The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) has released a statement on Jan. 11 against the worldwide clothing retail company H&M’s racist ad image featuring a child of color model wearing a "coolest monkey in the jungle" hoodie.
"It is not a coincidence that those, who exploit child labour and impose slavery working conditions upon workers, conduct racism through a child of color. However, the issue is beyond racism, it is the exploitation of child labour as the most merciless aspect of this system," the statement reads, with regards to the renowned Swedish company's scandalous image.
TKP: RACISM IS PART OF THIS EXPLOITATIVE CAPITALIST ORDER
Arguing that the matter is not only restricted with racism, the TKP says that H&M is such a company that sales a €5 t-shirt in Germany by exploiting a Bangladeshi manufacture worker who produces these t-shirts working 12 hours a day for €1,35.
H&M has confessed in February 2016 that child workers were forced to work for very little money at workplaces in Turkey. Especially the Syrian children,” the TKP statement says, adding that not only H&M but also many other big companies exploit child labour in Turkey and across the world.
TKP REVEALS HYPOCRISY OF TURKISH LABOUR MINISTRY
The TKP emphasizes that the Turkish authorities did not carry out any investigation although the unlawful exploitation of child labour of local and foreign companies was documented in many cases in Turkey, revealing the hypocrisy of the Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security which declared 2018 as "the year of fighting against child labour".
Saying that racism is part of this exploitative and corrupt capitalist order, the TKP vows that it will completely eliminate this system so as to establish a new egalitarian order in which children and workers will live in peace.
Addressing the working people of Turkey to get organized within the party against this broken system, the TKP calls on the workers to attend the party’s protest in front of H&M-Turkey building in İstanbul on January 12.
