MLCP INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN March 2006 / No: 43 : Argentina Indymedia (( i ))

MLCP INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN March 2006 / No: 43 MARXIST LENINIST COMMUNIST PARTY TURKEY/NORTHERN KURDISTAN What Have The Palestinian People Chosen? The elections in Palestine have brought out results that could affect the balance of power in the Middle East. The loosing of strength by the El-Fattah was known, but it was never predicted that the result would have been so dramatic. In any case, the elections in Palestine have caused the opening of a new page in the Middle East, at least in connection with Palestine. The elections have given an end to the domination of El-Fattah. According to the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) the election results show “the choosing of resistance by the Palestinian people in the face of Israeli occupation”. The reasons of Hamas success in the elections can be summed up in few points: 1- The anger of the Palestinian people against the El-Fattah was huge. The Palestinian people have rightly considered El-Fattah as responsible for the entrance of Palestine question into dead-end, compromising with American imperialism and Zionism, and the process which started from Oslo and caused the appearance of current situation. 2- El-Fattah is considered as responsible of corruption, bribes, and “pocket-filling” that are dominant within the Autonomous Palestine Authority. 3- The fragmented and weak situation of revolutionary and communist forces in Palestine have pushed the people of Palestine, who are ready to fight but experiencing difficulties in determining their direction, to the side of Hamas that took attitude for an independent Palestinian state, do not recognise Israel as a State and conducts armed struggle. 4- Especially because of the financial help received from Iran, Hamas has come to the fore in solving many problems of the Palestinian people and gained sympathy and created an organisation -that cannot be belittled- from the base by using those financial help. Hamas has collected the harvests of these activities and opportunities. What will happen hereafter? In the region under the administration of the Palestine Authority, Hamas could aim to establish a regime similar to the one in Iran. However, such a step may cause the full isolation of Hamas and its overthrow from the power through the use of force by the alliance of imperialism and Zionism. Hamas did not make such a step yet, but because it is aware of the consideration of the world public opinion towards itself, it started to give messages around and take under control its attitudes and statements that it has been using until now. Hamas, at first, wants to fight to stay on the power. Therefore it does not want to establish government alone and announces that it is in favour of a “national” government, a government that could be formed together with all forces, including El-Fattah. Thus it wants to lead all Palestinian forces in direction of its own point of views on the subject of interfering with the Palestine question. And is this being named as the national reconciliation. Moreover, Hamas started to soften its known radical attitude against the American imperialism, Israel and its understanding of struggle in general just after the election. It is a necessary point not to forget that the political Islam, so Hamas could collaborate with imperialism when coming to power. Hamas choose to visit Turkey at first, but not Russia and Egypt in order to give a message that it will not put obstacles before the imperialism’s, American imperialism’s Middle East policy, and that it is necessary for them to be recognised and not to be considered as terrorists. The reason of this was to give the message that it can also pass through a process such as AKP (Justice and Development Party) did in Turkey. The other one is the relations between the USA and Turkey. The statements of Ross Wilson, the USA ambassador in Ankara, show that the USA was informed before hand about the talks between Turkey and Hamas, and USA did know of the situation. The message given through Turkey to Hamas also shows that this is the situation. What is being wanted is rather clear: “Be cleaver, sometimes you can talk to the sky concerning the internal politics. But you must show that you have changed. Give up those verbal of yours. Both the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation), El-Fattah and at last Arafat were considered as terrorists once upon a time. But later they became a partner which we negotiated with. You must be the same”! The people of Palestine have given a chance to Hamas to become government. The period of El-Fattah has been closed and Hamas period started. Palestinian people are the only force that would push Hamas to act in accordance with its promises. In the near future, Palestinian people are going to see who they elected, what would they came face to face with in the new period, what would change and not changed by comparing the new with the old period. The independence of Palestine is going to be realised by the struggle of the Palestinian people. And this is going to be a direct result of only the Palestinian people’s struggle against the imperialism, its local collaborators and Zionism. MLCP is on the side of the Palestinian people’s fight for independence and it will continue to consider their struggle as its own struggle. *************************************************** What is wanted from Iran? There is no progress in the continuing nuclear negotiations among Iran and the imperialist countries. The meetings made in Moscow at the end of February did not give any results either. Now the process of UN Security Council is being started. Iran has already taken to the UN Security Council once before for having secret nuclear activities. The problem is not only about Iran. What is being wanted from any country of the region is also wanted from Iran. For the imperialist countries, the Middle East is a region which has to be taken definitely under control because of its mineral resources (oil and natural gas) and strategic importance for the domination of Central Asia in terms of rivalry. So, what is being demanded from Turkey, Iraq and other countries is also wanted from Iran. Rather than the producing of nuclear weapons by Iran, the oil and natural gas of the Middle East and Iran is the problem of the imperialist countries. The American imperialism, which competes more mercilessly for the world domination after the disintegration of the revisionist bloc and is on the top of its nearest rivals, has at first occupied