A demonstration for “peace, jobs and democracy” and against the policy of terror imposed by the AKP (the ruling party) was performed today in Ankara, Turkey’s capital. The background was the upcoming elections on November 1.
The demonstration, called by opposition parties, Haziran (of which RED, IWL’s section in Turkey, is part) and trade unions, was at its beginning when two bombs exploded. The death toll has reached until now 86 people and there were over 100 wounded from several organizations. It is impossible to describe the feelings due to the death of so many innocent people, comrades and fighters. To make things worse, the police decided to attack the perplexed demonstrators with tear gas while the dead and wounded were counted. It was a really scary situation. Immediately after, the internet service stopped working in the area.
Similar attacks had happened before this slaughter, but not of this magnitude: Diyarbakir (June 5) and Suruç (July 20). After losing the Congress majority in the last elections, the AKP has imposed a policy of terror, resuming the war against the PKK in Turkish Kurdistan; supporting attacks by its partisans against HDP members, the main Kurdish party that won the majority in Congress; conducting mass arrests and blaming IS (Islamic State) for attacks that are directed only to opposition groups. The crimes of the army in the Kurdish areas add to the violent clashes in the neighborhoods between Kurds and Turkish nationalists, turning the situation increasingly worrying.
This policy of terror is typical of a Bonapartist government seeking to sow panic among the opposition sectors of the society. It called new elections and resumed the war in this period. The death toll resulting from AKP’s policy at the moment is countless, while it blames extremist “Islamic” groups for that. The people’s mood for the upcoming elections can’t be more frightening. Opposition parties are cancelling new demonstrations fearing further attacks. The situation is very complex and new events in the next few hours or days can lead to major political changes.
We call all trade unions and mass organizations to perform coordinated and escalating strikes up to a day of national strike to protest the slaughter and the policy of terror. The deaths of our comrades won’t be in vain.
The government does not want peace in the country, it does not suit it. Its days in power have shown us this. We must continue the fight on the streets. We must stop the AKP attacks in all areas. Its mafia methods and its interest to impose terror are killing us for a long time.
