Voice of Revolution - Issue No: 6 (April 96)

THE TASK OF THE COMMUNIST YOUTH IS TO SIDE WITH THE WORKING CLASS

With the vanguard section of the workers and the experience of struggle they have accumulated in the

recent years, the working class movement has tended to organise as an open political movement.

The experience of the struggle of the workers' movement of the last seven to eight years has proved the fact that the working class needs to organise as an open political movement and that they must definitely take a step in this direction. A significant part of the vanguard sections of the workers and trade unionists have intensified their efforts to do this. They have addressed the working class from within and from a revolutionary platform. They have shown the need for all the awakened sections of the working class to participate in these efforts.

Undoubtedly, the labouring masses outside the working class and the youth, especially the Communist Youth League (GKB), could not be indifferent to this call. Neither were they. 

The main mass of the communist youth mobilised their revolutionary energy to respond to this historic call of the working class. 

With the ideals they have the communist youth is part of the working class. They can only deserve this title if they are strongly tied to the working class struggle and if they respond in the first place to their calls.

The working class has put a renewed and revolutionary platform in front of all the exploited and oppressed. With all their responsiveness, the communist youth have to join this platform and fulfil all the requirements of this revolutionary call.

One of the preconditions of fulfilling this task is for the GKB to renew its own platform and organisation and to obtain the means and the form of organisation which is able to unite with the main mass of the youth workers and labourers. 

The communist youth cannot fulfil the growing tasks with the form of organisation inherited from the past. The Young Communist League is not the form of organisation which corresponds to this new platform of struggle of the communist youth. The Young Communist League of Turkey has completed its tasks as an illegal organisation of young communists. The young communists today have to join the open political movement of the working class and be part of it. 

It is a generally known fact that organisational forms are not something permanent or unchangeable. They can be changed according to the needs of the struggle and the tasks of the day. In this context, organisational forms are not ends but means and they come to being in order to meet the needs of the struggle. 

The task of the young communists today is to respond with enthusiasm to the revolutionary call of the working class and to cling tightly to this new task in order to join the masses of youth in this initiative of the working class. 

To insist on the old narrow forms of organisation and "illegality" would mean to adopt a reactionary backward platform in the face of this revolutionary initiative of the working class. It would also mean inciting liquidationism within the youth movement.

A small caste in the GKB do not -if we express it in a positive way- understand these developments and are trying not to fulfil the revolutionary tasks of the day, in the name of protecting the illegal organisation.

It could be excused if this approach is a result of not understanding the question. If this is the case then the task of these sections is to join from now on the renewed platform of struggle of the youth.

Young communists should not hesitate to brand as opportunists and deserters those who insist on staying on the old platform in the name of "depending" the GKB. The communist youth would deserve the name of revolutionary and communist if they show the ability to join in with the revolutionary call and platform of the working class.

Today, every young communist has the task to reach broad masses of youth to convey to them the revolutionary call of the working class and ensure that they join with this revolutionary platform. 

The communist youth can join the revolutionary platform of the working class to the extent  that they achieve these tasks. This would also constitute a first step for the renewal.

With their experience of struggle and the strong loyalty to the working class the communist youth will show the skill to fulfil this task. Today, the measure of being a young communist lies in the position taken and the effort made in this matter.

(This article is translated from the 192nd issue of Devrimin Sesi, the central organ of the TDKP, dated September 1995.)

• THE NEW PERIOD IN THE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN REVOLUTION AND COUNTERREVOLUTION: THE TRENDS WITHIN THE MOVEMENT, THE "SOCIALIST" GROUPS, AND THE TASKS OF THE PARTY ORGANISATIONS

This article deals with questions such as the trend and direction of the struggle between capital and labour; the situation of the currents which act on behalf of the working class and socialism, their characteristics and their effects on the struggle; and the immediate tasks posed by the confrontation between revolution and counterrevolution, and the problems that curtail the work that must be carried out.

The past period: the working class and popular movement, and socialist currents

The struggle between the front of capital and reaction and the front of the working class and the people has at times reached the point of open, face to face confrontation. However, the eight-year-confrontation between these two fronts has been characterised by instability and weakness which have pushed this confrontation backwards. Although the working class and labourers' movement has made relative progress, it has been unable to overcome the weaknesses which have caused losses and defeats. Neither has it been able to utilise all possibilities. Thus, it has entered the new period with the weaknesses caused by spontaneity.

Capital and reactionary forces failed in their attempt to mount a stable and comprehensive campaign of intimidation. Similarly, the working class and popular movement were not able to mount a united mobilisation which could develop into a trial of strength and a settling of accounts. These are the characteristics of the confrontation between revolutionary and counterrevolutionary fronts in the period 1988- April 1994.

This period was characterised by two periods. The period 1988-91 was one of mobilisation when the working class and the Kurdish popular movement made unprecedented progress, gained many positions and created a broad mass of advanced workers. On the other hand, the period from the end of 1991 to 1994 was a period when the bourgeoisie and reactionary forces, whose ranks have been divided to a significant extent, increased their attacks, took the tactical upper hand and found active mass support from the lower middle strata -even though this was at the expense of reducing their options. This period was also characterised by a relative setback and stagnation in the open workers' and labourers' movement ( a drop in the number of workers on strike and in the Kurdish movement, etc.). Although these two periods had different features in terms of the situation of the open mass movement, their common characteristic is the fact that the workers and labourers continued -despite ups and downs- to break away from the system and its parties. 

The 1994 crisis, the 5 April decisions, and the way the working class responded to these attacks by marching on parliament, show that this is a new period in terms of the political situation and the confrontation between revolution and counterrevolution. All this indicated that there has been realignment within the capital and labour fronts and that the political situation in Turkey has arrived at an unprecedented turning point.

At this point the following question is of great significance: What are the gains that have been passed on to the present by the increased disillusionment with the system on the part of the working class and the labourers, which have been expressed in the mass movement of these periods? 

Leaving aside the consequences of their resonance in the capital front, these gains can be expressed as follows:

a. The people, mainly the working class, have gained legal and legitimate positions both in their daily struggle and their own organisation. They have obtained possibilities that could constitute a base for more advanced struggles and have broadened their room for manoeuvre.

b. Their experience of political struggle has been consolidated. They have also succeeded in accumulating in their ranks the masses of workers and labourers who have  a relatively high class consciousness and knowledge of modern politics. Obviously, the direction of the confrontation between revolution and counterrevolution in the new period is closely tied to whether the advanced masses of workers will succeed in utilising these gains.