Iraq in order to fully control the Middle East -the region which contains an important part of the world oil and natural gas reserves-, to get along with its rivalry, to keep distant its rivals from the region and to keep them under pressure also by controlling the transportation of oil and natural gas into the world markets. Although it has not come out of the quagmire (it seems that it is not going to be able to come out, as the Iraqi resistance shows), it started to take under pressure and threaten other countries such as North Korea, Syria, Iran as it has described them as the “axes of evil”. By turning from taking aside with Iran, not surrenders despite of all pressures, the other imperialist countries, at first Germany, France, Russia and China, which until now took aside with Iran because of their interests and tried to show the American imperialism that it can be face to face with a relation different than the relation of forces during its attack to Iraq, started to act in accordance with the demands of the American imperialism. They are the five permanent members who took Iran to the UN Security Council. That is the USA, Russia, China, France and Great Britain. This means that the American imperialism, together with Great Britain –which US keeps always as a substitute force-, is in a common position to draw same policy regarding the Iran issue with its foremost rivals, Russia, China, France and non-permanent member Germany. It is not know what sort of result would come out from the UN. But, in any case, Iran will be penalised or warned with economic embargo and etc. This would mean that they have pressed the last button for Iran. Imperialism will present alternatives to Iran on the subject of its penalties. But, on the subject of what sort of Iran shall it be, it is presenting only one alternative: Surrendering. The imperialist countries did not show so much reaction when Pakistan and India have produced nuclear weapons. They also did not show any reaction upon Brazil which now days is taking steps on the nuclear issue. But, because of the mentioned characteristics of the Middle East, at first, they attacked Iraq under the pretext of “weapons of mass destruction”. And now they are using the nuclear weapon as a pretext to attack Iran. All imperialist forces are afraid of Iran becoming a regional power with nuclear weapons. A regional power with nuclear weapons would resist more strongly to imperialism to protect its position; it would not present the region’s and its strategic position and underground resources without negotiations to the imperialism or would try to exclude them from these opportunities. The imperialist countries think in common that Iran will act in this manner. This is the reason that communalises their attitudes against Iran. Until now, Iran has successfully used the contradictions among the American imperialism and other imperialist countries. After these powers reached a position to act in common, it started new searches in order to come together with other forces. Iran’s relations with Venezuela and Cuba must be considered in this framework. We should not be surprised when we come across with Ahmedinejad making calls in common with Chavez and Castro in the future. We are struggling to expel imperialism from our region and we are against the American imperialism’s -or as an imperialist bloc- attack on Iran. But this does not mean that we are supporting the religious repressive regime ruling in Iran. *************************************************** Cartoon Crisis Following the publication of Muhammad cartoons in Denmark and Norway, the “clash of civilisations” scenario which was developed in 1990s’ by Samuel Huntington, one of the main ideologists of the US imperialism, has gained a new dimension by explosion of Muslim peoples’ anger. According to the US-made theory of “clash of civilisations”, there were, on one side, the superior values of advanced, democratic and developed Western civilisation and, on the other side, the primitive, undeveloped, backward Eastern societies. The West, therefore, had the right to apply all kinds of “civilised” instruments in order to protect its superior civilisation and, moreover, to take its civilisation, democracy and freedom to the backward civilisations, that is to colonise and plunder them. After the September 11, the US has started to use more and more depleted uranium, cluster bombs, media wars, rape and torture. While September 11 represented a turning point for US to implement its imperialist strategies, it also resulted in rising of racist theses on the basis of the “clash of civilisations” that drew the ideological reasons of these strategies. Then the bombing of Afghanistan was followed by the occupation of Iraq under the pretext of bringing “democracy and freedom” to the backward societies. By the Iraqi people’s resistance against the imperialist occupation, it has been exposed that the superior values of the superior Western civilisations means the colonial, plunderer capitalist system that is built upon barbarity seen in Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib. Through the incitement of Sunni-Shiite conflict in Iraq, the “backward civilisations” are being tried to confront with each other. This racist theory of Huntington fans racism and fascism by covering up the labour-capital contradiction in parallel to the neoliberal attacks in the Western imperialist cities and nationalism and fundamentalism in the Arab and Muslim countries. In any case, this theory tries to cover up the class contradictions. The cartoon crisis has become the last up-to-date version of the “clash of civilisations” scenario. As well as considering the cartoon crisis as a result of cartoons jauntily drawn by a few racists, the consideration of the reaction shown afterwards by Muslims as a religious-reactionary reaction will take us to incorrect end in reading today’s tabloid. The oppressed and exploited are not sitting back when their honours are being humiliated with rapes and tortures in Iraq. In their consciousness and feelings, they are accumulating so much of anger against the imperialist aggression. In the ghettos of Europe, the migrant labourers had already accumulated anger on discriminating attitudes they suffer from. There also developed a rebellion against the Zionist occupation in Palestine that carried out by the support of US, the giant technological war-machinery and the most “civilised” state on earth. The Muslim people had accumulated anger against humiliation of their system of belief and symbols under the pretext of development and civilisation. The actions developed on the cartoons are not