Call to citizens from the TKP: 'If they cannot govern, we are the people, we will govern!'

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) has issued a 'call to duty' to citizens to create a livable country, stating that while the people are struggling with earthquakes, disasters, hunger, poverty, and unemployment under the AKP government, the capitalist class's greed for profit, lack of planning, and plunder are driving the country toward an abyss.

The full text of the TKP statement is as follows:

'IF THEY CANNOT GOVERN, WE ARE THE PEOPLE, WE WILL GOVERN!'

Two years ago, immediately after the February 6 earthquake where tens of thousands of our citizens lost their lives, we said, 'Let us do what we can, let us get rid of this order as soon as possible.' Buildings did not have to collapse in the earthquake; search, rescue, and relief efforts could have been carried out much better afterward, and the loss of life could have been minimized. 

Unfortunately, we were prisoners of money and stupidity; cities were razed to the ground, and humanity was left trapped under the rubble.

Our country and our people did not deserve this.

Then we experienced floods, the product of lack of planning and plunder. We could not protect our forests from fire and the greed of construction companies.

Private hospitals killed our babies. 'Free and independent enterprise' put poison and fraudulent products on our tables instead of food.  

Hunger, poverty, and unemployment were the primary concerns of the vast majority of our citizens. Workers, civil servants, and retirees were unable to breathe.

Then we experienced the fire. Due to a chain of negligence caused by greed for profit and pro-boss officials, flames engulfed the hotel, and intervention in the fire was delayed due to a lack of reason and planning. Our people were forced to choose between 'dying by burning or falling from meters high'.

They are looking for culprits now, asking and debating, 'Who has the authority, who gave the permit to this hotel?'

And we say once again, 'We must get rid of this order as soon as possible.' 

This is a call to duty.

The TKP's Goal: 'To Create a Livable Country'

If our party is organizing protests saying 'we have an objection,' showing up at the door of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism after the Kartalkaya fire, holding meetings all over Turkey, and making moves to organize, it has only one goal: TO CREATE A LIVABLE COUNTRY.

When the TKP was founded on September 10, 1920, for an INDEPENDENT COUNTRY...

struggle was our priority. Even before this date, communists took on difficult tasks in the struggle against occupation in many cities, especially in Istanbul. They raided British police stations, procured weapons and ammunition for the National Struggle, and organized strikes.

The first leaders of our party, Mustafa Suphi and our 15 comrades, were treacherously murdered on January 28, 1921, while they were in the midst of this struggle.

If we do not blush 104 years later, and if we say 'it is a good thing we are TKP members' despite our mistakes and shortcomings, we owe this to the many communists who dedicated their lives to the people.

'Turkey cannot be governed. It is drifting'

Citizens,

This is not Turkey, and it should not be. We have an 'objection' to the current picture. Screaming is helplessness; we are not helpless, we are not screaming, we are calling out.

Turkey cannot be governed. Its judiciary, finance, agriculture, foreign policy, education, and health are not being governed. It is drifting. 

Unlike some opposition groups, the TKP does not see only the government, the AKP, as the source of the problem. The AKP and Erdoğan are responsible, but there are reasons why this party has been able to remain in power for more than 20 years despite so much discontent and reaction. Throughout the AKP's rule, large holding companies have made enormous profits, and Turkey has been left alone with unlimited and unbridled exploitation and plunder. The government is guilty because it managed this process and directed a heavy attack on secularism and Republican values in order to manage this process. But the question is this: Can Turkey reach a state of stability without settling accounts with the order of holding companies and religious sects? All parties that answer 'yes' to this question are lying.

This country must be governed, not left to drift.

'The TKP calls on our people to trust in themselves and their country.'

Turkey must be governed by a statist economy. This is because the market economy serves private interests, causing a small minority to accumulate massive wealth while the vast majority of the population is exploited and impoverished. 

Turkey must be governed by a planned economy. Because a plan means the equal and productive use of resources in light of the needs of science and society. 

Secularism must be established in politics and the public sphere in Turkey. Freedom of belief and worship is a fundamental human right and is inviolable. Secularism, on the other hand, is the removal of religious beliefs from the sphere of state and politics. There is no other definition of secularism. This country possesses an enlightenment heritage strong enough not to allow the absurdity of learning what secularism is from cultists.

Turkey must be independent. Foreign bases must be closed, and it must withdraw from NATO. Turkey must protect its territory, not allow its existing borders to be debated, and must rid itself of leaders who act with the irresponsibility of casting eyes on other countries' lands and delivering expansionist speeches.

Turkey must be democratic. The people must participate in governance and decision-making processes, politics must cease to be a profession and a privilege, and the Parliament must be a people's rostrum where our citizens who produce, create, and work are represented, with no power remaining above it.

These are the fundamental characteristics of the Socialist Turkey that communists aim for. We will reach such a country through the efforts of the working class, the laboring people, the poor peasantry, and patriotic, collectivist intellectuals.

Not in an unknown future. As soon as possible.

The TKP calls on our people to trust themselves and their country.

This is not Turkey. It should not be.

'It is an expression of our trust in the country, our people, and the future. We will not let that flag fall.'

A handful of exploiters, money moguls, cult sheikhs, and political brokers cannot represent Turkey. The conscientious, honest, working majority of this country must stand up and say, 'I want my country.'

Citizens,

They say, 'The TKP is exploiting earthquakes, fires, and floods!' No, the TKP wants our people not to die.

They say, 'The TKP is using hunger and poverty for its own interests!' No, the TKP wants hunger and poverty to be eradicated.

Communists were also present at the founding of this country. We do not find the picture that emerged after the great struggle for independence and for the Republic worthy of ourselves or our country.

Some are surprised, and some are reportedly angry that the Turkish flag is carried at TKP demonstrations. We are noting it here once again because it has become a topic of discussion: That flag is an expression of respect for the struggle of a century ago, of our patriotism, and of our trust in this country, our people, and the future. We will not let that flag fall.

'We placed a carnation in our hearts for every citizen who died'

We also read comments saying, 'The TKP reacted correctly, even though the hotel guests were predominantly wealthy individuals.' We were saddened. Are we thought to be unaffected by the tragedy experienced by our citizens who went on vacation with their families just because we are fighting to eliminate inequality and injustice and are angry at the capitalist class? The struggle does not make us emotionless; on the contrary, we are more affected by what we experience.

Workers employed at the hotel died in the fire, as did customers who had taken on debt to bring their children on vacation. We did not distribute our grief unequally just because we are a working-class party. We placed a carnation in our hearts for every citizen who died.

We will work harder so that our people do not die like this. 

'We will lift this country up'

Now, we call on the laborers with greater strength to join the TKP and meet with their class brothers and sisters in our party. You produce, you work day and night, and in return, you remain poor. No; we will produce and we will govern.

We call upon our country's scientists, artists, and patriotic intellectuals to prepare for a livable Turkey, and to utilize our creativity for a country where equality, brotherhood, freedom, and abundance prevail, instead of a country that is drifting and ungoverned. We will lift this country up with a collective mind, not an individual one. This is our claim and our will.

IF THEY CANNOT GOVERN, WE ARE THE PEOPLE, WE WILL GOVERN!"