Obama and his western allies such as Cameron argue that a policy of air strikes alone could defeat the advances made by 'Islamic state' (IS) forces in Iraq and Syria. Now with the possible defeat of
Kurdish forces fighting IS for control of the city of Kobane, this policy lies in tatters.
IS forces have advanced in the city and could be on the verge of another victory. Amidst reports of horrific scenes of brutal slaughter in the city by the crazed forces of reactionary IS, US air strikes on IS forces failed to halt their advance. Those trapped in Kobane are waging a courageous fight to defeat IS or face certain slaughter.
Obama and Cameron's air strikes policy is also at risk in Iraq with major IS gains in the western province of Anbar (nearly 25% of Iraq). All Anbar's major towns except Haditha and one military base have fallen to IS.
Again the Iraqi army offered little effective resistance. In yet another humanitarian catastrophe, an estimated 750,000 people have already fled Anbar province - up to 180,000 fleeing as IS forces overran the military base near Hit.
IS may now launch a further offensive to try to take the Sunni western part of Baghdad. Anbar province was the centre of the 2003 Sunni uprising against the US occupation.
A crucial element in the IS victories lies in the amount of heavy weaponry and arms they captured from disintegrating Iraqi armed forces. The rapid advances they made over vast areas of Iraq and Syria also show that the IS uprising has become a generalised Sunni uprising.
The brutal response of Shia militias near Baghdad, which have not distinguished between IS fighters and ordinary Sunni people, have driven the Sunni population under the IS umbrella as there is no other force to defend them. Shia militias in Baghdad speak openly of driving the Sunnis out from mixed areas of the city. IS has been able to gain support because of the oppression of the Sunni population under the western installed government of Maliki in Iraq following the US-led occupation.
The Turkish regime of Erdogan consciously held back from intervening against IS forces advancing on Kobane. They fear the consequences that a Kurdish victory would have on the 15 million Kurdish population inside Turkey.
Most fighting in Kobane is led by the PYD - the Syrian branch of the Kurdish PKK in Turkey. The Erdogan regime would be more comfortable with an IS victory over the PYD rather than vice-versa as indicated by the agreement reached for the release of Turkish hostages held by IS. Now Turkish warplanes have cynically bombed PKK bases in Turkish Hakkari province near the Iraqi border.
There can be no trust in any of the regional leaders or western imperialism to resolve this crisis in the interests of all the region's peoples. Western imperialist intervention is only worsening the catastrophe.
The origins of the current slaughter can largely be found in the legacy of western imperialist interventions into the entire region.
No trust can be placed in the Sunni or Shia elite and rulers of the region's countries which aim to use the conflict to gain for themselves. Turkey is looking to strengthen its expansion into Syria and seeking to establish a new mini form of the Ottoman empire.
Obama speaks of assembling a coalition of such Sunni powers as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE to oppose IS. However, while these countries' ruling dynasties may not fully support IS's actions, sections of them have been backing IS and all have their own regional interests and their own agendas.
Defeating IS is not their main priority. They can use the fact that IS in the short term can cause more problems for the Shia regimes in order to bolster their own interests.
To combat the horrors of IS and other reactionary sectarian forces in the region, a united movement of Sunni and Shia masses together with the Kurdish, Turkish and all other peoples must be built. To combat the reactionary threat of an IS slaughter in Kobane, such democratic committees need building to form mass militias.
In Turkey, committees of Turkish and Kurdish workers need to be formed and come together in a united way. There must be a struggle to lift Turkey's arms embargo to allow for the arming of such militias. The way forward is to build non-sectarian committees of the Arab Sunni and Shia masses together with the Kurdish people in Iraq in opposition to sectarian forces on both sides.
Such committees could form the basis of a government of workers, peasants and all those exploited by capitalism and imperialism that would guarantee the democratic, national and ethnic rights of all peoples of the entire area based on a democratic socialist federation of states.
by Tony Saunois, Committee for a Workers' International
www.socialistworld.net
Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts
Thursday, 16 October 2014
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Turkey: Mass movement challenges Erdogan's authoritarian government
For a one-day general strike as the next step in the struggle
By Sosyalist Alternatif (CWI, Turkey) reporters
KESK, Turkey's Confederation of Public Workers' Unions, announced a national strike against police violence for today (4 June) and on Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to come to the demonstrations despite the police using tear gas and batons to violently attack demonstrators.
The ongoing police brutality, beginning at the end of May in Gezi Park, on Taksim Square in Istanbul, shows again the arrogance and arbitrary police violence that the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government rests on.
Hundreds were injured, some seriously. In the course of the mass movement, at least two demonstrators have been killed.
The government redevelopment of Gezi Park was the spark that triggered a political explosion. It is not only in Istanbul that protests are taking place.
Hundreds of thousands are taking to the streets all over Turkey, in Ankara, Inzmir and Bodrum and many other places. In total, it is reported that mass demonstrations have taken place in 67 cities.
