is among the foundational core of the AKP; there is no need to tell who he is. Discussions on his nomination as a candidate and it’s renouncement only through Akşener’s [the leader of the ultra-far Good “İyi” Party] opposition to it is a total scandal. They said Muharrem İnce [CHP candidate, Erdoğan’s main rival in presidential election] is a good speaker, honest and sympathetic… These don’t explain the heart of the matter. The heart of the matter is that Muharrem İnce has been called a right-wing politician even by the administrators of CHP. Let’s leave the names aside; CHP tried to seem sympathetic to the right-wing voters, while the Good Party and the Felicity Party [an Islamist party that took part in the alliance with CHP and the Good Party in the elections] to the voters of CHP. Such an alliance!
THE ‘COALITION OF THE OPPOSITION’ WAS DESIGNED AS A PROJECT OF THE CAPITALISTS, IT PROVED UNSUCCESSFUL IN THE ELECTIONS BUT WAS SUCCESSFUL IN ANOTHER SENSE
TKP insistently highlighted that this coalition was a project of the capitalists. Erdoğan won the elections. Does TKP still argue that?
TKP shared its initial electoral evaluation on 25th June. We said there too that the opposition coalition was a capitalist project. We also know more or less who and which circles played a special role in the formation of this project. However, Erdoğan himself is also a capitalist project. The ‘opposition coalition’ was unsuccessful in the June 24 elections and yet the project proved successful in certain senses. The ones who provided opportunities to this opposition coalition didn’t specifically aim to push to the political power. I the total formation of the political sphere in a country, the design of the opposition is as much important as the formation of the political power. A design of certain circles does not aim for total success; in addition to this, each and every design does not need to reach its target. Social dynamics and politics have a most problematic relation with calculations. The ‘opposition coalition’ was unsuccessful in the June 24 elections and yet it proved successful in certain senses.
But June 24 elections witnessed the highest mathematical calculations.
The result is obvious! What happened to the argument that the political power would lose parliamentary majority when HDP breached the electoral threshold? Mathematics is not to be blamed.
Do you think that Erdoğan got more powerful with June 24?
Let’s see that Erdoğan is not that powerful in terms of the political calculations, if mathematics matters that much. He is powerful neither in terms of social dynamics nor in any other sense. This may mean a more easily managed Erdoğan for the capitalist class and the imperialist centres. Arguments that Erdoğan got very powerful and that Turkey is in a total collapse are complete nonsense. The tasks before Erdoğan were challenging and they become even more so every day. The cunning people who propagated these feelings before June 24 are going to prepare the people for the upcoming local elections by saying “this is the last chance”, and they have already started to talk about that.
The final exit before the bridge?
I don’t know, maybe they will feel ashamed to say so and call it “final U-turn”.
‘TKP WAS ABLE TO RESIST THE TIDE’
What will TKP do? It couldn’t get energy from yet another electoral period…
TKP is a party that knows how to resist the tide. It knows how to contract without turning inward when the tide accelerates. An alternative to this is stepping aside. We didn’t step aside June 24, resisted the tide and contacted countless people drifting away in the opposite direction. Everyone makes mathematical calculations during the elections, but we calculate our move after the elections. Yes, we were unsuccessful in terms of vote rates and yet TKP will quickly claim space in the post-electoral period when the speed of tide decreases and even dies out. We have no concerns regarding this. We had new members just before the elections, and it increases now.
The people who follow what TKP says knew that TKP may become isolated on the election day and considered this not that important. The crowd of people TKP gathered on May Day is more than the number of people who voted for it in the elections. This is, of course, something problematic and yet I will say without hesitation that the important thing is the ability of acting together with the people. The number of the people TKP is able to mobilise and act together will quickly increase from now on. This will reflect on the electoral results in a certain period, you may be sure of that. In terms of the energy you mentioned…I said it before, this electoral period has opened very valuable channels for TKP, and we had an important experience. This is the energy. Positive reactions towards the statement of TKP on elections create a great energy. Now we will mobilise this energy in line with our political and organisational targets.
In 24th June, there will be an election in Turkey. There will be two ballot boxes in front of the voters. For one of them, the voters will use their votes for president candidates, the other one will be used for the members of parliament, so to the deputies. The president candidates were determined. There are six president cantidates in election race. Some political parties were not allowed to present candidates. Communist Party of Turkey(TKP) is one of them. TKP cannot present a president candidate, but it can present independence deputy candidates to the second ballot box for parliament at 24th June. This post tells how TKP follows a path and the supports that are given for TKP.
Based on additional conditions that are not written in the law, the Supreme Electoral Council concluded that the Communist Party of Turkey, which has already satisfied all conditions that political parties are required to fulfill in order to participate in elections, will not be allowed to take part in the general elections to be held on June 24, 2018.
This is not the first instance when the ruling party and the bureaucracy under its command attack the Communist Party of Turkey’s will to get organized and do politics in order to overthrow this rotten social order. Taking a stand against such attacks and fetters, the TKP has been and will always be carrying the struggle of toiling masses for emancipation forward under any circumstances.
In contradistinction to other parties, our party does not perceive elections as the only channel of doing politics or of the struggle for political objectives. As it stands, it is utterly futile to expect elections that are “fixed” through arrangements entirely in favor of establishment parties to bring emancipation to toiling masses.
However, elections also provide significant opportunities for promoting socialism, i.e. the only future for humanity, and the alternative of socialist power, i.e. the only way out for our country, before broad masses; for appealing the oppressed to organized political struggle, and for creating conditions for the communist deputies to be the voice of the fight for socialism both within the parliament and local governments.
