By Workers’ Democracy Party (IDP), IWU-FI section in Türkiye
On the morning of March 23rd, 45 people, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, were arrested on corruption charges. While Imamoğlu’s arrest warrant from the terrorism investigation opened against him on the basis of ‘Urban Consensus’ (1) was rejected, three people, including the mayor of Şişli, Resul Emrah Şahan, received arrest warrants on this charge, and a Kayyum (trustee administrator) was appointed to the Şişli municipality. It is clear that all these accusations are fabricated by the judiciary, which acts as a sword of the Presidential Palace, with the aim of criminalising, intimidating and liquidating the opposition, in line with the continuity of the Erdoğan administration. As the Workers’ Democracy Party, we condemn and reject these attacks on the right to vote and to be elected, on freedom of association and on the most basic democratic rights.
The aggression of the one-man government, which went so far as to arrest İmamoğlu, mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and his main rival in the upcoming presidential elections, was certainly not a new or surprising development. After the heavy defeat in the local elections, the People’s Alliance (2) resumed their interventionist practices through ‘kayyums’ (3) and initiated policies to regain political supremacy and criminalise the opposition. The tutelage policy that started against the municipalities led by the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) was extended to the Republican People’s Party (CHP) with the municipality of Esenyurt. This aggression continued in the form of corruption operations in the municipalities of Beşiktaş and Beykoz, and terrorism investigations against CHP municipal council members and municipal administrators elected under the ‘Urban Consensus’. It was clear that all these operations were preparations for the attack on İmamoğlu.
Finally, the one-man regime launched its real attack. First, with the cancellation of İmamoğlu’s diploma (4) on March 18th, and then with his arrest, along with almost a hundred other people, in corruption and terrorism operations that were launched simultaneously. After four days of detention, interrogation by the police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Imamoğlu was arrested on corruption charges, while the General Prosecutor’s Office appealed the decision to release him on the charge of terrorism; at the time of writing, this appeal is in the process of evaluation.
In addition to the operation against İmamoğlu, it is understood that a trustee will be appointed to also intervene in the Republican People’s Party (CHP), alleging irregularities in the last party congress and that there are plans to take the CHP to an extraordinary congress with the intervention of the Palace. In response to this move, Özgür Özel, the main party leader, announced his decision to take the CHP to an extraordinary congress on April 6th.
These attacks by Erdoğan’s government against the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and İmamoğlu reveal the stagnation and desperation of the People’s Alliance. Erdoğan’s People’s Alliance, whose electoral support has been gradually weakening as a result of the economic devastation for which it is responsible and its persistent oppressive and anti-democratic policies, is once again trying to maintain its power through oppression, fear and criminalisation of the opposition. However, these moves it is undertaking only deepen the contradictions in which it finds itself. On the one hand, the aggression against the main political opposition – which went so far as to arrest the presidential candidate, remove him from politics and appoint a proxy for his presidency – further weakens the ‘legitimacy of the ballot box’, which is its ultimate basis of support. Moreover, these measures further disrupt the fragile economic structure and gradually reduce the social base on which the government relies. The initiative carried out under the name of ‘Turkey without terrorism’ is entering into new deadlocks with the policy of labelling the ‘Urban Consensus’ as terrorism. The most important thing is that this time this new aggression of the government is facing the mobilisation of the masses, especially the youth, on the streets.
The student youth, who acted immediately following the diploma annulment operations and arrests, also gave a lesson on how to respond to anti-democratic attacks. The administration of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), which initially seemed paralysed and remained silent after the operation, called for action in Saraçhane following the youths actions and protests, and the growing social pressure. The popular masses filled Saraçhane square from day one and increasingly mobilised in defence of democratic rights. Mass demonstrations took place not only in Saraçhane Square, but also in many other squares in Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara and across the country. This mobilisation of the working people was the main factor that destroyed the legitimacy of this action of the government.