There are some indications of divisions within the state apparatus, with military personnel distributing gas masks and even some police supporting the demonstrators.
The potential exists to develop a movement that challenges the Turkish capitalist elite.
This is a turning point. The AKP has been confronted with a sharp fall in economic growth rates this year.
It was able to present itself as a 'moderate' Islamic 'alternative' to the old establishment and pursued some populist social policies.
But the events of the last days have shaken the rule of the AKP and prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The mass movement was initially dominated by people from the middle classes. They were quickly joined by youth from working class suburbs.
Now there is an increasing involvement of the organised workers' movement (though this is still in its early stages).
This may be a harbinger of even greater mass struggles, moving towards a pre- or revolutionary situation.
Splits at the top of the regime, within Erdogan's party, are also starting to emerge. The right-wing Turkish regime, a Nato ally with its own ambitions to become a regional power, is now challenged by an uprising of anger and opposition.
The nightmare of the increasingly sectarian civil war in Syria, which sees meddling by imperialist and local powers, and its dangerous spilling over into the whole region, had appeared to threaten all the achievements of the 'Arab Spring' - peoples' uprisings against dictators and for social change.
The Turkish regime cynically intervened in the Syrian conflict in its own interests. But now the start of a potential 'Turkish Summer' is offering new hope to revitalise the movements from below across the region, encouraging a potential renewal of mass struggle fordemocratic rights, as well as the need to bring about fundamental change in the interests of the working masses.
'Erdogan resign!'
It started on 27 May with protests by environmentalists against the cutting down of trees to allow developers, who are close to Erdogan, to build another shopping mall in the centre of Istanbul.
Using police violence, developers tried to force this development through to bolster the profits of the few.
In the eyes of millions, this summarised the programme of the neoliberal AKP government.
"Tayyip istifa" ("Erdogan resign"), became the unifying slogan of the movement. Sections of the CHP (Republican People's Party), the main pro-capitalist opposition, and even the fascist, MHP, have tried to exploit the movement.
So far, the radical character of the mass movement has not allowed the CHP to dominate.
However, within the movement a debate on the way forward is essential. How can a mass political force be built to serve the interests of workers, young people and poor people, that is able to bring down the Erdogan government and offer an alternative?
This movement cannot have anything in common with the old CHP elite. A new force is necessary. Therefore a political programme is needed that puts democratic rights and the struggle for jobs, decent housing, higher wages and social security to the fore; a socialist programme that does not shy away from challenging the interests of the capitalist elites and multinational companies.
Divide and rule
The wing of Turkish bosses and international corporations that are close to Erdogan have been allowed to enrich themselves for years.
The politics of privatisations and neoliberal attacks and the repression of protests serve the enrichment of a few. In response, we need the united resistance of working people, the youth and the poor.
To be able to implement these policies, the AKP tries to present itself as defending Islamist values.
This is what is driving its divisive measures, such as further extending the areas where alcohol cannot be legally sold and sanctioning against people kissing in public.
With these measures and more, the AKP tries to organise support among more conservative parts of the population. This is a cynical attempt to cover the government's real policies and attacks.
Erdogan has made threats to mobilise conservative layers of the population onto the streets, to counter the protest movement.
He points to his parliamentary majority and believes the AKP can draw on substantial support in society.
The mass movement needs to advocate policies that can win over the rural masses and urban poor, to cut across government attempts at divide and rule.
Tasks
The call by KESK for a national strike against police violence is the right decision. The other trade unions should follow this example and extend the strike.
A one-day general strike across Turkey can be the next step to build the mass movement against Erdogan - putting the organised workers' movement to the centre of the protests.
Trade unions and Left parties and groups, like HDK (People's Democratic Congress - an umbrella party, including Kurdish parties and Left groups), Halk Evleri (People's Houses) and others, can contribute to turn this into a mass strike.
Committees based on mass assemblies in factories and neighbourhoods are necessary to defend them from the police, to organise solidarity for a successful strike, and to encourage political debates.
Bringing together elected representatives of these assemblies locally, in the cities and regions, as well as on a national level, can build the movement in a democratic way, with full accountability and the right to recall all representatives. This can be the basis for a government of workers and the poor.
Based on these steps, a movement is possible that not only brings down the Erdogan government, but can fight for an alternative in the interests of the working class, the youth and working people, in general. A mass party of the working class, with a socialist programme, is necessary.
The full version of this article can be read onwww.socialistworld.net
By Sosyalist Alternatif (CWI, Turkey) reporters
KESK, Turkey's Confederation of Public Workers' Unions, announced a national strike against police violence for today (4 June) and on Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to come to the demonstrations despite the police using tear gas and batons to violently attack demonstrators.
The ongoing police brutality, beginning at the end of May in Gezi Park, on Taksim Square in Istanbul, shows again the arrogance and arbitrary police violence that the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government rests on.