Under no circumstances will we renounce the right to make use of these opportunities on behalf of the working people.
INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES IN GENERAL ELECTIONS
The TKP will participate in June 24 general elections with independent candidates in various provinces under the slogan “This Social Order Must Change”.
In the coming days, Popular Committees will hold meetings in their constituencies in which they will nominate their candidates. The voice of the toiling masses, the voice of socialism will be louder than ever in these elections.
The outlines of the election manifesto of those who say “This Social Order Must Change” will also be drawn up in these meetings.
SPOILT VOTE IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Regarding the presidential elections to be held on the same day with general elections, the TKP calls for the people to turn their back on not only to the candidates, but also to this election and the political regime it represents.
The presidential system is nothing but a one-man rule. Our people should reject both doing politics on this ground and submitting their will to a single person.
Besides, the rules and the calendar set for the presidential election do not allow nominating a people’s representative who would question, protest and challenge this system.
The names that have come up so far for nomination in the course of the unscrupulous quest of establishment parties for alliances provide sufficient proof on the rottenness that presidential election, which has already been fixed with an unlawful and rigged poll, will bring about. Our people should take a stand against this rottenness. Just as this presidential system is “spoilt”, our vote should be “spoilt” as well.
Turkey does not need a President with unlimited authority; she needs the millions to get organized and take the bit in their teeth.
THE TKP IN LOCAL ELECTIONS
In local elections to be held in March 2019, we will take a stand against all establishment parties as a party. We will achieve this end by satisfying all additional rules imposed by the Supreme Electoral Council arbitrarily far and above.
As the communist and workers’ parties listed below, we condemn the Turkish government’s fait accompli in the strongest way possible, which prevented the Communist Party of Turkey from running for the elections on June 24th as one of the candidate parties.
We call on the people of Turkey for refusing to choose between one or another actor of the capitalist order. We invite you all to vote for the independent candidates of “This Social Order Must Change” Platform and to raise the flag of socialism in and after the elections. Do not let the bourgeoisie to hold your future in their hands!
We express our comradely support and solidarity to all independent candidates running for the upcoming elections under the “This Social Order Must Change” Platform, that have taken the responsibility to serve as the source of hope and voice for the working class of Turkey.
Sunday, 10 June, KKE sent a solidarity message to Turkey’s ‘This Social Order Must Change Platform’ and its communist candidates for the June 24 elections
Communist Party of Greece (KKE) on Sunday expresses its support for Turkey’s ‘This Social Order Must Change Platform’ and the platform’s communist candidates. The message comes in the run-up to legislative elections on June 24.
The KKE Secretary-General, Dimitris Kutsumbas have read the support letter to 17 candidates of This Social Order Must Change Platform.
“The Greek workers are on the Turkish working people, with the struggles of our peoples we can create a region without monopolies, without exploitation, without racism and wars,” Kutsumbas said in a video message.
“The Communist Party of Greece expresses its international solidarity with the Communist Party of Turkey, supports its electoral campaign This Social Order Must Change and its independent candidates. The exploitation of labour from capital, the attack on labour-popular rights, poverty, unemployment, refugees, wars show that there is no ‘good’ capitalism, this is confirmed by our experience in Greece and the anti-popular SYRIZA government,” Kutsumbas says in the video message.
My voting district, the city of Izmir, there are two parliamentary candidates of TKP. One of them, Kemal Okuyan from the second voting district of Izmir, Karsiyaka. The second one is psychiatrist Dr. Deniz Arik Binbay from the first voting district. As far as I have seen until today, both them are really hard working for elections. They are trying to reach almost every corner of the city. They are preparing for the election day, despite of financial shortcomings, as a party that does not receive any monetary aid, especially according to the election law with both these two candidates and the TKP members’ self-sacrificing activities. I am sure the other 15 candidates of TKP at the other cities are working at the same conditions and with same effort.
My earthling friends, more or less know Kemal Okuyan due to my previous posts. I want to mention a little the other candidate Dr. D. Arik Binbay. She is both warm and rational, and also an energetic and enjoyful person, according to my impressions.
The people can see her one day while she is cycling,
Or on another day, when she is chatting with an elderly man in public bazaar,
Or when she is singing Bella Ciao in a concert,
Yapıcılar konserinde bir sürpriz…
İzmir'de güzel ve kızıl çiçekler açtırabilmek için buradayız, bir aradayız. İzmir'den, ülkemize ve dünyaya umudu yükselteceğiz ve bu düzeni önünde sonunda değiştireceğiz. Nâzım'ın da dediği gibi umut insanda!!
— Deniz Arık Binbay (@denizarikbinbay) May 26, 2018
Her performance is not so bad. 😉 But I have liked the most, her speaking in an interview:
Translation in English:
“As a psychiatrist, as a physician, as a mother, as a woman in this society I have always been someone who struggling and heal people. But I always saw that to heal people by one by was not enough. You can not heal people who are oppressed in order, by giving them a medicine. Profession of a doctor is the same way again; that is, we can not be enough individually, even if we do all the things we best while the problems of public health continue and people are pulling to the bottom. This is a ridiculous system. Someone has to fix this… We decided to start from somewhere to change this order.”
(She continues to speak with refering to the parties which are opposed to the ruling party after this point. In other words, it is an example speech for the billions of people in the world who feel obliged to vote for political parties that do opposition inside system, and voting for them is not an exit from system but a cycle. My opinion, this is the most important part of her words.)
