Our 5th General Congress has been concluded with Levent Tüzel being re-elected as President and the decisions for struggle that have been taken. There was one list in the Congress and both President Levent Tüzel and the rest of the members of the General Executive Committee have been elected by all the 347 votes of the delegates. Decisions of struggle have been taken regarding all the issues concerning the workers and labourers beginning with the democratic, peaceful solution to the Kurdish question and the dismissals from work of capital evaluating the economic crisis as an opportunity, flexible working, deunionisation and the flood of inflation imposed by the government. In his address of thanks Vice President Sabri Topçu stated that they will work day and night in order to both strengthen the publications and to raise the struggle all together against the attacks.
One of the topics discussed in the Congress was the developments taking place regarding the Kurdish question. The question was also emphasised with importance in President Levent Tüzel’s speech and attention was drawn to the fact that the problem, gaining an international dimension due to the impasse created by the war and violence environment, had become even graver. It was expressed in the Congress that the democratic solution of the Kurdish question based on equal rights is also the touchstone for the establishment of genuine democracy and the advancement of a coherent anti-imperialist and class struggle in Turkey.
Call to the March of Independence
Strengthening the joint struggle against the attacks towards the youth masses has been determined as a fundamental objective in the Congress. The problems of the young masses were discussed, targets for struggle and organisation were drawn attention to and it was underlined that winning over the youth masses and for the Labour Youth to become the organisation of the youth masses is firstly the responsibility of the Party. A call was made to the “March of Independence against Imperialism” to be held by the Labour Youth on 20th December 2008.
Struggle in the ideological field
It was indicated in the Congress that alongside with the economic crisis, another crisis was also being experienced for a long time in the field of science and that though there have been enormous developments in the field of scientific data collection and in technology during the last 20-30 years; it was put forward that scientific theories broadening knowledge have not been produced. It was also expressed in the Congress that humanity is at a state of being “rich in data, poor in theory” and is faced with a multi-dimensional onslaught that has the aim of rendering ideology more reactionary, irrational and alienate it from a scientific approach; centred around the USA and wide spreading to the rest of the world. It was stated that in this time wherein we are entering a new phase of economic, political and social developments; it was mandatory for the organisations and the cadres to also renew themselves ideologically, politically and organisationally.
Other headlines that were emphasised were the unity of local struggles, the encouragement of women candidates in the approaching local elections and struggle against opportunism.
THE ONLY BASIS FOR THE PEOPLE’S POWER IS UNITY
Many of the guests participating in our party’s 5th Congress from our country and aboard also stressed ‘unity’. There were representatives from many labour organisations and political parties in our party’s congress. Hasip Kaplan, the Democratic Society Party (DTP) MP for Şırnak stated in his speech that the government, while trying to make the labourer people pay the bill of the crisis on the one hand, was attempting to silence the voice of the intellectuals, those demanding democracy as well as those opposing itself on the other. Kaplan also stated that unless the constitution of the 12th September military coup was not changed, it would not be possible for labourers, Kurds, Alevites or the peasants to be at ease and that the only basis for the power of the people was to be united.
We must march on for beautiful days
Important and relevant speeches were also made by Hamiyet Kızıler, Member of the Central Executive Committee of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP); Sami Evren, President of the Confederation of Public Sector Labourers’ Unions (KESK); Bayram Bozyiğin, President of the Right and Liberties Party (HAKPAR); Hüseyin Taka, the Vice President of the Socialist and Democracy Party (SDP); Mehmet Tüm, General Secretary of the Social Democracy Foundation (SODEV); Tevfik Taş, General Secretary of the Writers’ Union of Turkey; Ruşen Sümbüloğlu, President of Revolutionary 78’s Federation; Hüseyin Gevher from the 78’s Initiative and Poet Asım Gönen. Workers representatives from the Menderes Textile workers in resistance, the dock workers and the workers from the Antalya Airport, waging a struggle in order to become organised also gave speeches at the Congress.
Stating that he had brought the greetings of thousands of metal workers; the President of the Metal Workers’ Union, Adnan Serdaroğlu thanked EMEP for the support the party has been giving to the struggle of the metal workers. Putting forward that the bosses, attacking the workers’ rights using the pretext of the crisis, have concluded the year 2008 with immense profits Adnan Serdaroğlu said: “If any one of these companies come out and say, ‘we have closed the year 2008 with a loss’; we will take back everything we have said. If they have closed the year with profit, then they must account for this”. Serdaroğlu ended his speech with lines from a poem: “Beautiful days will not come to us/unless we march towards beautiful days”.
‘We shall definitely win’
Aydın Çubukçu, Member of the General Executive Committee of our party and the chief editor of Hayat TV also gave a speech at the Congress. Stating that the world had its eye on EMEP Aydın Çubukçu said EMEP, “has become a party inspiring confidence in its friends and hence it is necessary to act with this responsibility”. Expressing that the daily workers’ press and the tv channel is a product of the party’s unity of will Çubukçu underlined that these instruments needed to be used effectively and ended his words with; “We shall definitely win”.
International solidarity
Salim Majri (Workers’ Communist Party of Tunisia), Dimos Koumbouris (Communist Party of Greece), Zdenek Levy (Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia), Hüsnü Miloşi (Communist Party of Albania), Yusuf Alkım (Socialist Party of Cyprus), representative of Iran Labour Party -Toufan, Ahmet Sezgin (Turkish and Kurdish Community Centre - UK) also participated in the Congress and gave brief speeches:
Zdenek Levy: The widespread struggle to be waged by the communists against the effects of the crisis will guarantee economic and social development, maintain the just allocation of natural resources and increase the awareness that there is a need for socialism. I hope that we will be successful in the struggle we are waging so that our children, our grandchildren and the new generations live in a socialist world in which social justice reigns.
Yusuf Alkım: We shall win in Cyprus, in Turkey, Greece, the UK and as a matter of fact the whole world. We enthusiastically greet your 5th Congress in the light of these ideas. Long live the fraternity of the peoples, long live the struggle for power of the working class. Long live socialism.
Hüsnü Miloşi: The world will be saved with the unity of all the proletarians of the world, the children of Prometheus and the unity of Marx’s fighters. It will be saved with the heroes portrayed in Nazım Hikmet’s lines; “If you don’t burn, if i don’t, if we don’t, how can darkness become light”.
Dimos Koumbouris: We are struggling together against US imperialism, the imperialist centre named the EU, against NATO and the new imperialist order. This struggle is for better living standards, for peace and socialism. It is to end the exploitation of humans by humans. Long live our common struggle. Long live friendship and our peoples bound by mutual responsibility. Our tomorrows lie in a new world, in socialism.
Salim Majri: Socialists, revolutionaries and communists need a plan of unity in order to stop the imperialist policies. All the communist parties should act together against the imperialist neoliberal policies.
Representative of the International Bureau of Iran Labour Party: The economic and political crises of the outdated and decayed system of the capital are not of the type to be cured. This is a result of its exploitative and parasitic nature. What this means in reality is this: The Marxist Leninists should be filled with high morale of assertiveness and should intensify all their efforts in the preparation of a ruthless revolutionary struggle along the path of strengthening its foundations among the masses… This victory can only be obtained via commitment to Lenin’s theory of imperialism and proletarian revolution and through proleterian internationalism.
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