Kemal Okuyan: 'Israeli intelligence may have a hand in what is happening'

Communist Party of Turkey General Secretary Kemal Okuyan made evaluations regarding the country and the Palestine-Israel agenda while appearing as a guest on the "Haberin Olsun" program on Flash TV.

Regarding the war between Palestine and Israel that began yesterday, Okuyan said, "What is happening cannot be explained by saying Hamas is attacking Israel," while also touching upon the political work the TKP will carry out in the 100th year of the republic and the Assembly of People's Representatives of Turkey.

'IT CANNOT BE EXPLAINED BY SAYING HAMAS REACTIONISM IS ATTACKING ISRAEL'

Making statements regarding the war that has begun between Palestine and Israel, Kemal Okuyan said, "What is happening cannot be explained by saying Hamas is attacking Israel." In his speech, Okuyan stated, "We are under the control of Western media; there is a very serious Israeli influence, and it is necessary to know this. When there are incidents involving Palestinian civilians and children, the images that are normalized turn into a huge outrage when it concerns Israelis. There is no side to the killing of people that can be defended in any way, but on the other hand, it must be said.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed so far. Palestine has been turned into a prison. Gaza is like that, and so is the West Bank. Therefore, these events cannot be explained by saying, ''See, Hamas reactionism is attacking Israel.'' It cannot be explained by saying ''Religious people are attacking'' either. Do those who say this think Israel is a secular country? Jews have suffered severe persecution, but they have no right to take their pain out on the Palestinians," he said.

'THE POSSIBILITY OF OTHER THINGS HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES...'

Criticizing the equating of support for Palestine with support for Hamas, Kemal Okuyan said, "This is not support for Hamas. Did we support Saddam when the US invaded Iraq?"

Kemal Okuyan continued his speech with the following words:

"Perhaps 10 years from now, the fingerprints of Israeli intelligence may emerge in these events. US intelligence is also very strong in that region. It was also a period when the Israeli government was going through a very difficult time and there were serious protests against the government. Governments do not benefit from peace; they always want war. Other dynamics may have been set in motion behind the scenes of this, but that does not change anything. There are systematic attacks against Palestine; they are killing civilians."

'WHATEVER TURKEY IS SUFFERING, IT IS SUFFERING FROM CAPITALISM'

Making evaluations regarding the 100th anniversary of the Republic, Kemal Okuyan said, "The values of the Republic have no chance of surviving in a country where capitalism is dominant."

In the continuation of his speech, Okuyan used the following expressions:

"The revival of values regarding the Republic cannot be in the form of a return to the past. Capitalism has developed significantly in Turkey. There is a new reality at hand. This must be accepted in Turkey. A Republic was founded 100 years ago. When the Republic was founded, Turkey was a poor, undeveloped country; it was suffering from underdevelopment. Now, whatever Turkey is suffering, it is suffering from the advanced state of capitalism. Those who see Turkey as a dependent, backward country on the edge of the world are mistaken.

If we are going to do something 100 years later, we must see this. The values of the Republic have no chance of surviving in a country where capitalism is dominant. Capital does not want this. You do not have to be a communist, but if you believe in the republic, secularism, independence, and anti-imperialism, you will listen to what the communists have to say. This cannot be done with TÜSİAD, with bosses, with big capital. The republican accumulation in Turkey must engage in an accounting, and they are already doing so, we see it.

There is a republican segment that is beginning to see that the culprit of the disasters that have befallen Turkey is actually the capitalist class, not the AKP. This must continue. This country needs to stand up, and it will stand up in this way. I think this is a very great opportunity."

'TURKEY WILL BE BURIED IN DARKNESS'

Providing information about the Assembly of People's Representatives of Turkey, which the Communist Party of Turkey announced to the public with a decision from its conference held last July, Okuyan said, "The Assembly of People's Representatives of Turkey is a move aimed at increasing the interaction between the republican accumulation in Turkey and the communists. Just as the left in Turkey cannot escape from secularism and anti-imperialism, there is no possibility for republicans to say, ''I underestimate the labor issue, but I am a republican.''

As the issue of the republic becomes something that pushes the poor aside, just like secularism, we lose. There are rich and poor in Turkey. And the rich are very few. If the poor do not claim the republic, the republic will not stand up. On the other hand, without the republican accumulation in Turkey, Turkey will be buried in darkness," he said.

'We will increase the examples of populist, revolutionary, socialist municipalism in Turkey'

Touching upon the TKP's goals and strategy for the local elections, Kemal Okuyan said, "We will increase the examples of populist, revolutionary, socialist municipalism in Turkey."

Okuyan's speech on the subject is as follows:

Okuyan said, "Maçoğlu became popular because it was seen that he had nothing to do with rent-seeking and did not distribute rent. The public sees this. The essence of local governments in Turkey is rent sharing. We think we can increase the examples in the upcoming local elections. We think we can break the hegemony established by the rentier regime parties in local governments. As a party, we are making preparations for this.

We have intensified our work in some places. Of course, as the TKP, we will not cast general politics aside. Turkey has very important issues. We will definitely and absolutely increase the examples of populist, revolutionary, socialist municipalism in Turkey.

We are sure of this. Both the opposition and the government share a serious pie in local governments. When looked at carefully, there is no difference between them. The same mechanism is at work. Only we can change this. They also tell us that they can do it in small places, but they cannot do it in big places because of the rent. Our own internal audit mechanism does not allow for this.

We do not have a single cadre in the Dersim Municipality. The friends working for that municipality earned their living from elsewhere, not from the municipality. Cadreization and rent distribution do not even come near a communist. A great wealth is distributed to some, and many companies are revived. They say the local government law ties our hands. Then they should fight, they should resist."