“It is said that there is a being trapped, and let’s just get rid of them. Of course we understand that on the one hand. But we do not think it is possible to relax without changing this order. Some people come to us, some of our patients say that my sleep is out of order, I feel very tired myself, I feel very unhappy. We can not look at the real reasons for this. We can say that it is a temporary relief. “Here you take this pills,” we can say you can relax. But if this person is going to work the next day, if he(or she) is working 12-14 hours, when he goes home in the evening, if he does not have enough energy and time to spare his children, if he can not produce enough, if his produce is exploited, if he does not get the right he deserves, he will be tired. So people who work for this country, people who make money with labor, continue to be exploited, but this order would change just a little. Is that it? I do not think it is.”
The above interview is an interview was broadcasted on the “Our Studio” program on February 28, on “Direction Radio”. Of course, the Turkish speakers can listen. But today I have translated this interview into English, with my great language skill:), by serving to humanity without neglecting my duty to them, for you.
Radio interviewer, Ulas Can Guest participant, Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey
…
Interviewer: Now we will talk about Stalin on this part. Why we will talk about Stalin? Because a movie came to the theaters. Actually this issue started a little over it: “The death of Stalin.” We will talk about this with the author of the book “To understand Stalin” and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey, Kemal Okuyan. Mr. Okuyan, “hello”.
Kemal Okuyan: Hello, how are you?
Interviewer: We’re fine, thank you. Are you all right?
Kemal Okuyan: We’re trying to be good. Yes.
Interviewer: I did not watch “The death of Stalin” movie. I do not think to watch. But a bit of controversy has been going on in the past few weeks. One of our theater players went to this movie, who is also liked by the left circles. And he tweeted such as “You see, the dictators will end up like this,”. Anyway, I will not dwell on that subject. Still people continues strive against Stalin. It’s been 64 years since his death. But as we used yesterday in introduction, their enemies still do not to leave him in peace. I’d like to start first from here: Why there is so many enemy of Stalin?
Kemal Okuyan: When we look at the 20th century now, we see that mankind is in a great struggle. In other centuries, tough quarrels were made, but in the twentieth century, there were two great wars of humanity. Fascism were experienced. It experienced in many countries of Europe, not only in Germany. And 20th century was a cross-section of very sharp conflicts, wars, coups, civil wars. That has been a result of this cross section. When the twentieth century was over, a system which was a hope in the name of humanity was destroyed in those fights; the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. It was collapsed, but humanity was not pleased and not satisfied with the closing of the 20th century. There is a seeking. Naturally, in its seeking, it is trying to hold on to icon events, symbolic countries, symbolic leaders of the 20th century.
They have to destroy them. So, they are the forces which demand the continuation of today’s order, today’s status quo; which they are imperialism, monopolies in the world, are the circles of capital. They have to destroy some positive elements of human history, from the memory of mankind. In fact we see another example when we look at Turkey. For example, Turkey has a war of national independence. I do not want to go into some discussion here. But, why it is struggled against the Independence War of Turkey? Why they strive against its figures, like Mustafa Kemal? Because, today they want to destroy it; they want to erase that historical era from the memory of the society.
Now, when looking from here, Stalin has such an importance like that. For a very long time, Stalin led the Soviet Union. The founding leader of the Soviet Union is undoubtedly Lenin. But Lenin’s leadership in the Soviet Union actually lasted 5 years; after he was sick, then he died in 1924. From 1924 to 1953, Stalin was the leader of the party, has put his signature almost all the major turning points in the Soviet Union. Now, whatever they want to do in here, there is a fact; into his period the Soviet Union made great breakthroughs. Look, industrialization, that is, they passed from a ruined farming country to a developed industrial country. A significant part of the inequalities, I am not saying all, but they have removed a significant part of inequalities. There was no one, hungry, homeless, unemployed. There was a tremendous mobilization in terms of health and education. An educated society emerged. And while doing this, they were in war in almost 2/3 of these dates.
Interviewer: Yes
Kemal Okuyan: And they were exposed to the most brutal attack of the world. This society has come out of this attack on its feet. In 1945, Stalin was idolized not only in the Soviet Union but also in Europe and even in the United States. Also for non-communists he was a hero. And that was not because only he did overcome Hitler, also due to he ensured to stand on a country’s own feet. Now they have to destroy it. So, they are spinning around… Look, are we constantly bringing Stalin or other values to our schedule or in our explanations? Are we crazy? We will always look back? But they can not give up. Because they have to go back and carry on this fight all the time. Why? They have to remove the memory of mankind. It’s the issue.
Interviewer: Of course, the memory is not removed in a day. Maybe that should be said those. Because of you talked about the Second World War, this came to my mind. Over 20 million Soviet citizens in World War II…
Kemal Okuyan: 27 million
Interviewer: Yes, 27 million Soviet citizens are losing their lives. Of course, it is not right to compare losses, but how many US or British citizens have lost their lives in the war? If we look at these numbers, we see how much big sacrifice the Soviet Union made, and they prevented the transformation of the world. We can see that they prevented Hitler’s capture of the world. Is it correct?
Kemal Okuyan: Yes
Interviewer: But I do not remember a movie about it. I mean, at least I do not remember a movie that everyone can remember. But there are a lot of movies about how the Americans or the English defeated Hitler in World War II. Young people think that the second world war is this way. So America and England came, they fought together, they beated Nazi Germany. They think the Soviets possibly was ally with them.
Kemal Okuyan: Some also think that the United States fought against Germany and the Soviets. So, there is a foolish society. Look, it is being continuously said the lie. The best proof of this is, in fact, a saying from Churchill, who was one of the world’s well known anti-communists. Churchil says that:
“Facts in the war are very valuable. But near to those facts, you need to add an army of bodyguards that consists of lies.”
