June 17—Thousands of Turkish workers and youth continue to brave the vicious attacks of Turkey’s fascist g o v e r n m e n t , displaying the same unbeatable spirit as workers f r o m Bangladesh to south Africa. Defying clubs, water cannon, rubber bullets, and tear gas, they show the potential of our class to end murderous capitalism forever. Already they have emboldened others from egypt to Brazil. As Prime Minister erdogan’s troops cleared Taksim square, protests spread elsewhere in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities. On Monday, public workers, transit, construction, health care workers, and others answered the capitalists’ police attacks with a nationwide strike. The protests began June 1st against the destruction of popular gezi Park in order to build a massive shopping center in a replica of Ottoman Army barracks. The developer who stands to profit from this symbol of Turkish nationalism-imperialism is erdogan’s son-in-law. Protesters refused to leave the square despite some leaders’ capitulation, rejecting erdogan’s plea to rely on the courts.

“This is not just about trees,”
said a furious demonstrator. The underlying cause of the revolt is the crisis of Turkey’s capitalism which, with its rising unemployment and its government’s increasing involvement in the syrian war, is unable to meet workers’ needs. This unpopular war is sharpening contradictions within Turkey, in the whole region, and between the US and Russian imperialists. For example, a proposed Iran-Iraq-syria natural gas pipeline threatens Turkish capitalists’ dreams of domination of natural-gas transport. Us rulers were counting on Turkey to kill this project through regime-change in Syria, but the anti-Erdogan protests are getting in the way. Turkey’s economic growth slowed in 2012 because of a drop in demand from its major trading partners due to the war in syria and the crisis in europe. A Bank of America spokesperson claims that “Political stability has become a very big asset for Turkey over the last decade.” That is now at risk. Erdogan hoped he could squash the protests, making foreign investors happy. But the rebellion is spreading.

Crisis and war: opportunity for revolution.
The Turkish masses are in motion against profit-driven capitalists and their bloody wars for empire. In times of crisis and war like these, the objective situation is ripe for the masses to mobilize to end capitalism-imperialism with communist revolution. That’s the only way for workers to decide how and what to produce, and to organize society to meet our needs. nothing less will end the crisis. What’s lacking is the subjective factor: a mass communist party with roots among industrial workers and soldiers who mobilize for and lead a communist revolution. Turkish workers, soldiers and youth must join and build the International Communist Workers’ Party to mobilize for communism. In communist society, all the world’s resources will be in the hands of the workers who will share and develop them solely to meet the needs of the masses. Through their Party, the workers will plan, fight and produce to meet these needs in harmony with a healthy environment.

Workers Need communism, Not Democracy
Turkey was touted as a stable democracy whose President was legally elected, and as an economic success. Many in the Middle east and Africa took it as a model. But many Turkish youth and workers now see they have no freedom. erdogan’s attacks show that capitalism, no matter what its form, is the enemy of the working class. Democracy is exposed as the dictatorship of the ruling class over us. When we participate in elections, we are choosing our own oppressors.

“We won’t be soldiers for the imperialists”
Eight months ago, Turkish anti-war demonstrators made this vow in answer to erdogan’s desire to have the Turkish army, fourth largest in NATO, spearhead an invasion of Syria. On May 11, three weeks before the gezi Park protest, twin car bombs exploded in the Turkish town of Reyhanli on the Syrian border, killing 51 people. Many linked the attacks to the syrian “rebels.” Others linked them to Assad. erdogan has offered refuge for the syrian “rebels’” families and a safe zone from which they can launch attacks across the border. Most Turks oppose the war and erdogan’s support for the “rebels.” As they made clear last October, they don’t want to be cannon fodder in the imperialists’ war for oil pipelines and empire. But, to put an end to imperialist war, they need to mobilize for communist revolution. Red Flag readers need to mobilize international communist solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Turkey and spread Red Flag and ICWP to workers, students and soldiers in as many countries as possible.

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