The workers' movement and "socialist" currents

When the topic is the parties and groups which call themselves socialist, the question that comes to the fore is their class characteristics; the way they influence the working class and popular movement; and vice versa; and the forms of their inter-relations.

The first thing that should be highlighted is this: With the exception of our party, none of the "socialist" currents have assisted or contributed significantly to the workers' and labourers' movement which, in the last 7-8 years, has made progress or has retreated and has made gains and losses. On the contrary, these currents have played a negative liquidationist role in the developing movement as a result of the "work" they carried out, which is far removed from the working class and is alienated from the people. One of the characteristics of these "socialist" currents is their incapability to learn from the movement, which is full of lessons. This, obviously, harms both the movement and themselves.

The workers' and labourers' movement has made progress -without the help of these currents- despite their deceptive "work" which causes socialism to fall out of favour. Some of these currents have exhausted their "energy" in trying to convince the workers that the working class no longer has a role to play, that the age of class struggle is "over", and that labour has become the "complement" of capital. Some are carrying out activities to subordinate the working class movement to the trade union bureaucracy and to restrict them to spontaneous consciousness. Some are "leading" the forms of "action" put forward by the government as a "trump" against the mass movement. These are the positions they hold. Thus, the progress of the working class movement can be brought about in spite of these currents, by surpassing them. 

Why have these "socialist" currents played a regressive role? Why have they been unable to show the ability to learn from the workers? This is because most of them have been bound to a reactionary-liberal platform imposed by imperialism. They have closed their eyes to the working class movement and advocated a line to "prove" the reactionary thesis suggesting the "death" of socialism, the working class and their struggle. The question for other "socialist" currents is the lack of a perspective of socialism based on the working class, a line of struggle based on an understanding of the dialectics of the mass movement. These currents have sunk deep into a blind terrorism alienated from the people. Obviously, the fact that these currents are being isolated from the movement and that they are going through a process of liquidation in a period when the movement is developing, gives a clue about their nature, their place and their role in the movement.

How then did the workers' and labourers' movement make progress in spite of these currents?

a. The accumulated consciousness of the working class has become apparent. The advanced workers' interest in politics and ideology has increased. Also, the workers' and labourers' mass movement which has developed spontaneously has created a broad base.

b. Through our party's work and its line, based on its understanding of the dialectics of the mass movement an in conformity with proletarian socialism, there is wide-spread consequences within the working class of its being a seperate class, struggling for power and for socialism. This has been achieved on the basis ofthe  developing mass movement. The work of the party has also secured the development of the movement towards the formation of a mass political organisation as well as the attempt to unite across the country.

This represents both the success of the open mass movement in utilising the possibilities open to it, albeit partially, along with a certain accumulation of knowledge and consciousness (and of advanced forces) in the heart of the working class. This has come into being thanks to these two conditions, the appropriate formation of objective and subjective factors. However, there is another side of the coin. It is true that the workers' and labourers' movement has not been able to utilise its possibilities fully. It has gained positions but failed to keep them. Furthermore, the working class and the people could not fully preserve and educate the advanced elements that have grown within their ranks. They have been able to improve their ability to organise to the extent that objective conditions allowed. 

Contrary to some people assert, it is not the "backwardness" of the working class and the people, nor the "historic" incapacity of the workers and labourers which is responsible for this weakness and incapacity . The responsibility lies with some aspects of the work carried out by our party organisations, aspects that are far from the cause of revolution and socialism and from our party's line. This fact has to be admitted. This is because our party's work has also been to some extent contradictory and weak. Despite the fact that our party's work has helped the working class movement to advance and to organise, at times it has had the effect of undermining the development of the working class and of disarming the advanced workers. In other words, sometimes the party's work was based on the traditional bad habits and old "work" patterns learnt from the lifestyle and actions of the petit bourgeoisie, adapting to the superficial "norms" and "types" of non-proletarian "socialism". Obviously, these are aspects that weaken our organisations and cadres, make their work contradictory and distance it from the working class; consequently preventing the workers' movement from being able to utilise its possibilities, to broaden its advanced sections, to educate them and to organise using its own initiative. 

Despite the fact that our party is sincerelybound to the working class on a revolutionary basis, it is a mistake to blame other "socialist" currents for the setbacks suffered by the working class movement and the damage that has been inflicted on it. It has to be understood that it is our party's task to equip the advanced elements and organisations of the working class and the people against being taken in by "socialist" currents, as well as to help the working class and the people to protect themselves from the influence of bourgeois liberal trade unions and to advance and broaden their struggle and organisation. 

Other "socialist" groups have been influenced in two ways by the eight-year progress in the workers' movement. Firstly, the working class has not adopted the "lines" and "work" of "socialist" currents and groups. The advancing movement gradually isolated them. This paved the way to splits within these groups. It has also legitimised their tendency to return to their own "social" basis. For instance, groups like the United Socialist Party, Revolutionary Path and the Workers Party have oriented towards the top strata of public employees, the labour aristocracy and tradesmen, while others like People's Liberation Party -Front of Turkey and the Communist Party of Turkey- ML deal with a narrow section of the youth and classless and intermediate strata.

 The past seven years have not only been a period that has shaped the relationship between these "socialist" currents and the working class movement. It has also reshaped the relationships between the ideological currents themselves. The period following April 1994 marked a new turning point for the workers' movement and for the confrontation between revolution and counterrevolution as well as for the struggle between socialist currents. In terms of the currents which claim to be socialist, the present period is that of realignment, of the creation of new blocs, and of a new and strong struggle between each other. 

What happened is this: Firstly, the working class is in a struggle where it has proved itself. Secondly, the proletarian socialist movement has already occupied the position of an alternative. These developments have forced these "socialist" groups to try to reposition themselves. In other words, the unification of the workers' movement and proletarian socialist movement on a new and mass basis has become a concrete phenomenon. In the same way, bourgeois and petit-bourgeois socialist currents have re-mobilised themselves on an international scale. These are the phenomena that make the period we have entered a new period also in terms of the struggle between socialist currents.