Thereby you are right. The role of the Soviet Union in the Second World War is being tried to hide by the west. They have to. Why? Because humanity is unhappy. Now in Russia, the Soviet Union has been demolished for many years, it was demolished in 1991. When you go to Russia, you see there, and at there they could not stare down. It is said many lies about Stalin, it is said Stalin was murderer-dictator, but today half of Russian society sees Stalin as the most important idol of Russian history. Those who want to explain this with nationalism, have a problem like that: Stalin is not Russian. Georgian. Therefore, there is a leader that people have trust. To be liked or not. Now they are trying to destroy it. Because this leader was representing another social order.
If there was any leader, it would have been suited their book. They would have said, “such a great person has lived in history, was an important leader, need to respect.” But it is not like that. He symbolized the opposite of the capitalism and anti-thesis of today’s established order and he has always fought for it. Like I said, his mistakes, deficiencis are the other issues. In fact, they are not fighting against the Stalin’s mistakes, but they are fighting against the historical mission that Stalin carries. So nobody deceives himself. I’ve watched some parts of the movie, as much as I could find on the internet. It’s a very poor movie. Because I have seen that they gathered many things after Stalin’s death, with some truths and some gossip, they tried to create a parody from them in movie. Sloshy. It is bad in artistic meaning. Humor is bad in it. There is no need that people who were respected in here to say that the dictators would end up like this. The end of the dictators is being like Musollini. Anyone remember Musollini? Half of mankind today is not convinced of the lies about Stalin. This is a very important thing. There is so much propaganda, and this propaganda adverses effect.
Interviewer: In fact, I do not want to go into very detailed internal discussions, but Stalin’s debate begins immediately after his death; is it correct? If it needs to say a few words about it. At the 20th party congress, Khrushchev coming. And the first thing he did was to criticize the list. So although the downfall of the Soviets is actually thought to be with Gorbachev, there was a beginning at there, right?
Kemal Okuyan: Of course, it is very difficult to explain this in a limited time, but in the year of 1956, three years after Stalin’s death, Khrushchev took the leadship of the party in the Soviet Union, to get along well with the west… There’s something very interesting here.
Interviewer: I tried to ask you, to uncover it.
Kemal Okuyan: Yes. Sometimes, some burdens can not be carried. What makes Stalin important is that he is a leader in a country where comes up from behind and known the superiority of western imperialism, but nevertheless tries to be independent and goes to on own way. When we look at Khrushchev, his battery ran down. It is not only Khrushchev’s, but the accompanying team of him that it was hardly possible to struggle against western imperialism of them as an eye for an eye. So, the first thing they done is that this is exactly the crafty, something that will not work, to sell themselves to the west. They were supposed that western imperialists will not come over the Soviet Union. So the first thing he done, Khrushchev said in sort of, “I’m not like Stalin; I discredit the leader you’re most afraid of,”.
And he does this so badly that there is no criticism there. There are a lot of gossip. Later, it turned out that 90% of these rumors were lies. But Khrushchev gave this in the gold platter: “We sold a very important leader.” That’s the way it is. After that, it is very difficult for the Soviet Union to survive. I do not say destruction was its fate. But this mistake, try to look cute to western imperialists, to think that they will be in peace with them side by side, to think they can go for many years with them, and to think westerners’ plans will give up to destroy the Soviet Union, is foolish. They made the biggest mistake that could be. Even if Putin, for example, is a capitalist and an anti-communist politician, but he is very careful about Stalin. He’s trying to not criticize Stalin openly. Why? Because when he makes that, it will lead to another. In this time, they will say that Putin is the dictator, you are dictator too. Today there is competition between the United States and Russia for other reasons.
Interviewer: You are possibly visiting Russia. Stalin is still in Russia, so as you have mentioned, a beloved character, leader.
Kemal Okuyan: Beyond love. Something like that. There is both love and tremendous longing and seeking trust. Now on the wall of the Kremlin are the graves near by Lenin’s mausoleum. When you go there, if go to 1:00 am or go at 6:00 in the morning, it does not matter. One of these graves does not appear due to the flowers. This is Stalin’s grave. The Soviet Union has already collapsed. This is not something that will make with order or government decision. And I will tell you about a second grave. In the same way, the top of grave is full of red carnations. It is the tomb of Nazim Hikmet. It’s in somewhere else. However, flowers are always on the grave of Nazim Hikmet. There’s a real love here. They are the people who are dead anymore. It can not be explained with fear, fanaticism. So these lies are upside down. Someone who’s been said many lies about himself, are more protected by people. I will also tell this to you from our aspect. This is not the problem of todays. But we have such a problem. If we allow some events in history to be distorted, it is not just the Stalin issue. Today, for example, fifty thousand lies have been said about Syria. They are said in the United States, Turkey, in England end etc. If we overlook them, we allow the distortion of facts, with this or that reason, if we surrender to this campaigns, neither in Turkey nor in the world we can stand up. We have to beat the lie. Stalin has positives and negatives, but 90% of the writings about him are lies. Openly lies. Moreover, they are proven lies. They are trying to create a world through it. Humanity will not allow this.
Interviewer: We thank you very much for your participation in our broadcast…
Kemal Okuyan:Thank you too. Also, greetings to the listeners of Direction Radio, from here.
…
After listening this interview with WD, I have asked to WD.
-What do you think about this?
WD: Members of the Soviet Communist Party in the 1950s were gossipmongers.
-You understood only this?
WD: Yes. If they had been in this era, they would have made the best gossip tv-shows on tv!
-You too would have participated in that programs.
WD: Why?