Although the CHP leadership called for the streets under the pressure of mobilisation, it showed that, as in previous moments of rupture, it was more afraid of the power and mobilisation of the streets and the masses, than of the power of the government. The CHP administration made its calls for action under the pressure of the masses, in order to limit and control them, and insofar as it could not prevent them, to try to turn them into its own demonstrations and rallies. It did not call on the district organisations to fill the camps, nor did it organise buses from the districts, nor did it take any initiative to further mobilise the masses. The masses filled the squares despite the passive, cynical and ‘limit politics to the ballot box’ attitude of the CHP leadership.
As a result of this mobilisation of the masses, it was achieved that İmamoğlu was released of the terrorism charges, and that the government took a partial step backwards by abandoning the appointment of trustees for the administration of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. However, İmamoğlu is still being held on corruption charges and, as can be seen from the Prosecutor’s objection to this decision, as long as the current regime continues to exist, the interventionist regime through trusteeships will continue to threaten all aspects of life, from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to other municipalities, from universities to political parties.
Now, the masses are discussing what to do next and how to continue the mobilisation. The CHP leadership will soon put an end to its calls for action limited to the rallies at Saraçhane Square, and will be eager to return to its everyday policy limited to ‘waiting for the ballot boxes’. However, the mobilisations that began with the arrest of İmamoğlu, then arose in defence of democratic rights as a result of the accumulated anger against the oppressive attacks of the one-man, authoritarian regime. The mobilisation must continue and become widespread until all political prisoners are released, the criminalisation of the political opposition is ended and a real break with the regime and the trustee policy that extends from the municipalities to the universities and the administration of the country is achieved!
Today, while millions of CHP supporters and non-supporters, angry at the one-man, authoritarian regime, are mobilising by voting in the polls of the party’s primary elections and showing their reactions; the Kurdish people, demanding freedom and an honourable peace, are filling the squares and the student youth are trying to continue and spread the academic boycott. All these mobilisations must be united and expanded in order to defeat the Erdoğan regime. The only decisive actor that will unite these different dynamics is the working class, which will enter the scene ‘using its power of production’. The calls for a general strike, addressed to trade unions and labour organisations, take on great significance in this context. In order for all the labour organisations, especially the Türk-İş (Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions), to take action, the pressure on their leadership, which is trying to bury its head in the sand or settle for symbolic statements, must be doubled or tripled. In this sense, as the Workers’ Democracy Party (IDP), we continue to call on the socialist left and all labour organisations to build a Labour Alliance that combines the struggle against the anti-democratic attacks and the policies of economic destruction with a plan of action.
Free the political prisoners!
Stop the criminalisation of the political opposition!
End the interventionist trustee (Kayyum) regime in the municipalities, in the universities and in the whole country!
The solution lies in the united struggle, the solution lies in the workers’ alliance!
(1) – Kent uzlaşısı, or ‘Urban Consensus’: this is the name given to the actions by which the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) did not present candidates in some electoral districts in the western provinces and supported the candidates of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) party to which İmamoğlu, the detained mayor of Istanbul, belongs. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is addicted to Erdoğan, defines ‘urban consensus’ as an activity aimed at increasing the PKK’s influence in the cities. Under this argument, it carries out investigations and arrests for ‘terrorism’.
(2) – Cumhur İttifakı or ‘People’s Alliance’ is the Political Electoral Front of Turkey’s various patronage political parties that supports the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP). It includes, in particular, the nacionalist far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
(3) – Kayyum – Trustee. They are administrators – technocrats – appointed directly by the government (i.e. President Erdoğan) and so don’t come to power through elections. They manage the institution they have been assigned to in their name, to ensure government oversight and continuity of the work. These administrators/trustees can be appointed to political parties, municipalities, trade unions, companies, football clubs, universities, etc. After each local election, Erdoğan would appoint administrators for Kurdistan’s municipalities and arrests the elected mayors. A few years ago, he appointed administrators to Boğaziçi University (a public university in Istanbul). After the attempted military coup in 2016, he appointed administrators to companies that financed the coup attempt. Now he wants to appoint administrators for the CHP (opposition party) and for Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
(4) – To run in the presidential elections, you need a university degree. By revoking İmamoğlu’s university degree, he is thus unable to run for office.
