Event by the TKP for the 100th anniversary of the Republic

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) organized a large public meeting in İzmir this evening to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic. The centenary was celebrated with a massive open-air event.

Including journalist Merdan Yanardağ, delegates attending the 23rd International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, which is being hosted by the TKP in Turkey this year, also took their places at the event.

The event began with a performance featuring theater, music, poetry, and dance that depicted the outbreak of the First World War, the October Revolution in Russia, the rise of the working class worldwide, the War of Independence that began in 1919, and the founding of the Communist Party of Turkey as told by Mustafa Suphi. 

''WE HAVE NOT HAD A SINGLE YEAR WITHOUT TURMOIL''

Following this, TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan took the floor. Okuyan asked the participants, "I have two questions for you: Are you happy with the state of our country at the point we have reached after a century? And are we determined to lead Turkey toward enlightenment? The answers we give to these questions are a mirror for us all. It is a will for reconstruction and liberation." 

Pointing to the presentation on stage that recounted the history of Turkey and the world from the First World War to the aftermath of the September 12 coup, Okuyan said, "We did not feel the need to remind you of the ongoing darkness, we brought it up to the AKP. The AKP itself is the result of a process. They carried out CIA and NATO-backed coups, killed young people, placed obstacles in front of the working class's organization, and tried every kind of lie and slander. In one respect, they succeeded; they temporarily pushed back the left. But they are absolute failures in their own right. They could not bring stability to the country. We haven't had a single year without turmoil" he said.

''WHAT HAPPENED THAT WE ENDED UP LIKE THIS''

Okuyan continued his words as follows:

"When the republic was founded in 1923, the excitement and hope of the people were completely different. So what happened that we ended up like this? What happened that our country has always gone downhill for our people? According to some, Turkey is soaring; they talk about the 'Century of Turkey.' If Turkey is sects, rent-seekers, drug barons, and holding bosses, then yes, Turkey is soaring for them. The AKP's greatest success is marketing this destruction and decay as a success." 

Stating, "We used to say you cannot be a leftist in Turkey without defending secularism, without standing against privatizations, and without opposing the AKP; there were those who asked us, 'Is it up to you to defend secularism?'" Okuyan reminded those who claimed fascism would be shaken thanks to the AKP, those who saw the EU as progress, those who claimed we would be liberated through privatizations, and those who expected the AKP to solve the Kurdish issue.

In his speech, TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan addressed those who accused the TKP of not understanding the era by viewing Syriza as leftist when they won elections in Greece and not supporting them, or by seeing Biden as a democrat when he was elected in the US despite the TKP warning that war was coming, stating "There were those who pontificated that the TKP does not understand the era. These people are brazen and shameless. They helped the AKP for years and then insisted on calling it the 'palace regime, palace regime'" he said.

''WE DID NOT LEAVE GEZI TO THE COLORFUL REVOLUTIONARIES''

Stating that "In 2013, this public challenged the AKP government by saying, 'I will not wear the clothes you have tailored for me,' and took to the streets. The TKP was there from the very first hours," Kemal Okuyan emphasized that those who did not want flags or banners during the Gezi Resistance wanted to create a Soros-backed, funded, and liberal opposition, and reminded the audience that they have an allergy to this country's flag, stressing that the people did not leave Gezi to the colorful revolutionaries.

''NOW IS THE TIME TO LISTEN TO THE TKP''

Emphasizing that after the Gezi Resistance, Ekmeleddin was presented to the public and a new opposition was designed through tapes and intrigue, Okuyan addressed those who constantly tell the TKP, "This election is not that election":

"Now is the time to listen to the TKP, the party that received 64,000 votes in a country of 85 million, yet which no one can say 'they received few votes, what influence could they have,' and which people take seriously, find hope in, and get excited about."

EMPHASIS ON SOCIALIST MUNICIPALISM

Stating that the debate over "whether or not the opposition will lose the metropolitan municipalities" in the local elections has no value or significance, Okuyan "The issue is whether our people will stand up against this order in the local elections, both against the government and the opposition. The issue is whether we will create new socialist and populist municipalities. The issue is whether we will multiply the example of Dersim" he said, emphasizing that not a single inch of concession would be given to the establishment parties that take the votes of republicans, impoverished Alevis, Kurdish laborers, and workers overwhelmed by the high cost of living for granted.

SALUTE TO THE REPUBLICAN LEGACY

Okuyan "We will never be friends with those who want to fight for democracy, freedom, peace, secularism, independence, and the Republic while ignoring the barbarism of the capitalist class. On the contrary, we will say: you are decaying along with the holding companies" he stated, noting that Turkey's republican legacy is beginning to see the class contradictions in Turkey more clearly.

''A SOCIALIST REPUBLIC WILL BE THE WORK OF US ALL''

Stating that the Kurdish issue in Turkey can only be resolved by breaking free from capital and imperialism, Okuyan said that dividing the working people along ethnic lines only benefits the exploiters and imperialists, and added:

 "Those who think that Kurdish laborers do not care about secularism, republicanism, anti-imperialism, or socialism are mistaken. Here, we do not look at each other's origins or backgrounds, but we know that there are many Kurdish brothers and sisters among us, and we know that together we will build a free, equal, and fraternal socialist Turkey. The socialist republic will be the work of us all."

THE ASSEMBLY OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE OF TURKEY IS SETTING OUT

TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan stated that the Assembly of Representatives of the People of Turkey would bring together the country's republican heritage with communists and socialists to work toward a state-planned economic order, a secular, independent, developed, and industrialized country, and a prosperous society.

"THE RESISTANCE OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE IS LEGITIMATE"

Stating that they would not abandon the Palestinian people, who have been trying to resist all forms of Israeli aggression—especially occupation and massacres—for decades, just because Hamas has recently come to the fore, Okuyan said: "The TKP never compromises on its defense of secularism and enlightenment. However, it does not suit us to cast a shadow over the Palestinian resistance by using Hamas as a pretext today, or to allow a perception to emerge that 'Israel is also defending itself.' It does not suit the TKP. The resistance of the Palestinian people is legitimate." he said.

"LONG LIVE INTERNATIONALISM"

TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan concluded his speech by greeting representatives from various countries and parties, stating, "Greetings to those who founded the republic a hundred years ago, and to the people of Anatolia. Greetings to the bright future of Turkey and the world... Greetings to Marxism-Leninism, which gives hope, inspiration, reason, and the determination to struggle to humanity, and which shows the way."

News Source: 12punto