-You’ve gossiped a lot of time about me till today. You are kind of expert about gossip. You just did not speak, also you wrote them in here on our blog.
WD: That is a different issue. You are an ailen, and my writings are real, not gossip. Don’t overcome me Migo! Shall we go out?
-All right.
WD: Can you buy me ice cream, Migo?
-No. Because it’s harmful to a dog’s health.
WD: It is a gossip, Migo. Well… just one lick from your ice cream?
“What hinders Turkey from challenging NATO is the big monopolies, which are ruling and looting Turkey today. In the final analysis, the bourgeois politics, including Islamists, nationalists, social democrats and liberals, can do nothing in defiance of the big monopolies”
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), soL columnist, Kemal Okuyan wrote an article on November 22 regarding the recent Turkey-NATO/U.S. row sparked with the appearance of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s name in a list of enemies on a poster at a NATO drill.
“Your anti-NATO stance has not lasted even two days,” yelled [Turkish journalist] Nihat Genç in his column on Odatv. He meant the nationalists who began to say “We are being entrapped, we are deviating from the West to Eurasia,” just after they bullied the U.S. and NATO.
Several times we have responded to the question, “What is nationalism?”, but let us put it here again so that what we are going to say can be more apparent:
Nationalism means not seeing your nation’s faults. In other words, showing tolerance towards the thieves, exploiters and tyrants of your own nation…
It differs from patriotism. Patriotism is the will of freeing your country from the thieves, unjust people, exploiters and tyrants.
For this very reason, our nationalists get difficulty in challenging the U.S. and NATO or fall into hesitation whilst scolding the “Western imperialism”.
What is NATO?
Everyone says that NATO is an international organization in the service of the U.S. imperialism’s interests, which is a true description still with a huge deficiency. NATO was established in order to protect the whole capitalist system, the terrible social system dominating almost all the world including Turkey.
That is to say, NATO is an organization of capitalists. It is a giant terror organization which attacks the working class and progressive movements for the interests of capitalists.
This is the essence of the matter even though the U.S. is attempting to use it so as to protect its interests within the imperialist system.
From Islamists to nationalists, from liberals to conservatives, all the right-wing in Turkey has been pro-NATO from past to present. This is not only because of Americanism; to put it more precisely, the interests of the exploitative system underlie Americanism and pro-NATO stance in Turkey.
Today, the question is: can Turkey’s existing system deviate from NATO to position itself into the axis of Eurasia?
This is possible in some aspects. Because the Eurasian axis is part of the current imperialist system, and is nothing but a loose alliance composed of some countries where the capitalist exploitation is maintained with the same fierceness and unruliness. For instance, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics does not exist anymore in there; quite the contrary, the capitalist Russia exists!
In the case of Turkey, the number of capitalists may be increasing, who think that shifting to the Eurasian axis would provide some opportunities for energy sources, investment areas and new markets; moreover, that it could be easier to cut the workers’ rights as they get rid of the West’s hypocrite blackmailing about “human rights” and “democracy”.
Nevertheless…
Such are fluttering ideas, which are not adequate enough for Erdoğan to carry Turkey in confrontation with the U.S. and Germany from bargaining level to the scale of an axis shift so as to save himself.
In today’s Turkey, there is no required infrastructure and preparation for the existing system to break with NATO, the U.S.-Germany-led system of alliance albeit the deep crisis of the alliance in question.
The nationalists stand bound hand and foot. Some of them are just mouthing off in a rush to strengthen Erdoğan’s hand, and charmed by the irresistible weight of turning themselves from the finest example of Americanism into “Down with the U.S.” in one night. They somehow are accustomed to dancing to another tune. If tomorrow Erdoğan leaves the bargaining table with Turkey’s “great harmonization with NATO and the U.S.”, they may do the gulu gulu dance*.
Let us repeat that what hinders Turkey from challenging NATO is the big monopolies, which are ruling and looting Turkey today. In the final analysis, the bourgeois politics, including Islamists, nationalists, social democrats and liberals, can do nothing in defiance of the big monopolies. Proving that he could do everything to save himself, Nor could Erdoğan do anything. If he does, he will have to bear the consequences.
Without getting rid of the exploitative class, Turkey’s fight with NATO seems like coming out on the pitch with a team all the players of which get involved in match-fixing with the opposing team.
Despite all, what is to be done if the tension with the U.S. and NATO escalates because of Erdoğan or any other reason?
What should be done is simple; the authentic confrontation lies between Turkey’s working class and NATO, between the working class and imperialism. It is necessary to get the issue free from a confrontation between Erdoğan and NATO. It is necessary to reveal today’s dirty bargaining, to show by whom and by which class Americanism became a state politics, and to struggle in order to immediately get rid of whatsoever paving the way for coups or intervention in internal affairs.
If you are in power, you cannot struggle against NATO without withdrawing from it. One cannot challenge NATO as long as the NATO troops exist in this country. It would be futile to say “Turkey is a prestigious member of NATO” while instructing some incompetent spin-doctors to pen articles, “We will wage a war with the U.S.”.
Shut down the bases, withdraw from NATO, inform the people about the entire secret agreements signed with the NATO terror organization and the ongoing covert operations.
Then, we will provide support to the full extent.
In any case, it would be good to see this organization, which has always plotted against humanity, crack or suffer.
It is good because the capitalist system would be weaker, more defenceless and fragile against the working class without the NATO umbrella. It would be difficult to remain injustices, tyranny and inequalities. It would be impossible to discipline awakening people with the “NATO stick”.
This is the matter with the right-wing. This is the matter with the capitalists.
