Kemal Okuyan: The protests showed a youth saying 'I am not giving up on my country despite the AKP'

Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) General Secretary Kemal Okuyan answered Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu's questions on the 12Punto YouTube channel.

Evaluating the fact that no trustee was appointed to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality despite Ekrem İmamoğlu's conviction with the words, "There are wings within the AKP that do not want İmamoğlu to be targeted this much," Okuyan reminded that the protesters were saying, "The issue is not İmamoğlu."

Pointing out that an important factor triggering the mass protests is the accumulated anger against poverty, Okuyan said, "Conservative segments will break away from the government and seek radical change."

Highlighting the social energy revealed by the protests, the TKP General Secretary emphasized that a will, especially among the youth, saying 'I want to maintain my bond with my country' has become prominent.

Reminding that signals of the operation were given in advance by pro-government media, Okuyan emphasized that there is a crisis of governance behind the AKP's challenge to society:

"The AKP canceled the election when he was first elected even before İmamoğlu became a more influential figure. Many trustees have been appointed to municipalities in Turkey. And now it has slowly started to come to the CHP as well. This means there is an attempt to eliminate the right to vote in general.

It says, 'I can do this.' With what? Diplomas. With what? Corruption. Today, the AKP can pin any crime it wants on anyone in Turkey. We are not a party that sees politics as consisting only of elections, but the right to vote in general is one of the most fundamental gains of humanity, and the AKP, which is struggling to govern Turkey and is weakening, is challenging us and saying, 'I will eliminate this right.'

The AKP is actually in a management crisis, but it is also trying to manage all elements of politics. It has an effort to manage the CHP. Perhaps it is not reflected that much to the outside, but the infighting within the AKP, or the government in a broad sense, is no less than the infighting within the CHP. There are very serious fault lines within the AKP as well.

The İmamoğlu issue is also an intervention directed at that. Because there are wings within the AKP that do not want İmamoğlu to be targeted this much. Indeed, it reached a stalemate at one point. Both because of the size of the demonstrations and because of the hesitation of those wings, no trustee has been appointed for now."

Noting that young people are predominantly filling the squares, the TKP General Secretary said that a will saying "I am not giving up on my country despite the AKP" is strengthening among the youth:

"The common feature of these young people is that they are very poor. In other words, university youth in Turkey have never been this impoverished in the last 40-50 years. Therefore, the source of the reaction is a lack of future.

A portion of them lost that emotional bond. They are trying to go abroad. Now, one of the most important features of these protests is this. A widespread and mass will of 'I want to protect this bond, I want to protect my bond with my country' is visible.

What did these widespread protests show? A youth has emerged that says, 'Hey AKP, do whatever you want. I am not giving up on my country,' holding on here and showing determination in this. This is very valuable."

Reminding that it is not only young people who have taken to the streets, Okuyan drew attention to another social segment by saying, "There is a generation experiencing early retirement":

"It is not a group accustomed to retirement, but a segment that is about to retire or has just retired is facing a very painful reality. And this segment thinks they still have life to live. The average age is also rising in Turkey. They are also very reactive, and they have also taken to the streets."

Noting that issues exceeding the operation against İmamoğlu lie behind the rapid massification of the protests, Kemal Okuyan spoke as follows:

"The reasons why major social events start are forgotten after a while. In other words, something opens the lid. Then everyone starts to express their own real problem. Now, here in the demonstrations, the dominant thing is the reaction to poverty and lack of future, and libertarianism.

The İmamoğlu issue naturally became an important trigger here. But a very large part of the people say the issue is not the İmamoğlu issue.

The Republican People's Party (CHP) does not deal with the features of the system that put the AKP in a difficult position. It narrows the issue. It narrows it down with the İmamoğlu issue. Perhaps it narrows the issue of justice. But there is such a problem. Now, why did the system get stuck? It got stuck because of the social and economic order in Turkey today."

'THE ORDER DOES NOT NEED SECULARISM'

Stating that despite the deepening poverty, the working class has expressed its reaction in indirect topics in recent years, Okuyan pointed to the elements that divide the class:

"They no longer need the idea of a republic, freedoms, or secularism. In other words, this is not only in Turkey. There is a similar trend in almost all capitalist countries. Now, the AKP has also benefited from this.

Why does a class reaction not emerge in Turkey when there is so much poverty, and poverty expresses its reaction through more indirect ways? It is very simple. The working class in Turkey is also under the influence of religious sects. The working class has also been communalized. In other words, class identity has disappeared. Now, this is the AKP's gift to the entire capitalist class.

The working class currently does not have a voice in an organized way. There are very valuable individual resistances. They are also going after them. Just the other day, a trade unionist was imprisoned, now he is under house arrest.

The capitalist class does not need democracy in its life. They only look at this. The society is pushed too hard. A reaction emerges. Oh no, there will be instability. They say we could lose everything. There are reports from large capital organizations. They always say the danger of social explosion. Even coding social explosion as a danger shows enough."

'THE YOUTH'S ANGER AT POVERTY SAYS A LOT'

Reminding that trade unions also joined the reactions that grew upon İmamoğlu's conviction, Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu asked, "Did the unions pass this test successfully?" Stating that anger against poverty is one of the elements at the center of the protests, Okuyan gave the following answer:

"It would be wrong to criticize the unions by ignoring the heavy attack of September 12 and the subsequent legal regulations. But when a strategy of compromise with the capitalist class is followed, when concepts of industrial peace are used in union management, a class struggle does not emerge from there. At the point we have reached today, the working class in Turkey is widely unorganized. If we leave aside one or two resilient unions, there are no unions left in Turkey.

But one should not fall into despair. Because a union is, after all, a form of organization. Other forms are created. Anyway, the anger towards poverty in these youth protests teaches everyone, even us, a lot. You evaluate this."

'PEOPLE WANT TO HOLD ONTO THEIR COUNTRY'

Stating that Mustafa Kemal is a unifying element in the protests, Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu asked what the TKP's stance on this issue is. The answer Okuyan gave is as follows:

"When we look at today's Turkey with Mustafa Kemal, we have ideological differences, this is separate, but he is someone who has signed a progress, a revolutionary transformation historically. A left that fights with Mustafa Kemal would have said, 'I do not carry a claim in this country.'

People want to hold onto a place in their own country. In my time, it was said, 'We were born, Demirel is still there.' Now we were born, constantly Erdoğan, Erdoğan, Erdoğan. If you live in such a country, you need certain values. Mustafa Kemal is like this and is a founding element.

The bond established with a country is not made with baklava or moussaka, it is made with social dynamics. Anyway, no one can even eat baklava anymore. They are claiming Mustafa Kemal."

Stating that the government has resorted to distortion again, as in many previous mass protests, Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu reminded that the protesters were targeted due to the tombstones broken at the Şehzadebaşı Mosque.

Saying "A very serious moral struggle is being waged in Turkey right now," Okuyan pointed out that the government base could enter into radical searches:

"If society loses this moral struggle, we are burned. Those who fight with this must also have a developed morality. And that developed morality comes with patriotism, with anti-imperialism, and with people standing up against inequality. Are all the masses who have followed the AKP for years in a moral collapse? Is such a thing possible? No.

We can say that especially the conservative segments in Anatolia will break away from this government and enter into searches for radical change. The Communist Party of Turkey was accused of atheism, etc. We have been registering members from this segment since 2022.

And what they always say is this: What is important for us is this. Let their essence and word be one. You object to injustices. I also want people to be equal. You are good people.

This is a very important thing."

News Source: 12punto