It is necessary to briefly touch upon how and on what line the socialist currents are positioning themselves. Despite the fact that a lot of parties and organisations claim to be "socialist", there are two tendencies in reality: The proletarian socialist movement represented by our party, and bourgeois/ petit bourgeois bloc of "socialist" currents represented by the others as a whole. However, this analysis does not explain anything beyond the general ideological framework. What is necessary is to see not only the "ideological characteristics of these currents, but also their political positions and platforms. If we treat this question in this way and leave our party to one side, there are four clear groupings within the currents which claim to be socialist and which are both in co-operation and competition with each other. 

a. The bloc of liberal "socialism" led by the United Socialist Party and Revolutionary Path, consisting of various groups from Krushchevites and Trotskyites to those advocating civil society.

b. The Dengist Workers' Party circle which now openly shares a platform with bankrupt social democracy and which has its policy of "national unity" with the advocators of the status-quo regime.

c. The tendency of quasi-anarchist and terrorist "socialism" consisting of "underground" groups like Communist Party of Turkey-ML and THKP-C (Peoples' Liberation Party -Front of Turkey)  which use terrorist methods.

d. The reformist front of Kurdish "socialism" at the centre of which stands the PKK -despite the fact that PKK has a line that refers to "socialism" when this is required. This grouping consists also of other Kurdish groups and the pro-Western wing of the Kurdish bourgeoisie.

In Turkey, these are the main "socialist" tendencies alienated from the working class. Obviously, the parties and organisations representing these tendencies are again trying to re-mobilise, unite and form blocs in order to use the developing mass workers' and labourers' movement and to reverse the setbacks which they suffered in 1992-94.

If  we leave aside the third grouping mentioned above, all the others share the same platform in terms of the capitalist systems' search for "stability", despite the fact that the Turkish and Kurdish groupings have counterposed nationalist positions. The differences between them lay in their "methods", whether they present a liberal or a despotic face, and in the "ideological" materials and motifs with which they dress themselves up.

Yet, for a genuine socialist or revolutionary current or bloc of currents the struggle for democracy and socialism does not depend on whether capital can secure "stability" or class "peace". On the contrary, it is a matter of deepening the instability, of developing the struggle of the oppressed and exploited, and of closing off the possibilities open to the system. Therefore, the line of these "socialist" currents and blocs is, in reality, not based on the progress or the organisation of the workers' and labourers' struggle, or on the advance of the mass movement and its transformation into a revolutionary movement, instead is based on "making use" of the masses and their movement in order to make a new "agreement" with the capitalist class.

Another characteristic of these bourgeois "socialist" attempts at realignment and the creation of "blocs" is that they are clearly at the expense of the workers' and the popular movement. In conditions where the socialist consciousness of the working class is weak and the proletarian socialist movement has not become deeply rooted among the workers and the people, a situation like this poses a vital threat to the advance of the workers' and popular movement and to the shift in the balance of power between revolution and counterrevolution in favour of the revolutionary front.

A new struggle between currents

It is inevitable that the confrontation between revolution and counterrevolution and the new period of progress of the workers' and labourers' movement is also going to be a period of a new struggles, whose scope is becoming wider between the proletarian socialist movement and bourgeois "socialist" currents and blocs. This is because this struggle is, in reality, that of whether the workers' and labourers' front will show the skill to utilise the gains of the past as well as the possibilities presented by its development in the new period. 

What the party organisation and class conscious workers must not ignore is the following vital point: The reason why bourgeois "socialist" currents have begun to talk about the working class, revolution and socialism more and more, and have steped up their attempts to "unite" and form "blocs" is not that they are intending to commit themselves to the working class and socialism. They do this because they are isolated from the workers' and labourers' movement and they are losing the opportunity to carry out their deceptive function. The advance of the workers' and labourers' movement as well as the proletarian socialist current has obliged each one of them to re-mobilise. Furthermore, the initiatives of the bourgeois "socialist" currents on an international scale have given these "socialist" groups and organisations the opportunity to go for a new alignment. One of the fields of struggle for our party organisations and class conscious workers is to fight against bourgeois "socialism" and its affects on the understanding of advanced labourers and on the work of our organisation. Without having a position corresponding to the requirements of the struggle in this field, it is not possible for the advanced workers sections to undergo a transformation which will allow them to utilise the possibilities of the movement and to refresh their ability to struggle and organise.

The confrontation between revolution and counterrevolution, the new period and the new situation

The characteristic of this new period is this: The fronts of revolution and counterrevolution have moved beyond the turning point which meant an acceleration of trials of strength and of a certain settling of accounts. The opposed classes and forces have entered a new period in which they are going to reposition themselves. It is because of these characteristics that the period we are in now is a new period. Independently of the way it develops -which is not possible to foresee as it is independent of the will of protagonists- this period draws attention to the fact that Turkey is becoming a country of potential revolutionary advances, mobilisations and explosions as well as unbridled counterrevolution.

Even if we put aside the dimensions of the break away of the workers and labouring masses and the Kurdish people from the bourgeois system and its political parties, and the expansion of the demands put forward by open mass movement, there are certain other developments which prove the extent of the weakness of the power of the fascist reactionary bourgeoisie to convince people and the depth of the split within their ranks. They have had to promote religious and racist-nationalist provocations, upsetting their own demagogic institutional and legal structure. They have also had to run their state apparatus as an organisation which carries out provocations, terror, massacres and murders. Every step taken for "stability" by capital and reactionary forces has been a factor deepening the instability, widening the split in their ranks and creating contradictions within their institutions. All these constitute sufficient examples to explain the deep impasse that the fascist regime finds itself in. Therefore, it is evident that the period which is facing Turkey is a new period with unprecedented characteristics in terms of the features of the confrontation between the fronts of revolution and counterrevolution. 

As a matter of fact, the struggles of the workers and other town labourers from the mid-1994 to the last quarter of 1995, especially the latest strikes and demonstrations, have had particular characteristics. Despite all the negativeness and the restrictive attempts of trade unions, the workers and labourers have succeeded in repelling the attacks of the bourgeoisie and have caused the collapse of the government.

The snap elections and political "stability"

In the present international situation and the conditions inside Turkey there are some arguments suggesting that the capitalists and reactionary forces will take a step forward towards "solving" the Kurdish question and that the Customs Union would "relieve" the economy and have an accelerating effect in "democratisation". Thus the "stability" and "peace" that the country needs would be possible. What is interesting is that this analysis is shared by a broad circle, from capitalist organisations to the "socialist" bloc and the Kurdish bloc. To understand this, we must look closer at the elections, the Customs Union, the Kurdish "peace", and the conditions from which they arose.

It is true that parliamentarian elections -independently of their quality- are a mechanism of "stability" for parliamentarian regimes. However, it is clear that the latest "election" will not have such an effect. On the contrary, it will deepen the political instability and will have no function other than to narrow the possibilities open to capital. This is because in the eyes of the  people "mainstream" parties have become indistinguishable, there is no sign that some of these parties will be able to regain "credibility'.