momentary but have got some roots in the past. They are the accumulated anger of Muslim peoples exploded in the form of blind-violence against the imperialist occupation, colonialism, policies of social destruction and the pictures of torture and rape spilled over from Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib to the streets of Iraq. From Asia to Africa, Middle East to the centres of imperialist cities, the symbols of imperialism, consulate buildings of capitalist centres which considered as the “Western civilisations” and have no other meaning than plunder and exploitation for the Muslim and oppressed peoples, have become the target of this anger. However, the anger which came to the open by numerous forms, including the violence of the oppressed, and mainly targets the imperialist centres and symbols, -but sometimes make contributions to the racist and imperialist scenario of the “clash of civilisations” through blind reactions- points out burningly the need for an intervention by communists. It is the intervention of the revolutionary and communist forces that can reverse this scenario and lead the working classes’ and oppressed peoples’ anger against the imperialist exploitation and colonialism in order to destroy the imperialist system with the objective of socialism. ESP (Socialist Platform of the Oppressed): It is not a clash of civilisations but racist imperialist aggression As a reply to the need mentioned above, the progressive, revolutionary, socialist forces are continuing to point out to the third alternative within the tabloid of confrontations. While ESP made a press statement regarding the issue on February 8, 2006, the No to Occupation in Iraq Coordination, of which ESP is one of the components, said “Imperialists must apologise from the peoples” in its press conference. By expressing that the killing of a priest in the city of Trabzon shows that the conflicts are wanted to be spread also in Turkey, ESP said: “All these incidents show that the imperialist centres would not hesitate in any manipulation and aggression in order to secure their profits. And the role downs to the people of our region and the world is to put in frustration all these attacks through peoples’ brotherhood and united struggle.” *************************************************** The Draft of General Health Insurance: “Live, if you have got money”! In the intention letter given by AKP (Justice and Development Party) government to the IMF in July 2004, it was emphasized that they will make reforms on the spheres of pensions and health insurance, and the liabilities of the State will be reduced to the level of 1% of the Gross National Product until the year of 2007. The AKP government, which brought on to the agenda the General Health Insurance (GSS) draft law that was prepared by the “support” of the World Bank in September 2005, attacks to the workers’ and labourers’ “right of healthy living”. What Brings the Draft Law? The draft, which considers people as the customers but not as patients, is forcing an unhealthy life to the people who have got no money. It brings the condition of payment of 12.5% bonus from the wages in order to benefit from the health services and, because the amount of the bonus is being calculated according to the minimum wages, the poor peoples’ right of health is putted into bin. If you are not paying the bonus then you cannot benefit from the system. But if you have chronic illness or illness with expensive treatment then you cannot benefit form the system either. By the draft, the working conditions of the health personnel are also changing. While subcontractor firms are being allowed to enter into the health sector, the conditions of work with agreements are creating an insecure job upon the personnel. The health workers are forced to make choice between ethics and profit. In connection with the IMF demands, the State is leaving the peoples health to the ambition of the employers for profit and the mercy of capital. But the workers and labourers will not accept this “draft of unhealthy living”. General Strike against the GSS The draft is replied by the protests of the workers and labourers almost everyday since it has come on to the agenda. On 18-19 February, the Labour Platform organised actions and demos in many cities against the GSS which is being protested in neighbourhoods, factories, hospitals, bus stops, central areas by distributing leaflets, petitions, surveys, press conferences, demos, rallies, CD shows, putting up banners and etc. The increase of class solidarity by participation of the workers from the resisting Rozi Paper Factory, World Leather, Cevahir Leather Factories and Serna Seral Textile Factories into the fight against GSS, and the action organised by the Textile-Union and Workers League, which opened a banner writing “No to privatization in Health and Tekel”, on 5 February in front of the AKP building in Istanbul-Bahcelievler have represented the good examples of class solidarity. Together with trade unions and bars, the ESP, Workers’ League and the Textile-Union also take part actively in the struggle against the GSS. While the AKP government has announced that it will bring the draft to the parliament in the beginning of March, the workers and labourers have said that they will continue to struggle until the draft is withdrawn. *************************************************** Ongoing Resistance in Tekel! Many Tekel workers in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, at first, the workers in the factory affected, are resisting against the government’s decision to close down the Tekel factories in Adana and Malatya. The resistance, which is continuing with many actions, occupation of factories and press conferences, has made the government to take a step backward. The Tekel workers were the winner of the first round. Following the Tekel resistance that lasted 44 days, Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister, announced they will not close down the Tekel factories in Adana and Malatya. But this is a tactic implemented frequently in recent period by the government, first they withdraw the draft, but when the struggle gets eased, they again bring it to the agenda. Now they are playing the game in Tekel. Erdogan, who made a step backward due to the insistent struggle of the Tekel workers and other class brothers/sisters of theirs, later said “we are going to release ourselves from these enterprises by giving them to the private sector”. Although the Tekel workers have frustrated the closing down threat for now, they must continue with their struggle against privatisation without any negligence.