TKP Calls for Protests in Three Major Cities: 'We Do Not Kneel Before the Government!'

In the statement published on the TKP website, the public's reaction—particularly that of students—against the attempt to usurp the right to vote was described as a historical act of resistance. It was stated that this resistance has helped broad segments of society take a political stance through various channels and tools, and that diverse forms of protest, ranging from street demonstrations to product boycotts, have created a meaningful social climate.

The statement, signed by the TKP Central Committee, noted that the objections rising against the government's arbitrary practices have strengthened the sense of justice and the culture of non-submission. On the other hand, it was expressed that in the CHP, which plays the biggest role in the emergence of these reactions, Chairman Özgür Özel and his team are attempting to balance these reactions in a way that neither damages their negotiations with the AKP nor weakens their own positions. 

"Again, in terms of the multi-faceted struggle ongoing within the CHP, the preferences of the social segments currently mobilizing, whether they are CHP members or not, are of non-negligible importance. In summary, social mobilization is gaining meaning and is being attempted to be utilized both in terms of the AKP government's preferences within the CHP and the struggle within the CHP itself," the statement said, drawing attention to the danger that absolutizing political and ideological uncertainty carries the risk of the current social movement being defined by the boundaries of the established order. 

"The only result of sanctifying or absolutizing the uncertainty or diversity of a social movement in terms of its political and ideological direction is that the political and ideological boundaries of the established order will also define that movement. Indeed, the glorification of togetherness based on emotion and expression rather than program-based organizational forms, and the legitimization of the 'good capital-bad capital' distinction, are proofs that the positive picture we highlighted above will turn into submission to the order and its current bearer, the AKP government, if left to its own devices," it stated.

'SOCIAL MOVEMENT MUST GAIN A WORKING-CLASS CHARACTER'

The TKP statement indicated that one of the most important problems of the process would be the obscuring of class contradictions, emphasizing that for the social movement to succeed, it is essential for it to gain a working-class character:

"The condition for a social movement in Turkey to succeed and achieve permanent positions, and furthermore to prepare the ground for revolutionary transformations that will make this country livable, is for it to gain a working-class character. The participation of mainly futureless youth and impoverished, desperate laborers in the demonstrations that began with the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu is not sufficient for a class character. Although it is not expected that every action will stem directly from the labor-capital contradiction, there are a series of ways for a social struggle practice to gain a class character, ranging from the form of action to slogans, and from demands to the political goals set forth."

It was stated that product and publication boycotts are reactions that disturb the government but are "the most unfavorable method of struggle for the working class to participate in a social reaction in an organized manner," and the role of the laborers was emphasized with the words: "It should be known that the fact that the working class in Turkey has retreated for more than one reason does not make it insignificant; on the contrary, it makes it more vital than ever as the only social force that will break the political and social impasse."

In the statement, which noted that in this process, in addition to strengthening a unified social reaction against the AKP, these reactions require ideological and political interventions directed at the foundations of the current social system, it was stated: "In this sense, the TKP will continue to strengthen the line of struggle it previously summarized with the definition of 'dual duty' and will represent a line of struggle that will help question the dominance of capital, which has achieved almost immunity in the noisy environment created by the 'one-man regime' rhetoric." 

The statement underlined that for the TKP, the continuity, integrity, and consistency of the struggle are essential, and it was expressed that there will be no step back from the necessity of positioning against capitalist exploitation and imperialism, and that the goal of socialism will be made a visible option on a patriotic, enlightenment-based, and republican foundation.

"We will do all of this and we will not kneel before the government. One does not kneel before exploitation, plunder, looting, and injustice. We do not kneel by being afraid, by submitting, by surrendering. We kneel with respect to the memory of the patriot, the revolutionary, and the laborer. Since we have been called to kneel, so be it. We will kneel." At the end of the statement, which included these expressions, a call for action was made for three major cities.

On Monday, "we will kneel before" the heroes of the War of Independence; on Tuesday, the laborers killed in work-related murders; and on Wednesday, those lost in Gezi.

The location and time information for the actions are as follows: 

In the statement made by the TKP, the starting points of the actions were announced as Monday at 20:00 in Istanbul, Beşiktaş Square, opposite the Motor Pier; Ankara, Ulus Square; and İzmir, Cyprus Martyrs Street, in front of Penguin Bookstore.