It has become evident that opposition from parliament and the mainstream parties to the  military coup of 12 September 1980 was nothing more than a lie. "Social democracy" which was a "hope" in the past has become bankrupt and has been exposed as a characterless prop of capital. The "rising" parties like MHP (Nationalist Action Party), DSP (Democratic Left Party) and RP (Welfare Party) have come to the end of their "growth", with 10-20 per cent votes. We can say that in comparison with the past today a broader section of the people believe that the country is being ruled by the capitalists, or rather a narrow military-civilian cast acting on their behalf and through their terror apparatus, and that the political parties have no role other than to present a deceptive image and a cover for the plunder which is being carried out. Moreover, the majority of the labouring masses who are members of these parties are distrustful of them and have no faith in them.

The elected parliament and the government formed will be extremely ineffectual and will be held in very low esteem. It is clear that one of the phenomena characterising the political situation in Turkey will be a parliament and government whose organisation and moral and political authority among the people is lower than that of its predecesors, and which is bound to implement economic and political attacks despite the fact that they do not have sufficient power to convince the people and that the state of conflict within their ranks is more destructive now than ever.

Even those who have no interest in politics can see that the newly formed government's attacks on the working class and people will not be a routine and ordinary one. This is because a new wave of economic crisis is on the doorstep. No matter which party "wins" the " elections", a new "economic package" is on the agenda to continue the uncompleted aims of the 5 April attacks. It was announced months ago that this "package" could not be put off, nor would small scaled attacks be enough. Therefore, among the factors characterising the political situation are the accumulated problems, the economic crisis and the "measures" needed to tackle it.

All this reveals that the only "hope" for the capitalists and reactionary forces is the submission of the working class and the people. 

If this is the case for the "hope for stability and peace", should one expect the workers, labouring classes and the youth to submit quietly to the present situation and this campaign of attacks which, inevitably, will come onto the agenda following the elections? Obviously, there is no reason for such an expectation. Nor is there any reason to "predict" that the working class, the people, the Kurdish people and the youth, who have been incited by the bourgeois parties with the promises for "democracy", would accept these attacks and wait for a long time, which was the case in the past. On the contrary, there is every reason to predict an expansion and intensification of the fight back by the labouring masses. 

Obviously, following the elections, the breaking away of the working class and the people from the bourgeois parties will speed up. Together with the consequent struggles, this will deepen the split in the counterrevolutionary front. The only prospect which the elections hold out for the short term is not "stability" or "peace" but increasing economic and political instability, crisis and a broadening struggle.

The Customs Union, economic "stability" and "democracy"

It is only an empty propaganda when it is claimed that the "opportunities" presented by the Customs Union will develop the economy, "raise" the masses' standard of living, and that the guarantees promised to Europe would pave the way to "democratisation". 

Firstly, the Customs Union is not for the "relief" of the Turkish economy or for the "progress" of the people's living conditions. On the contrary, the aim is for new burdens to be placed  on the economy, for the collapse of various sectors and enterprises, for unbridled exploitation and "competition" and for the preparation of crises and distractions in the economy. It is nothing more than an "agreement" to shift unlimited burdens on the shoulders of the workers and labouring classes, to plunder the country and to turn it into a cheap labour country where there is mass unemployment. It can be said that the Customs Union is a new step in the economic colonisation of Turkey, and for completely turning the Turkish state into the degenerated guardian of this full colonisation. Obviously, the first post election "stability package" will be followed by a number of Customs Union "packages" one after another. The bourgeoisie has already announced that it is inevitable that it will have to shift all the burdens of the process of full colonisation onto the labourers. 

Secondly, Turkey's entrance to the Customs Union does not serve the process of "democratisation". It provides the reactionary regime with an opportunity to regain the approval and for capital to find reserves within the Turkish and Kurdish people. Undoubtedly, this also means that as an "advocator of democracy", international capital is widening its options a) to block the anti-imperialist struggle of the working class, the people and the Kurdish people for democracy and freedom, to tie it to the new world "democratic order" and b) to manipulate this struggle to pressurise the bourgeoisie and reactionary forces to into full surrender and to facilitate things in its favour.

As a matter of fact, the bourgeoisie has succeeded in acquiring a new deceptive trump card against the people demanding democracy. However, if one takes into consideration the economic conditions, the dimensions of the mass struggle and the growing political tendencies in Turkey, it is clear that this trump card does not have much of a role to play in terms of "political relief", "political stability" and "detante". Obviously, the "guarantees for democracy" promised with the Customs Union cannot have a greater deceptive function than the "influences" of the bourgeoisie and the "socialist" defenders of the Customs Union among the people.

The Kurdish question and the plan for "peace" and "democracy"

Capitalists, without exception, state that the "neglected" (Kurdish) region needs "development" and that they want "peace". This is also the same kind of "peace" demanded by the Kurdish and Turkish "socialists" and the Kurdish bourgeoisie. The difference between the "peace" of the Turkish bourgeoisie and that of these "left" currents has simply become a matter of technicalities. On the other hand, the big powers have different plans overlapping with those of the Turks and the Kurds. However, they support the "peace" wanted by the both sides by, for the moment, siding with and encouraging the Turkish side. 

On the other hand, the Turkish bourgeoisie has a "problem" arising from its difficulty in going beyond the state status-quo with regard to its own traditional state. For the moment, this is the main "barrier" to the "solution" of the problem in a desired way. Undoubtedly, the role of the big powers and of the bloc of the Kurdish and Turkish "socialists" is to help the capitalists' organisations such as TUSIAD, MUSIAD, TISK and TOBB to solve their "problems".

As our party has been emphasising for the last few years, the Turkish bourgeoisie needs a "solution" which could put an end to the Kurdish question. This is because, such a "solution" would, at least for some time, stop Turkey being a matter of international bargaining. It would also present an opportunity for Turkey to demand that "human rights" be respected in the other Kurdish regions and thereby to intervene in other states in the region. Moreover, the Turkish and Kurdish bourgeois reactionary forces are aware that this "peace" and "solution" can be used as a "breakwater" against the explosive development of the Turkish and Kurdish united labour movement and against the labour front as it attempts to settle accounts. 

Can such a "solution" of the Kurdish question or the determination of the currents gathered around the Kurdish national movement to commit themselves to a platform of "peace" and a "solution" of this kind be used as a trump card against the development of the working class and popular movement? 

Even if we put aside the fact that imperialism has increased its possibilities for intervention, especially since the November 1991 elections, the Kurdish bourgeoisie and the Turkish reactionary forces, each one from its own perspective, have been benefiting to a great extent from the present platform of the Kurdish national movement and from the content of that platform which is based on an enmity between the Turks and the Kurds, and which is creating a parliamentary "expectation" among the people. 

