The This Order Must Change Platform, founded following the unlawful ban on the Communist Party of Turkey’s (TKP) running for the elections on June 24, continues its election running with independent candidates.
The members and guests of the platform gathered in the Bahçelievler district of the city of İstanbul, where Atakan Boyoğlu is running as a candidate in the 3rd electoral district.
After the electoral bulletin by the platform, titled “Would you like to live in a Turkey like this?”, was read, TKP Central Committee member Mehmet Kuzulugil took the floor. Kuzulugil underlined the importance of the front represented by the independent candidates of the platform.
“First,” Kuzulugil said, “this is obviously a result of the fact that the Communist Party of Turkey was prevented from running for the elections with a fait accompli… The TKP was robbed of its right to meet the people in elections as a party.”
Kuzulugil then stated that the TKP could make an effort to gather people who shared the values of the programme of the TKP, and who would say “count me in”. “In that case, we could call people to cast their votes for the Wheel and Hammer. But this was prevented, as well, so technically, we had to take a different course regarding the elections,” Kuzulugil maintained.
Finally, Kuzulugil also said that the candidates of the “This Social Order Must Change” Platform, the people who ask others to vote for these candidates, and the people who will vote for them are on the common ground regarding their views on today’s Turkey and the upcoming elections.
Reminding that it is TKP’s main motive in running for the elections not to leave the people without alternatives, Kuzulugil emphasised: “The principal parameter for us in the elections is to turn the polls into a tool for the people to project their reaction to the [capitalist] order… We are not taking an opportunity to propagandise ourselves, but moving our struggle against the order to the polls.”
Mehmet Kuzulugil mentioned that, even though there is a more intense systematic reaction to capitalism in Turkey today compared to the 1970’s and 1980’s, several mechanisms have been devised and developed in order for those reactions not to go beyond the order.
Stating that many people make arithmetic calculations of a coalition in order to get rid of the Turkish AKP government and Erdoğan, he maintained: “What is important today is not finding means to get rid of the AKP – we must make sure that we get rid of some other things along with the AKP. In today’s order, among the capitalists, reactionists, and imperialism, there is a basic condition of those … who want to go along the way without the AKP: Will this country continue to be ruled? Will you be able to ban strikes in this country? Will those who watch the Parliament from their homes continue to do so? Will a ready-wear worker who has not been able to get his payment continue not to find any way than begging his boss for his payment? The assurances [by the parties of the order] are given to capitalists. The coalitions are formed for the capital.”
Kuzulugil also underlined the importance of the question whether Turkey would call the order to account or meet a period of time with or without Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with the feeling “We have got rid of the dictator now, what a relief!” He said: “We must not allow social dynamics to be buried into the polls.”
In his speech, Atakan Boyoğlu reminded that the ruling AKP party has devastated the country in 15 years, privatised and sold factories, privatised education and healthcare, taken the right to strike from workers, etc.
Boyoğlu stated: “They want the people, who have grown sick of the AKP now, to gather at someone else’s door, to see it as a way to liberation, which is in no way different than the AKP itself. We object this… Those who think we deserve the lesser evil are wrong. No one can save us but ourselves. We cannot achieve a thing unless we rise and fight for our own future.”
The 3rd electoral district in İstanbul is also a place where a great number of white- and blue-collar workers work. Reminding this fact, Atakan Boyoğlu said: “We must knock on the doors of every worker in this district… When the rush our has come, all the workers … must see us with our leaflets and uniforms… We must be a hope for all workers.”