Na to kefali, na to marmaro, “here is the head, here is the marble”, is a Greek phrase, the Turkish interpretation of which fits very well:
NATO kafa, NATO mermer!**
*Okuyan refers to Turkey’s former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, one of the leaders of political Islam and President Erdoğan’s predecessor Welfare Party. Erbakan is known with his renowned description of political protestors at the time: “like children doing the gulu gulu dance”.
**The Greek phrase’s Turkish version, which is literally connoted as “NATO head, NATO marble”, is used to describe the “thickhead” people. As a sort of mumpsimus, many people in Turkey erroneously relate the phrase with the abbreviation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Playing with the words here, Okuyan refers to the negative impact of the word “NATO” in Turkey.
November 10, is the day of 79th death anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who is founder of Republic Turkey.
Today, Communist Party of Turkey issued a statement for the 79th death anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
“With respect…
If Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became a historical leader, there are historical reasons for that.
Mustafa Kemal is a historical leader for ruining imperialist plans of sharing the Anatolia after the First World War.
Mustafa Kemal is a historical leader for foreseeing the end of the Ottoman Empire.
Mustafa Kemal is a historical leader for taking the risk of abolishing the Sultanate and Caliphate.
Mustafa Kemal is a historical leader for using his personal authority fully to establish a secular Republic.
Mustafa Kemal is a historical leader for establishing a friendly relationship based on mutual interests with the Soviet Union.
Mustafa Kemal is a historical leader for taking progressive steps and speeding up the flow of history.
On the 79th anniversary of his death, those who are holding ceremonies with fake cries and heroic speeches without mentioning these reasons making him a historical leader and without confessing that all these progressive achievements are gone are hypocritical liars. We will denounce them.
On the other hand, those who don’t want to see the fact that independence, secularism, sovereignty and republicanism can’t coexist with an exploitation order will keep getting disappointed. Our call to them is as follows: ‘If you really want a secular, independent and sovereign Republic, you must fight to overthrow this social system dominated by big monopolies.’
Turkey is not in the 1920s. The social structure of the country and the circumstances have deeply changed. The bosses were just growing at the time. Now we live under the domination of an exploiting class that steals, ravages, plunders everything inside the country and endangers not only our people but whole world for their regional ambitions.
Now, this exploiting class will either be overthrown or the darkness will deepen. The material conditions of socialism were very weak in 1923 in comparison to now. Therefore, Mustafa Kemal and his friends made a different choice. As for now, we don’t have any other choice than socialism for the future of our country. Turkey will certainly meet with that choice.
With this consciousness and determination, on November 10, 2017, with respect to Mustafa Kemal…”
Communist Party of Turkey gathered thousands of people: “Socialism will suit very well to the Republic”
The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) held a big event in Izmir on Oct. 28, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution and the 94th anniversary of Turkey’s foundation
The event of TKP, which is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution led by the Bolsheviks in 1917 and the 94th anniversary of Republic of Turkey’s foundation in 1923, attracted striking attention despite rainfall with the attendance of thousands of TKP members and friends.
The event, “Socialism will suit very well to the Republic”, started with a performance on the October Revolution in 1917 and its achievements for humanity.
Member of Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Arvanitakis and the Secretary-General of the Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) Astor Garcia also attended the event.
KEMAL OKUYAN: COMMUNISTS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN REPUBLICAN
Kemal Okuyan, the General Secretary of the TKP, delivered a speech during the event. Arguing that the question, “When did the communists become republicans?” is a superficial one, Okuyan dwelled on the historical bridge between the modern revolutions and the stance of communists:
…
When did the communists become republicans? Look how superficial is this question…
Modern history starts with a great revolution; The French Revolution, in 1789. It has almost been 230 years. This revolution opened way to the foundation of the first Republic in France, in 1792. Afterwards, in 1804 the French Empire was proclaimed In 1848 the revolutions shook Paris again and the republic was re-built. In 1851 it was demolished for one more time. In 1870-1871 the working class in France stepped in. The Paris Commune, the rule of the working people, re-established the republic. The origins of the song that we shall sing together at the end of this night, ‘The International’, come from this Commune. And who demolished the Republic that was founded by the proletariat of Paris? Hitler, the blood-handed dictator of the German monopolies. This same person in 1933 was the one that demolished the first German Republic that was founded in 1919 again by a revolution. In Spain the working class, the communists defended the republic that was founded in 1931 and finally turned over Franco, the favourite man of the bosses and landlords.
In 1917 at the moment that the first socialist revolution was achieved, the working class named its power as socialist republic.
Through out whole of this story, we stand by the republic. In the other side stand the obscurants, the blooded dictators of the monopolies, the bigots, the priests, the kings, sultans and exploiters.
In Turkey we also have roots in 1923. The Communists have always been republicans. Yes, the republic that was founded in 1923 with a revolutionary breakthrough firstly inwardly got rotten then ruined, by the same forces, so the reactionaries. The question itself is wrong. The question of when did the communists become republicans. We were always here.
But why? What is the meaning of the Republic for the communists, so that they historically, in the past and today, stand by the republic? Republic means popular will, that represents not the God nor the dynasty but the People. Kings, sultans, shahs, sheikhs, tsars they all rule on behalf of dynasties or God. Instead the popular will has two aspects. The people are equal and not governed by religion. If the holy one gets in the way, there is no longer a republic. Look, we are talking here. We are challenging the exploiters, the imperialists. But, as they squeeze they are hiding behind their sacredness. Why so? Because as the name implies, the sacred is inviolable. We cannot interfere with the religious beliefs of the people but just because of this deceit we have to pull the pin of the ones that are hiding behind religion.