It is clear that the platform of "peace" and a "political solution" coincides today with the platform of a "peace between the classes", "harmony" between labour and capital, and of a "solution" to the problems of Turkey in line with the "new world order". It can be clearly seen that the search for "peace" and a "solution" rallies the "liberal socialist" currents and the Kurdish bloc around the Turkish bourgeoisie,  and the precludes democracy for the Kurdish and Turkish people. 

Moreover, the consolidation of such a platform and the creation of such blocs and its success in pulling the workers' and labourers' movement towards a position of "peace" and "political solution" would mean the defeat of this movement and the Kurdish labour movement. It would also mean  submission to the increasing attacks of the capital and the forces of reaction. What the capitalist front needs today is the submission -even if only temporarily- of the working class and the people to the "peace" plan and to a political environment where a "solution" can be found to the intensifying problems. 

It is not yet known whether capital can realise this aim and "solve" the immediate problems it is faced with. However, it is clear that the formation of a "left" front advocating "peace" and "stability" means that capital has found reserves among the people and thus has gained a significant advantage. On the other hand, capital will find itself in an impasse if the working class, the people and the Kurdish people are mobilised to the point where they have the potential to destroy this barricade of "stability" and "peace". Furthermore, the signs of a new economic crisis and the costs of the "unification with Europe" will inevitably multiply the factors which would make it impossible to implement the "peace" and "stability" plans. 

The direction of Turkey's policy regarding the Kurdish question could affect but definitely cannot change the direction of the process Turkey is going through now.

The new period and the direction of the confrontation

The economic, social and political facts in Turkey reveal a different country from the one presented in the propaganda of the "left" and the "right".

The economic situation of Turkey is clear. The dependant economy has devastated the dynamic of the economy and the possibilities for restoring stability and preserving it for any period of time. Every single "economic measure" -even if it postpones problems and "meet" some immediate needs for a period of time- is becoming a factor contributing to a new crisis. If Turkey cannot get large scale international "support", this devastation could obviously pose a great threat to the economy. There are sufficient indicators to show what direction the economy is moving in. Among these indicators are the increased frequency of the crises, the increased burdens which each new crisis brings, and the characteristics of the April 1994 crisis and its financial and economic consequences.

Obviously, Turkey's economic problems are not so "simple" that can be solved by one or two "economic packages". Leaving aside the severe problems of the current period, developments such as the "agreement" for the Customs Union and the "privatisation programme" have put Turkey beyond the point of no return and have opened up the already weak economy to international plunder forcing the economy to bear the brunt of the international crisis. This process will inevitably be one that causes widespread destruction of the productive forces making it a chronic necessity to have yet another "package". 

The only that the economy could avoid collapse and attain in a relatively "healthy" and "stable" position is if the urban and rural labourers, and above all the working class, submit to international capital and the monopoly bourgeoisie, and to accept poverty and unemployment. This is because the slogans that the bourgeoisie is clinging to are clearly empty, and do not have the ability to reverse the economic course of events. They have no "positive" meaning other than to cover up the intensifying rate of exploitation. 

However, the path that the working class movement entered upon, which is the factor which will determin of the direction taken by the people in general, has not been a "narrow" one limited to resisting attacks. It cannot be denied that the explosive elements within the labouring masses have multiplied and that they have developed the attitude of resisting the attacks by capital and the forces of reaction and are ready to face up to them directly. 

Obviously, capital and the forces of reaction are quite aware of both the economic conditions and the trends among the working class and labouring classes. The problem facing the system is not the fact that it is obliged to adopt without delay policies which go on to the offensive. Rather, the problem is fundamental: The system has entered a period where it can no longer systematically deceive the labouring masses. Therefore, in spite of the slogans like "democracy" and "welfare" that they have had to "lay claim" to, the bourgeoisie and the forces of reaction do not rely on the power of the slogans to deceive the masses but instead never for one moment relax their planning and preparation for a widescale confrontation. 

Turkey has irreversably entered a period where it will undergo unprecedented events. It is clear that capital and the forces of reaction are running out of the options with their present means and apparatus, to turn Turkey around from this path since it has also sunk into external problems. In short, irrespective of the outcome of the elections, the fundamental question is whether the working class and the people are as prepared as the bourgeois and reactionary forces are.

The fundamental question and the fundamental task

Is the working class prepared for the new period it is entering? Obviously, it is not sufficiently prepared for the new period and for the task of realigning its own forces and the forces of the people and of forming a front against capital. Thus, the fundamental question for the socialist movement in this period is to prepare the working class for the tasks ahead. 

The question of the labour front developing the capacity to repel the wave of attacks and come out victorious from the confrontation is directly linked to the question of whether the working class has carried the minimum necessary preparations. This is one of the reasons that the workers need to form an independent party.

What is the meaning of the preparation of the working class in the new period? It means that a) the advanced sections of the working class must be positioned in the forefront of its independent party; b) the main section of the working class must be united in and around the party through the organisations in the factories and workplaces and the unions must be transformed; c) the party must ensure that the oppressed classes, the youth and women, who are organised in labourers' unions, other mass organisations, cultural organisations, associations, etc., are gathered around the working class and its democratic demands by helping them awaken, to struggle and to organise. 

It cannot be denied that the first steps have been taken and the initial conditions have been fulfilled for the working class to prepare itself to face the confrontation with capital, to develop as an alternative pole of attraction. The main elements for the preparation of the working class in this new period are the forces that it has accumulated, educated and organised in its ranks in the previous periods of struggle. When we talk about the accumulated forces of the working class what we mean is the totality of our organisations, circles, the labourers who are on the same path as them, their collective knowledge, their possibilities and their means of struggle. 

In other words, for the working class the question of gaining the skills to utilise their possibilities, overcoming the threat of the movement undermining its own dynamics, and advancing its preparation in the new period is a question of whether our party organisations and circles will carry out effective and energetic revolutionary work. When this is the case, are our organisations and sympathisers aware of their importance and their responsibility for the question of determining what direction the confrontation between the working class movement and counterrevolutionary front will take? What does the workers' and labourers' movement demand from us? What are the positions of our organisations and supporters and what work do they do?

