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Until hope appears...

Saturday 5 November 2016, by Sosyalist Demokrasi icin Yeniyol

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This statement was issued by Sosyalist Demokrasi için Yeniyol, Turkish Section of the Fourth International 5 November 2016.

The attempted military coup orchestrated by the former ally of the regime, the Gülen brotherhood, on the night of July 15, 2016 provided the opportunity for Erdogan to undertake a civilian coup attempt to destroy any possibility and ability of opposition to the dictatorial regime it is trying to forge. The arrest last Friday, 4 November 2016, of spokespersons, leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), a left Party from the Kurdish movement, is making a decisive step in the construction of this Islamo-nationalist dictatorship.

The arbitrariness of the state of emergency was declared following the attempted coup allowed the “Duce” of Ankara to undertake a restructuring of the entire state apparatus and public service. So tens of thousands have been laid off, dismissed, arrested under anti-terrorist operations. More than a hundred media (newspapers, television, radio, magazines) have been banned, and thousands of associations, schools, foundations, universities and hospitals closed.

Beyond potential followers (or not) of the Gülen brotherhood, these extremely repressive measures have also targeted activists and sympathizers of the Kurdish cause and the radical left. More than ten thousand members of leftist unions have been suspended from duty or directly excluded from the public service. Almost all Kurdish and Turkish leftist media have been banned.

The repression of democratic forces in particular has increased during the last week. Those fighting against the casualization of higher education and for the “universities for peace” who signed the petition protesting the war against the Kurdish people have been dismissed; the leader writers and cartoonists of the largest daily newspaper of leftist opposition, "Cumhuriyet" were placed in custody after searches of their homes and the mayors of the largest Kurdish city, Diyarbakir were arrested, accused of being members of “the terrorist organization PKK”. Just as was recently the case for twenty other cities in the Kurdish region, new pro-government administrators have been appointed to head the municipality of Diyarbakir.

But the arrest after of home searches, of the HDP leadership – who during the elections of 7 June 2015 had obtained 13.1%, an unexpected success totally destabilizing the party of Erdogan, the AKP – is a decisive step in annihilation of democracy by the dictatorship. This unacceptable offensive denying the vote of 6 million people is a consequence of the war waged by the Turkish state against the aspiration to self-determination of the Kurdish people in Turkey and Syria.

We, revolutionary Marxists in Turkey, having called at the two elections of 7 June and 1 November 2015 to vote for this party incarnating the hopes for peace, justice and democracy, strongly condemn the confiscation of the votes of millions of Kurds, women, workers, youth, environmentalists, LGBTI activists, ethnic and religious minorities, democrats.

Faced with this terrible storm which has already dangerously weakened the foundation for a common life in sokidarity of peoples of Turkey, our last defence remains an unremitting fight for peace, freedom, democracy, secularism ...

“Even in times when you are most pessimistic, look not at the tips of your toes but to the horizon, you will see hope, certainly. If you do not see it, look again, keep looking until hope appears,” said Selahattin Demirta?, co-chairman of the HDP today held in the prisons of the regime.

Yes, until hope appears ...

Sosyalist Demokrasi için Yeniyol, Turkish Section of the Fourth International

5 November 2016