That is right, you should not let God be involved in your governmental affairs. This principle summarizes secularism. Also, you should not let other countries interfere your own internal affairs. And this is sovereignty. And the popular will has to be reflected. Today there is no secularism. There is a country that is being governed with Holy texts. Set aside the blusters of our sultan, are the European Union adjustment laws still valid? They are. As ‘strategic partners’ didn’t they make attacks with the USA? They did. Is the membership to NATO still valid? It is. Well, is the common will equally reflected? The ruling classes possess the media, money and they use religion as well. Excuse me, but we do not, we cannot call this a republic. Look, on 2019 the presidential elections will take place. We need 100.000 registered signatures. This costs 10-15 million Turkish Lira. For the Palace, this is nothing. But, does anybody here own 10-15 million Turkish Lira? The votes are equal but people are not!
Remember the old question. Is the vote of the shepherd equal to the vote of an engineer? Should be equal. As long as we are talking about humans not sheep! The existing system turns humans to sheep, with money, cheat and superstitions. And then the popular will is stupefied! There is no popular will in a system that spirits away the human.
What were we saying? This country is not a republic anymore. So, we have to build a new one, not to be demolished again. How? I hold in my hand the Constitution written down by Communist Party of Turkey. We call it ‘Socialist Constitution’. The one that we shall suggest and apply in the working people’s power in Turkey. Here are the introductory decrees which no one can propose or dare to change:
“Article 1- The Turkish Republic, without any discrimination as to language, religion, race and sex, is a sovereign socialist state that represents the common will and defends the interests of the working people, peasants and all labourers.” This means equal citizenship. There is no room for exploiters. Does anyone have an objection? No, good.
“Article 2- No regulation, profession, operation or action can allow man to exploit man; planning and taking measures to ensure this, is among the primary tasks of the state.” Socialism is an emancipatory system but there are some red lines. Exploitation is forbidden. Increasing one’s wealth by stealing the labour of another, is forbidden. Do you have any objection to this? No.
“Article 3- The political life and the governmental affairs, altogether or in parts, cannot be based on religion or religious laws. The belief in religion is an individual choice; every citizen is free to believe in any or no religion, and is free to make or not make it public. This is the real definition of secularism. We are in Izmir, so I don’t even have to ask but, is there an objection? No.
“Article 4- In the Republic of Turkey where many different nations and people live together, all citizens benefit from the same rights, without any discrimination of ethnical or national roots. No nation has more role or responsibility than other nations or peoples in organizing the sovereign socialist state, in building and preserving an equal socialist system.” There is no nationalism here, no ethnical politics or separatism; there is fraternity, solidarity, equality. Is there any objection to this? No.
Article 5- The inviolability of the first four decrees of the Constitution are under guarantee of the organized society. Here we are not referring to the army, but the society. We are referring to the workers, youth, students, peasants, intellectuals, i.e. the main articles in the Constitution are under the guarantee of all the people. The army shall be the army of the people, not of the palace or NATO.
Well, let us continue…What purposes shall these basic decrees serve? Factories, farms, forests, natural treasures (both underground and not), shall be under the possession of the working class. This event started with these words; from just the beginning of the October Revolution in 1917. ‘Workers, be watchful and guard like the apple of your eye your land, grain, factories, equipment, products, transport- all that from now onwards will be entirely your property, public property’.
How nice. Workers, guard your factories, land and grain. Because these belong to the workers. After reserving the share for the needs of the society the whole value of the production shall be paid to the workers. What is this share? Education, health, dams, investments for new technologies, parks, cultural palaces… Not a penny to Koç, Sabancı, Ağaoğlu and the rest exploiters. Not a penny to the Palace. This is what we shall do: Stop the leakage. And we will have the sources for building a developed classless society.
Then the working hours shall decrease. Humanity has given struggle for this and gained the right of 8-hour workday. But now, we are going back to the old ages. Technology develops and we are work more. It was said that people will be replaced by robots! Instead, people are turning into robots. In socialism the working hours shall gradually decrease. Listen what is written in the Socialist Constitution: “The reduction of work hours, is the precondition for the development of the human kind in all dimensions and is one of the primary targets of the society. The working hours cannot be more than 35 per week.” One prohibition more. The prohibitions is socialism are a bit different, these are positive prohibitions.
There are some more… “Article 28- Ensuring working opportunity and working security toevery citizen of any age capable of working is among the main duties of the state. The state cannot abolish these two basic rights at any condition and cannot ignore the conditions that give cause for this.” That means, unemployment is forbidden!
Since we are talking about bans. Here you are, one more: “All citizens of the Republic of Turkey are free to speak, make propaganda and get organized. Racist or fascist ideas, ideas that support openly or indirectly the exploitation of man by man, warmongering, abuse of religion cannot use the right to make propaganda and get organized as they block the free development of the society.” Warmongering is forbidden, racism, abuse of religion is forbidden. As far as religion is concerned, they say that we shall interfere in the beliefs of the people. That is a lie. This is what we say in the Socialist Constitution: “Each citizen of the Republic of Turkey has the freedom of belief and pray. Not any institution or person can put pressure on any other person.” This is a basic human right. Socialism values the basic human rights and freedoms. And we continue:
“The attempt of the politicization of religion and the regulation of the social life with religious laws are averted. No reference can be made in any official document about the religious beliefs of the citizens.” This is also essential for secularism. Comrades, friends, I continue: “People have the right to live in environments in which they can re-create themselves. According to this right, all citizens of the Republic of Turkey are provided with the right of a residence suitable for their needs. Every kind of precaution is taken so that the residences are properly constructed or improved against earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters. Heating, electric energy and water are supplied for free. Reducing the transportation on highways and extending more safe, comfortable and effective ways of transportation in urban and intercity transport.”