The threats over the working class and the nature of our tasks

It is a fact that the capitalist system can always produce solutions -even though they may be only temporary- to its problems. If the working class organisations cannot show the skills to utilise opportunities and fulfil their tasks, it will then be possible for the capitalists to create new barriers to block and split the working class movement. In this respect, the response has a dual aspect: 

The first is the plan which is based on the government, the existing official parties, the classical trade union bureaucracy and the press, and which will be implemented in the form of frontal attacks accompanied by demagogy and police terror. This plan involves the liquidation of trade unions, and involves "flexible work", "insecurity in work", etc. It is designed to disperse the working class and the people, and to seperate the massof the labourers from their advanced sections.

The second aspect of this new response in the name of the system aims to divide the sections of the working class, the people and the youth who are awakening and tending to socialism and to bind them once more to the system using a "socialist" approach. Those who are putting forward this "socialist" approach are, obviously, acting in line with the requirements of the system in the new period and are being marketed especially by the organs of capital.

All these developments show how the front of revolution is under threat. However, we have to admit that our organisations and supporters are not aware of or do not want to understand how the possibilities of the movement and the threat hanging over it are expanding. We say this in terms of their work in the past year, the way they utilised the possibilities and platforms open to them, the content of the political and organisational work they carried out, the shortcomings in terms of responsibility, solidarity, discipline and spirit, etc. 

The task facing our party and its organisations by utilising all possibilities and platforms that are available is to help  the workers and labourers who are under the pressure of bourgeois liberalism and parliamentary socialism push this pressure aside, open their eyes so that they can distinguish proletarian socialism from bourgeois socialism, help them to organise themselves and the people without being split by other currents, and assist them in gaining the skills that are needed for them to come out as an alternative to the existing power. However, for some time now, the situation with our organisations' work has been as if they had the following in mind: "We have gone too far, become too strong and have had unnecessary possibilities and platforms. In the struggle against capital, we can delay our work and watch these possibilities and platforms disappearing. It is something good for the revolution and something we must accept that the "socialist" groups can split the workers and they can restore their strength!" Unfortunately, this is the case. Of course, no comrade actually looked at things in this way. But, their position, the way they approach their work and the role they have undertaken have been shaped in such a context. 

What must be understood is that our party organisations and circles have no right to act in an irresponsible way allowing possibilities to be wasted. This is because our party and organisations represent both the accumulation of the struggle of the working class so far and the guarantee of its future. Also, it must not be forgotten that all the positions, platforms and the forces gained in the name of our organisation belong to the working class and the people. It has to be understood that it is not possible to allow all these to lay idle and be used in an irresponsible way with the forms of non-proletarian "socialism".

Undoubtedly, there are plenty of reasons for changing the work that is carried out, for our organisations and circles to renew their positions, their relations and their determination to struggle. Reasons also exist for the accumulation of political and organisational work to explode. The proletarian and revolutionary aspect of our party's line and experience and of our organisations' and circles' work and action is therefore a guarantee. In addition, the workers' and labourers' movement provides an environment in which lessons can be learnt and in which other clear class values that are shown by the advanced workers such as determination, discipline and maturity. These constitute a rich source from which our organisations can learn, a source that no other current or organisation can reach.

Nothing can prevent our organisations, cadres and circles from making progress and from carrying out their work energetically and efficiently, if they put a demarcation line between themselves and the castrated sectarian bureaucratic traditions of liberal bourgeois and anarchic petit bourgeois "socialist" currents and their individualist, parasitic and lifeless "norms" which are the enemies of responsibility, discipline and revolutionary organisation, and if they put all their attention onto the party's line, its organisational tasks and values, on what is happening in real life and the needs put forward by it. Our organisations, cadres and supporters have to utilise the possibilities presented by the positive experiences of the working class and of our party. They also have to expand the path of proletarian transformation. This is because without such a transformation, it is not possible to continue to be revolutionary in today's conditions or to serve the revolution and socialism, or help the workers and the youth in struggle.

The precondition and link in the process of renewal and progress

In order to carry through the proletarian transformation of the organisation and its work, it is necessary to understand in the same way as a class conscious worker the importance of organisational discipline, revolutionary responsibility and the role of the methods of work and to put them into practice. These are the bare bones of being an organisation. It must be understood that the fundamental principle of being a party and organisation is reflected in the self-sacrifice and enormous discipline shown in carrying out party work, and expanding the means and organs of revolution. In this context, what is taking place in our organisation's attitude and action is unacceptable and the transformation in work must start immediately in this field.

One of the characteristics of today's Turkey is that the working class and communist movement, in the name of our party, face the possibilities and occupy positions that have not been achieved in the world for many decades. Therefore, the responsibility of not being able to use them and wasting them is as big as committing a murder.

On which platform do all our organisations, our old revolutionary generation and party youth stand and what action do they take? Will they watch the disappearance of present possibilities while the working class and popular movement, the cause of communism and revolution require new positions and more effective and advanced platforms? With its old and young generations, our organisation must act immediately to reverse the course of events acting with high morale, an energetic attitude and with revolutionary initiative.

This is necessary for the struggle against the many-sided attacks of capital in the new period as well as for the dialectic of advance. If the present possibilities are not preserved and consolidated, then it will be more difficult to take any step forward in the struggle against capital. Our organisation must show in practise its loyalty to the working class, the people and the cause of revolution and socialism and must not hesitate to do what is necessary.

(This article is translated from the 194th issue of Devrimin Sesi, the central organ of the TDKP, dated November-December 1995.)

• INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF MARXIST-LENINIST PARTIES AND ORGANISATIONS

he International Conference of the Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organisations was held in Paris in September. 15 parties and organisations from Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia participated in the conference. Some parties were unable to be present at the conference due to some technical and financial difficulties, but expressed their support for the efforts for the unity and reorganisation of the International Communist Movement.

The first item on the agenda of the three-day Conference was the evaluation of the joint work carried out since the previous conference held in Quito, in Ecuador.

* The solidarity activities with Francisco Caraballo, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Colombia-ML (PCC-ML), and Hamma Hamani, the spokesperson of the Workers Communist Party of Tunisia (PCOT), who were both arrested by the enemy, were carried out in the past year. Communist parties and revolutionary democratic forces from many countries joined these activities led by the communists of PCOT and PCC-ML who are conducting a determined struggle against the reactionary regimes in Colombia and Tunisia. The cases of Hamani and Caraballo have been put into the agenda of international organisations, human rights organisations and the press, creating pressure on the reactionary fascist regimes in these countries. As a result of this pressure Hamma Hamani was released in early November, shortly after the conference, although he was initially sentenced to eight years. 

* The conference also evaluated the content, style and technical diffi culties of "Unity & Struggle", the journal whose publication was decided at the previous conference. 