Hundreds were injured, some seriously. In the course of the mass movement, at least two demonstrators have been killed.
The government redevelopment of Gezi Park was the spark that triggered a political explosion. It is not only in Istanbul that protests are taking place.
Hundreds of thousands are taking to the streets all over Turkey, in Ankara, Inzmir and Bodrum and many other places. In total, it is reported that mass demonstrations have taken place in 67 cities.
There are some indications of divisions within the state apparatus, with military personnel distributing gas masks and even some police supporting the demonstrators.
The potential exists to develop a movement that challenges the Turkish capitalist elite.
This is a turning point. The AKP has been confronted with a sharp fall in economic growth rates this year.
It was able to present itself as a 'moderate' Islamic 'alternative' to the old establishment and pursued some populist social policies.
But the events of the last days have shaken the rule of the AKP and prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The mass movement was initially dominated by people from the middle classes. They were quickly joined by youth from working class suburbs.
Now there is an increasing involvement of the organised workers' movement (though this is still in its early stages).
This may be a harbinger of even greater mass struggles, moving towards a pre- or revolutionary situation.
Splits at the top of the regime, within Erdogan's party, are also starting to emerge. The right-wing Turkish regime, a Nato ally with its own ambitions to become a regional power, is now challenged by an uprising of anger and opposition.
The nightmare of the increasingly sectarian civil war in Syria, which sees meddling by imperialist and local powers, and its dangerous spilling over into the whole region, had appeared to threaten all the achievements of the 'Arab Spring' - peoples' uprisings against dictators and for social change.
The Turkish regime cynically intervened in the Syrian conflict in its own interests. But now the start of a potential 'Turkish Summer' is offering new hope to revitalise the movements from below across the region, encouraging a potential renewal of mass struggle fordemocratic rights, as well as the need to bring about fundamental change in the interests of the working masses.
'Erdogan resign!'
It started on 27 May with protests by environmentalists against the cutting down of trees to allow developers, who are close to Erdogan, to build another shopping mall in the centre of Istanbul.
Using police violence, developers tried to force this development through to bolster the profits of the few.
In the eyes of millions, this summarised the programme of the neoliberal AKP government.
"Tayyip istifa" ("Erdogan resign"), became the unifying slogan of the movement. Sections of the CHP (Republican People's Party), the main pro-capitalist opposition, and even the fascist, MHP, have tried to exploit the movement.
So far, the radical character of the mass movement has not allowed the CHP to dominate.
However, within the movement a debate on the way forward is essential. How can a mass political force be built to serve the interests of workers, young people and poor people, that is able to bring down the Erdogan government and offer an alternative?
This movement cannot have anything in common with the old CHP elite. A new force is necessary. Therefore a political programme is needed that puts democratic rights and the struggle for jobs, decent housing, higher wages and social security to the fore; a socialist programme that does not shy away from challenging the interests of the capitalist elites and multinational companies.
Divide and rule
The wing of Turkish bosses and international corporations that are close to Erdogan have been allowed to enrich themselves for years.
The politics of privatisations and neoliberal attacks and the repression of protests serve the enrichment of a few. In response, we need the united resistance of working people, the youth and the poor.
To be able to implement these policies, the AKP tries to present itself as defending Islamist values.
This is what is driving its divisive measures, such as further extending the areas where alcohol cannot be legally sold and sanctioning against people kissing in public.
With these measures and more, the AKP tries to organise support among more conservative parts of the population. This is a cynical attempt to cover the government's real policies and attacks.
Erdogan has made threats to mobilise conservative layers of the population onto the streets, to counter the protest movement.
He points to his parliamentary majority and believes the AKP can draw on substantial support in society.
The mass movement needs to advocate policies that can win over the rural masses and urban poor, to cut across government attempts at divide and rule.
Tasks
The call by KESK for a national strike against police violence is the right decision. The other trade unions should follow this example and extend the strike.
A one-day general strike across Turkey can be the next step to build the mass movement against Erdogan - putting the organised workers' movement to the centre of the protests.
Trade unions and Left parties and groups, like HDK (People's Democratic Congress - an umbrella party, including Kurdish parties and Left groups), Halk Evleri (People's Houses) and others, can contribute to turn this into a mass strike.
Committees based on mass assemblies in factories and neighbourhoods are necessary to defend them from the police, to organise solidarity for a successful strike, and to encourage political debates.
Bringing together elected representatives of these assemblies locally, in the cities and regions, as well as on a national level, can build the movement in a democratic way, with full accountability and the right to recall all representatives. This can be the basis for a government of workers and the poor.
Based on these steps, a movement is possible that not only brings down the Erdogan government, but can fight for an alternative in the interests of the working class, the youth and working people, in general. A mass party of the working class, with a socialist programme, is necessary.
The full version of this article can be read onwww.socialistworld.net
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