Let me stop now. I ask you: Don’t you want to live in a country like this? Think about it… In a country that nobody can say that men and women are not equal, women will not be killed, the statues will not be spitted on, the scientists will not be abandoned to the holding companies, the theatre and opera houses will not be turned to shopping malls, the people with different sexual orientations will not be marginalized, will not be treated as sick people… During the day not being exploited, at night not sleeping hungry as Nazim Hikmet said.
Do we want this? Is this possible? On 1917 the people that believed in this, took action. In the Soviet Union all the above started being real. They passed the sea but they got drown in the river. They made some mistakes, they underestimated the enemy, i.e. the imperialism, the capitalism. The Soviet Union was demolished…
So, what shall we do? We shall build another, stronger republic. Socialism will suit very well to the “republic”.
…
Stating that the decrees and articles of the Socialist Constitution shall be under the guarantee of the organized society, the communist party general secretary Okuyan continued: “Here we are not referring to the army, but the society. We are referring to the workers, youth, students, peasants, intellectuals, i.e. the main articles in the Constitution are under the guarantee of all the people. The army shall be the army of the people, not of the palace or NATO.”
“During the day not being exploited, at night not sleeping hungry,” Okuyan summarized socialist living conditions with reference to a famous poem of renown Turkish communist poet Nâzım Hikmet.
“SOCIALISM WILL SUIT VERY WELL TO THE REPUBLIC!”
“Do we want this? Is this possible? In 1917, the people who believed in this took action. In the Soviet Union, all the above came true. They passed the sea but they got drown in the river. They made some mistakes, they underestimated the enemy, i.e. imperialism, capitalism. The Soviet Union was demolished,” Okuyan said, pointing out to the historical achievements and today’s need for a socialist revolution in Turkey and other countries.
“So, what shall we do? We shall build another, stronger republic. Socialism will suit very well to the Republic!” Kemal Okuyan concluded his speech.
Following Okuyan’s speech, the event continued with artistic performances of TKP member or friend musicians, theatre players, dancers and poets.
The epic of Turkey’s War of Independence with Ruhi Su’s interpretationWith the images of the War of Independence, Efeler is on stage with Western Anatolian zeybek folk dance performance.A scene from the performance of “Nazim stage” theatre playersThe poet Nihat Behram, while reading one of his poem.
The declaration of the European Communist Initiative was announced while the KKE and PCPE representatives greeted the event and participators.
Dimitris Arvanitakis, Member of the Communist Party of Greece, KKE, and Astor Garcia, Secretary General of the Communist Party of the Spanish People,PCPE, spoke to those attending the event.
The event, “Socialism will suit very well to the Republic”, ended with the live performance of the International anthem chanted by thousands of people.
In October 28, the city, beloved Izmir, Turkey have been home to TKP and about 3500 communists in Open Air Theatre at International Izmir Fair area. Why 3500 people? This is my guess; because that theatre area is about 3000 people, but there were many people who didn’t sit on benches (due to there was no place on the benches) and have sit on the corridors or stood up at that night. The autumn rains that started after the beginning of the meeting also rain seemed to have not affected anyone, and everyone was eager to continue to be there as long as how long the meeting lasts.
I saw many communists in the same feeling and thought at that night. And I thought, can the same be spread all over the world? So there were representatives of Greek and Spanish communists at the meeting. Can this spread more widely? World international communist youth organizations are doing this, well, is the same idea of being on the right path among the adult communists?
What extent can a Russian communist accept the wrong, and non-scientific writings about Lenin or Stalin? Or, what extent a Turkish communist can accept the wrong and non-scientific approaches to Ataturk and Anatolia historical events?: Up to a point.
Firstly, my idea is that people can build a really beautiful planet by taking lessons from mistakes in the Soviet Union in especially after Lenin era, and also by evaluating it on a very good model like Cuba. For all this, all differences must be left aside, no matter what nationality or race they have, the people should approach the subject scientifically. And the eastern and western communists should put together their historical processes, especially without under the influence of western imperialism, and go on to model their examples. Nobody can know Anatolian’s history of communism, socialism better than a communist in Anatolia. Every determination has been made, or every article is written or will be written about communists of Russian, Turkey or Greek(I am giving these 3 countries as example but the examples can be expanded with many countries), would be missing or half, without taking advantage of the historical accumulation of Anatolian or Russian, or Greek communists from themselves. (Of course, the western people speak very well Turkish, Russian or Greek, and if they read the historical process of these countries from their sources at first hand, and they have the possibility to scan all these countries sources, this case is not valid.)Especially eastern countries are closed societies. Their historical facts are perceived very differently in the rest of the world because of the influence of the anti-propaganda made by the west, and also because they can not create much of the opportunity to explain themselves better to the world. But the world is living different era anymore. All these countries communist parties web pages on the net. And my advise is, if the western people want to approach in scientificly, they can look at these pages easily. Other wise it would be as same as being into loop.
As long as without taking advantage of the historical accumulation of eastern communists, each dissolution and deep disagreement arise. And every perpetuation is an element that will facilitate the work of the imperialists.
The road to take is long and difficult; and this is not a way to be taken with constantly talking, or discussing with each other’s and without knowing the truths of historical facts from first hand. Otherwise, this road can never go with together.
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The quotes were taken from this page of SoL.international
Also, the speech(italic parts) of Kemal Okuyan was taken from this page of TKP web page.
Pictures were taken from SoL haber web page in Turkish.
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