Two issues have come out so far. It is being published in Spanish, French and English and being distributed widely in many countries of the world. The Paris Conference has decided to publish it twice a year and that it must be strengthened. 

Joint activities such as European trade unionists’ meeting, the anti-imperialist forum of the Latin American peoples, anti-fascist and anti-imperialist international youth camp, etc. were evaluated and similar events were decided to be materialised in the next term.

Another item on the agenda was the debate and exchange of views on the construction of socialism in the USSR and the reasons of the setback. The documents prepared by some parties on this subject were discussed and were criticised. 

The task of forming a tactical platform, which would constitute an alternative for the international workers' and popular movement which is tending to rise, will be the result of a series of joint work that will be carried out until the next conference. Among the topics the tactical platform will include are the world-scale attacks of imperialism, its new tendencies, its effects in the advanced capitalist countries and the dependant backward countries, the rising workers' and popular movement with the aims of advance, revolution and socialism, the tasks put forward by all this on the communist parties, etc. 

The Paris Conference has constituted a new step forward for the process of unity and re-organisation, a process that the International Communist Movement has been going through for some time. It has also been a new step in the struggle of organising the workers' and people's alternative against the unbridled imperialist aggression and capitalist exploitation and in the struggle of pacifying the influence of the new Krushchevite and new revisionist currents who are trying to establish their hegemony over the workers' and popular movement.

The list of the parties and organisations participated in the conference:

* Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (ML) 

* Communist Party of Colombia (ML) 

* Communist Party of Labour of Dominican Republic 

* Communist ML Party of Ecuador 

* Workers Communist Party of France 

* Communist Party of Germany (KPD) 

* Organisation for the Construction of the United Communist Party of Greece 

* Labour Party of Iran 

* Organisation for the Construction of the Communist Party of the Proletariat of Italy 

* Revolutionary Communist Party of Ivory Cost 

* Communist Organisation October of Spain 

* Workers Communist Party of Tunisia 

* Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey (TDKP) 

* Revolutionary Communist Party of Upper Volta 

* Red Flag party of Venezuela

Hamma Hammami has been released

Comrade Hamma Hamani, the spokesperson of the Workers Communist Party of Tunisia (PCOT), who was arrested in June 1994, was released on 7 November 1995.

Hamani was imprisoned for 8 years because of his political thoughts and his fight against the reactionary Ben Ali regime in Tunisia, as a result of an anti-judicial trial. However, he had to be released as a result of the campaign carried out nationally and internationally by his comrades, friends, progressive and democrat people and organisations and human rights defenders.

Following his arrest the Human Rights Association of Tunisia, Amnesty International and human rights organisations in many other countries brought the case of Hamani onto the agenda and revealed the oppression and tyranny of the Tunisian regime on prisoners. Hamani and his comrades in prison went on a long hunger strike, demanding to be recognised as political prisoners, better conditions in prisons and an end to anti-judicial trials.

The International Conference of the Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organisations gathered in Quito, in Ecuador, in August 1994 called for a solidarity campaign with Hamani and Francisco Caraballo, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Colombia -ML, who is also imprisoned by the enemy. There has been a wide response to this call around the world and various activities were organised.

The Ben Ali regime, whose repressive and anti-democratic face has been revealed widely, had to release Hamani in order not to be isolated more.

The only "crime" Hamani was accused of was to be a member of a banned political party. There are tens of other communists who have been imprisoned because of having committed the same "crime". Furthermore, there is an increase in the repression on the PCOT because it is defending the interests of the workers and labourers of Tunisia and fighting against the reactionary regime.

We once again salute the comrades in Tunisia who are conducting and advancing their struggle in these harsh conditions.

• NEWS UPDATE FROM TURKEY

• LABOUR PARTY HAS BEEN FOUNDED

According to an article in Evrensel, Turkish daily newspaper siding with the workers and labourers, dated 24 October 1995, the work to found the Labour Party started in early 1995 and hundreds of meetings were held to this end. The idea of founding the workers’ own independent party has been discussed for a long period in the factories and workplaces. Tens of thousands of people participated in the meetings held in 40 towns.

The most significant characteristic of this party is that it has been the workers’ and labourers’ own initiative. Hundreds of workers and the trade unionists, who are on the side of the working class, from verious sectors and all over the country are involved in the party. Thus, it is not a party siding with the workers and labourers, but a party of the workers and labourers themselves.

For the 24 December general elections, the Labour Party initiative put forward 19 independent candidates -because the legal procedure was not completed then- to stand in 15 towns. The total votes that the candidates had was about one hundred and fifty thousand. A lot of votes for the independent candidates were not counted valid. In this election, the system parties could not get more than 20 per cent of the total votes.

On 31 March 1996, one-day festivals were held in Istanbul,Ankara, Izmir and Adana, four of the biggest towns, to celebrate the foundation of the party.  The festival which was planned to be held in Malatya was banned. 43 thousand people took part in these four festivals. Evrensel reported that trade unionists, journalists, repersentatives of mass organisations and politicians from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Upper Volta, Benin, the Netherlands and Britain were also present. 

The following is a summary of the declaration of the Labour Party:

For the last ten years, international capitalism and the forces of reaction have been intensifying their attacks on the working people and on revolution and socialism. However,  the labour front all over the world has been reshaping itself against all these attacks. In many countries, socialists and revolutionaries have been making efforts to rebuild the labour front against capital by eliminating the alienated elements within the international working class movement. The working class movement in Turkey, with its advanced struggle and with the experience of the socialist movement, has grasped the possibility to become an important focus in the international labour front. The Labour Party (Emek Partisi, EP) initiative and the forces which have been already united by this initiative demonstrate the important role that the working class of Turkey can play. 

Although there are more than half a dozen of parties in Turkey calling themselves "workers’" or "socialist", in the last few years, the arguments about a "legal socialist party", "mass workers’ and labourers’ party" and "open workers’ party" have been high on the agenda of the "left" and "socialist" groups and circles. 

The need for such a party can be understood clearly. The working class movement in Turkey has been making dynamic progress setting the agenda in favour of labour and encouraging other labouring sections at a time when the propagandists and ideologues of international capitalism have declared that "the role of labour has finished", "the working class is no more a revolutionary force" and that "the main point is not conflict between the classes but reconciliation and harmony".

Today, the working class of Turkey has gained new positions and has expanded its possibilities and room for manoeuvre compared to 10 years ago. It can be said that the main sections of the working class have gone through a period of awakening and action that they had never experienced before. The workers’ movement has proved itself in the face of capital and of other labouring classes. 

