Statement of Peace Association of Turkey on Recent Developments in Turkey

Friday, September 4, 2015

September 1, 2015

The Peace Association of Turkey would like to inform the peace-loving forces and briefly share its views about the recent developments in Turkey.

It is already known that the Justice and Development Party (the AKP) lost the parliamentary majority to form a government by itself, despite the fact that it still remained the biggest party during the general election held on 7 June 2015. The ruling party hopes to compensate its losses while carrying Turkey into early elections on 1 November 2015. The AKP aims to increase its percentage of votes by means of a policy of tension, generally with democratic public opinion and particularly with the Kurdish movement. This option has opened the door to an atmosphere of violence.

Unquestionably meeting the needs of imperialism and reactionism in the Middle East, the ISIS has clearly come into play in this respect, and this organization claimed the responsibility of the massacre that took place in the Turkish town of Suruç on 20 July. Hundreds have been killed in Turkey since the 20th of July. During these violent clashes, the Turkish security forces physically encountered with the PKK, while the AKP encountered with the Peoples' Democratic Party (the HDP) on the political arena.

Just a few days ago, these two political parties (AKP and HDP) came together within the provisional government in order to hold the early election on 1 November. Many fascist figures also took part in this government as ministers, though the racist and fascist Nationalist Movement Party (the MHP) institutionally did not participate in the cabinet. The provisional government is composed of the AKP ministers, who consider the Sunnite Islam as an ideological weapon against others within the political spectrum, and of the two Alawite HDP ministers! Thus, the physically suffered party from the clashes triggered by the government forces has advocated the "legitimacy" of the ruling party by taking part in the same cabinet. Besides, the so-called left social-democratic Republican People's Party (the CHP) strongly condemns unlawfulness of the AKP as an impact on politics on the one hand; the Party's top authorities declare that they are open to post-election coalitions with the AKP on the other hand.

This bizarre situation needs to be clarified. It is true that Turkey has turned into a blood bath. However, it would be wrong to describe the clash as a war, sides of which are clear. Blood has become an ordinary instrument for political accounts.

Apparently, relevance of the situation with the Kurdish question should also be revealed. We would like to recall the message of the US Ambassador to Turkey, John Bass, to the HDP representatives. He said "Be patient for a month or two" about the Turkish military operations against the PKK. More importantly, the Kurdish politicians demand the US and NATO to become more influential on the situation and thus put an end to the clashes. The AKP carries out military and political operations against the PKK and the HDP on the one hand, and participates in the US-led coalition and opens the military bases and airports to unrestricted use of the US on the other hand. In our opinion, this picture literally demonstrates that the AKP's bloody policies are approved byimperialism. Turkey accepted to participate in the US-led coalition and contra activities in Ukraine in exchange for approval of setting back the Kurdish movement to some extent and thus making electoral plans. Moreover, the puzzle is completed with participation of the Democratic Union Party (the PYD, the Syrian branch of the PKK) in the US-led coalition in Kobani after the ISIS attacks.

Concretely, the Peace Association of Turkey is focused on carrying out comprehensive work on the AKP's war crimes, and utilising it as a call for struggle against war and reactionism. The Peace Association of Turkey condemns some recent "peace initiatives" emerged under the slogan of "solidarity with the Kurds" because of the fact that such infamous blocks have evidently cooperated with both imperialism and the reactionary AKP.

The Peace Association of Turkey believes that it is necessary to adhere to principles in order to confront this bloody chaos. Imperialism and religious reactionism are parts of the capitalist policy, and struggle for peace cannot be carried out by cooperating either with imperialism or reactionism. Peace struggle must definitely have an anti-imperialist characteristic, and oppose all reactionary policies.

Peace Association of Turkey