By Kırmızı Gazete Editorial Board
Ekrem Imamoglu, the CHP (Republican People’s Party) Mayor of Istanbul, who is preparing for the next presidential elections as Erdogan’s strongest rival, was detained as the leader of a criminal organisation! Of course, together with his organisation of a hundred-odd people, including some district mayors, who had taken over the municipalities! This was the last link in a wave of repression that did not even recognise the bourgeois constitution and laws. Let’s not forget, as is customary, there is also a connection to terrorism among the charges!
Erdogan’s Regime is Turning to Something Worse Than Itsellf
Based on the developments so far and the recent events, we can say the following in advance: The regime’s change of attitude and policy on the Kurdish national question has nothing to do with a general democratisation or, in other words, with the goal of a ‘democratic society’. In any case, it is not possible to enjoy the spring of ‘democracy’ in one part of the country while the last ‘glimpses’ of democracy have been destroyed and one part of the country is experiencing ‘winter’! We have said that the aim of the ruling Islamist-fascist alliance’s change of direction on the Kurdish question is to ensure that Kurdish politics and the social forces it represents are aligned behind the regime ‘before the gates of repentance are closed’ due to the dangerous developments in the region, and even more so in the international arena (including many ‘opportunities’ for the regime). The statements made by the MHP (Nationalist Movement Party), the leading party in this ‘process’, which at times contain threatening language, confirm this analysis of the situation. We do not know what the regime will give or not give for the sake of ‘growing together with the Kurds’ or ‘a thousand years of brotherhood’. In other words, for the time being we do not know what the ‘law and politics’ that Öcalan mentioned in the ‘annex’ section of his statement will look like and how it will be implemented, if at all. However, when we look at the regime’s practices to date, its proven qualities, its decisive tendencies and what it is doing today, it is clear that the said ‘process’ will not result in ‘democracy’ or a ‘democratic society’ as some people hope.
As a matter of fact, the operation against Imamoğlu shows that the regime has begun to take accelerating steps towards turning into ‘something worse than itself’. The ‘Imamoğlu Case’ shows that the ‘free elections’, which the current ‘Neo-Bonapartist’ regime has shown as the main source of legitimacy until today, is also wanted to be purified from its last ‘democratic images’, apart from some ballot box games, High Electoral Board plots and trustee attacks. If the regime achieves its goal, what will be left will be sham elections, a parliament that has lost its function and whose existence has been left to the mercy of an autocrat, and an opposition that can do nothing but grumble and stand there; if it remains! The regime aims to enter the forthcoming elections with opponents that it sees fit, with opponents that are completely ‘in its teeth’ and with an opposition that has been fragmented and weakened as much as possible.
All this is very much in line with the perspective expressed by a top advisor of the regime that in the new conditions of the region, as an ‘internal front’ against external forces (Israel and imperialism!) and dangers, and as a ‘national value’, Erdogan should remain at the top on condition of his registration for life. The trap that is being set through these ‘national goals’ is aimed at severing the ties between the Kurdish movement, which is tired of oppression and thirsty for peace, and other opposition sectors. As can be seen from various operations, efforts to disable socialist groups associated with the Kurdish movement should also be considered in this context. One of the main objectives of the government is to separate Kurdish politics from other opposition groups as much as possible in mass mobilisations. In the hope of a lasting peace and a ‘democratic society’, the regime wants to make the Kurdish political movement hesitate, pacify it and, if possible, make it cooperate in the drafting of a constitution that will draw the legal framework of the new regime.
The People Said Enough to the Regime’s Oppressions
We are now at a critical turning point. The Imamoğlu incident is a final warning for the CHP as the main bourgeois opposition, which has so far ignored many obvious things. In the regime’s ‘fight against terrorism’, Kurdish politics has been relegated to second place for the time being, while the CHP has started to take the first place. The CHP is the current target of the trustee attacks (including the party leadership). The main opposition’s policy of surrender so far has played an important role in reaching this point. Today, the problem is to make a choice between agreeing to a ‘historic surrender’ or not. The main opposition is also aware of this and for this reason it has had to take to the streets and call the masses to the streets. Those in power may resort to violence in order to end mass mobilisations, or they may take some steps backwards; however, as long as they continue to exist, they will not give up their ‘historical goals’ and will try similar means again and again. 12 years ago, the preparations for a new wave of detentions related to the Gezi uprising should be considered in this context.
The Working Class Must Take Its Place on the Stage of Struggle
However, the regime’s job is not as easy as it was especially after the 15 July military coup attempt. Years after the Gezi uprising, after years of demoralisation and despair, hundreds of thousands are back on the streets with all their anger and courage. Let’s rephrase a famous saying about revolutions: Such revolts come at a time when it is thought that they will never come again! This is what is happening. The CHP’s ‘desperate’ call has found a much bigger response than expected. This shows that the movement has much stronger social dynamics beyond the defence of İmamoğlu. The protests were led by the university youth, who mobilised en masse after a long period of inactivity. Even the most conservative and pro-government cities of the country have turned into protest zones. There is of course the question of the political leadership necessary for such mass mobilisations to achieve a certain success, but it must be remembered that the ‘raw material’ for all revolutionary changes is the action of the great masses of the people. It is inevitable that the continuation of these developments with increasing momentum will directly affect the field of class struggle. If the partial actions of the working class, which is under increasingly severe exploitation and oppression, begin to take a holistic and political form in this new climate, the struggle against the regime will acquire a very different character.
Let us emphasise once again at the end: Limited, indecisive and incomplete struggles for democracy are doomed to end in defeat, even if they gain mass dimensions from time to time. The only force that can integrate the struggle for democracy with the class struggle and carry it further, to the point of a ‘historical solution’ including the ‘right of nations to self-determination’, is the organised power of the working class. It is the only force that can truly change the order. Freedom will come with the workers!