Furthermore, in this struggle, the working class has created some trade unionists and advanced workers who are able to organise the class movement and advance the struggle against the trade union bureaucracy and the attacks of the government and the bourgeoisie. 

All these positive developments have, for the first time, come together in the history of the working class of Turkey. With this in mind, the Labour Party will be shaped as a party which is based on the historical experience of international workers’ movement in general, and the values created by the working class movement of the last 7-8 years in Turkey in particular. It will be a party which meets the needs of the workers and labourers in their struggle for power. 

The Labour Party will stand for the working class, the labourers and the peasantry, and for their struggle and needs. What makes our party absolutely different from other parties is that we will not be organising opposition only within the boundaries of legal system or running the party from offices.

The working class is a class fighting for political power. Thus, they need a party which must have great competence in handling power. 

For this reason, our party, with the revolutionary workers, socialist intellectuals and trade unionists in its ranks, will be an expression of the workers cutting their umbilical cords themselves.

Our party will be a party in which the working class is organised independently vis-a-vis the bourgeoisie. Therefore, it has to be a socialist party. Our party’s understanding of socialism completely excludes all kinds of bourgeois conceptions of socialism.

Our party will organise a platform based on struggle which will end the hegemony of the reactionary ruling classes which have been ruling Turkey for the last century as a station for  imperialist forces in the Middle East. It will solve the Kurdish question urgently on the basis of equality of the nations and the right to self determination. 

Our party’s political platform (immediate programme) will be an anti-imperialist and democratic platform.

Our party is a mass party of the working class and has a revolutionary platform. This does not mean that other sections of labouring classes will be excluded. On the contrary, our party will be the only possibility for the emancipation of public employees, the poor of the cities and rural areas, youth, women and of all labourers from Kurdish, Turkish and other ethnic nationalities. With its revolutionary programme, it aims to unify all these sections. 

The world is passing through a period of unprecedented counterrevolutionary offensive, with the defenders of the imperialist New World Order attacking socialism and all the sound values created by humanity so far. No doubt that Turkey is one of the main targets of these attacks. In the meantime, the working class movement in Turkey is in a position to lead the struggle against imperialism and capitalist exploitation and oppression. Moreover, the level of struggle does not allow anyone who stands for freedom, democracy and independence to be "neutral", "independent" or "conciliatory". 

The present conditions in Turkey and the world in general have put the working class of Turkey in a position to fulfil the mission to lead the working class movement not only in Turkey or in the region but also in the world. This places an important historical task before the working class, intellectuals and labourers of our country. The conditions for taking up this task are becoming more and more mature given the fact that the level of the struggle of our working class and the dissatisfaction of public employees and other labouring sections with the decaying system is increasing. 

We the founders and supporters who signed this declaration believe that there is an urgent need and necessity to found the political organisation of the workers’ and labourers’ movement, which is the Labour Party. 

We have put all our efforts to build up this mass labourers’ party standing for the ideas declared here. However, we know that there are many intellectuals, honest trade unionists, militant workers and other labourers who can take part in this party but whom we have not yet reached. 

We believe that it is vital to embrace, from the outset, all the positive material and moral potential of our country . With this belief we call on all intellectuals and honest trade unionists who are determined to side with the labourers, on the workers, labourers and youth leaders, on the labouring women of all ages, on the poor of the cities and rural areas, on the progressive people, revolutionaries and socialists from all nationalities to join the Labour Party initiative and contribute to our strength.

This declaration was initially signed by 454 workers, 253 trade unionists, 148 teachers and educators, 217 self employed workers, 103 mass organisation administrators, 66 government employees, 64 students, 31 pensioners, 105 shop keepers, 56 farmers, 45 intellectuals and artists, 32 housewives and 14 unemployed people.

• JOURNALIST METIN GOKTEPE MURDERED BY POLICE

Metin Göktepe, 27- year-old reporter of Evrensel was arrested and beaten to death by the police on 8 January 1996. Evrensel is a revolutionary daily newspaper siding with the workers and coming out in Turkey and Europe since June 1995.

Metin Göktepe worked as a reporter for the weekly journal "Gerçek" since its publication in 1992. He also took an active part in the foundation of Evrensel. He was arrested and tortured by the police several times.

On the day of the incident, Metin Göktepe went to cover for the newspaper the funeral in the Alibeyköy district of Istanbul, of the two revolutionaries who were killed as a result of the attack of the police and special gendarme teams in the Ümraniye Prison. He was arrested by the police when he was trying to go to the graveyard together with a group of journalists. When the others tried to interfere the police threatened them. As a result of the instructions of Orhan Tasanlar, chief security officer in Istanbul, no one was allowed to go to the graveyard. One thousand people were arrested, put into a sports hall and were tortured. Metin Göktepe was also taken into the hall. He reminded the police that he was a journalist and wanted to be released. But the policemen were determined to treat him "specially". He was beaten to death. The policemen got agitated and took his body out of the hall. The next day it was stated that he was found dead and that he fell off a wall. 

Metin Göktepe was not the first journalist who was murdered by state forces. The journalists who wrote the truth and who defended the interests of the workers and labourers have always been the target of the fascist state. In the last four years alone, 25 journalist were killed. Many journalists have been sentenced to thousands of years imprisonment in total. Newspaper offices are being raided, their archives are being destroyed and their workers are being arrested. The central offices of the opposition Kurdish paper "Özgür Gündem" were bombed last year, and the paper was closed down shortly after. It was found out that the instruction for the bombing was given by the Prime Minister. 

The murder of Metin Göktepe has been a spark. Tens of thousands of workers, labourers and youth across the country went onto the streets and cried out their anger against the fascist massacre. 30 thousand people joined the funeral in Istanbul. Hundreds of honest journalists condemned the incident and stated that they would not leave the case. Trade unions and mass organisations protested the murder. 

Owing to this great response, the murder could not be covered up, as was the case with the previous incidents. The authorities had to admit that Metin Göktepe was murdered while in police custody. Although those who have the main responsibility have remained untouched, an investigation had to be launched against the police for the first time. 50 policemen have been suspended. However, no legal action has been taken yet because of the laws protecting the police. 

With the murder of Metin Göktepe, the state wanted to intimidate the revolutionary press, specially "Evrensel", the only daily revolutionary workers' paper in Turkey. However, this attack had a reverse effect regretting the murderers and agitating the authorities. It is obvious that in a country where tens of progressive people, revolutionaries and Kurdish patriots are being murdered every day, the only way of hindering murders and attacks is to organise a broad mass reaction and struggle.