The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) has recently published a report on October Revolution anniversary. The report assesses the economic and political crisis in Turkey and the actuality of a socialist revolution for Turkey.
The report starts with an assessment of the historical intervention of the working class to the world history, that is the October Revolution. The achievements of the revolution were reversed by the capitalist-imperialist system after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The defeat of capitalism in these conditions becomes necessary in these conditions.
The report then reminds that the Republic of Turkey was also found by a revolution. The struggle under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk stood against imperialist occupation and founded the republic; however, this resistance "became a ruling class project and thus it entered into the process of capitalization rapidly in accordance with the class character of its leadership".
As the bourgeoisie got stronger, the working class of the country had been oppressed more. By the weakening of the founding principles of the republic and increasing Americanism and reactionism, according to the report, the republic was defeated by a counter-revolution within the period of AKP governments.
One of the important points underlined in the report is that this counter-revolution has left no other actor in this system who might fight to regain the old achievements, which leaves the AKP economically and politically unrivalled within this system. Any resistance without a revolutionary stance, therefore, will fade in the capitalist system. "Turkey", the report says, "is searching for its revolution in the pursuit of equality and independence".
The current economic situation and the condition of the crisis in Turkey were evaluated in detail in the report. It is reminded that the AKP rule and all of the different sections of the capital in Turkey are taking joint steps and taking advantage of the unorganized conditions of the working class. "All the precautions were taken due to the crisis," says the report, "aim to transfer resources of the people to the capitalists directly or indirectly". Moreover, in the last couple of years, the AKP lacks an apparent strategy regarding foreign policy. The temporary and pragmatic shifts of the government between China-Russia and Western axis do not lead to any strong initiative. Yet, as the report assesses, the question whether this strategy of not having a long-term plan may continue depends on how the crisis of imperialism would evolve.
The final section of the report is dedicated to the actuality of the revolution in Turkey in these conditions and the responsibilities of the Communist Party. One of the most important responsibilities of the communists, the report suggests, is not to fall into the trap of non-revolutionary channels proposed as the way out. The communist movement "will develop on the basis of an ideological and political consistency and organizational continuity". The report also adds that "Today’s priority is to enable the working class to be visible in the political sphere with a revolutionary perspective on the one hand, and to remove the working people from the defensive position they are in and to transform them into an actor that is on the offensive on the other”.
