“Arkadaşlarımızı ve Özgürlüğümüzü Alacağız” diyerek gençliğe boykot çağrısı yapan ve bugün Kadıköy sokaklarına çıkanlar polis tarafından işkenceyle gözaltına alındı. Aralarında Anarşist Gençlik’ten Atakan Polat, Batuhan Çotur, Mısra Sapan, Nergis Şen, Oğuz Arıcan ve Rıdvan Gezegen yoldaşlarımızın da bulunduğu 38 kişi gözaltına alındı. Buradan bir kez daha sesleniyoruz: Bu Ablukayı Dağıtacağız!

Baskılar, Gözaltılar ve Tutuklamalar Gençliği Yıldıramaz!

ENG

Those who called the youth for boycott with the “We will take our friends and our freedom” motto and who took to the streets of Kadıköy today were detained by the police under torture. 38 people were detained, including Atakan Polat, Batuhan Çotur, Mısra Sapan, Nergis Şen, Oğuz Arıcan and Rıdvan Gezegen from the Anarchist Youth. Here we call out once again: We Will Break This Blockade!

Oppressions, Detentions and Arrests Cannot Intimitade Youth!

Bu Abluka Dağıtılacak!

Polis Kadıköy'de Boğaziçi'yle dayanışmak isteyenlere, isyanı büyütenlere saldırıyor! 6 yoldaşımız gözaltında.

Baskılar Gençliği Yıldıramaz!#BundanSonrasıHepimizde #BoğaziciSusmayacak pic.twitter.com/HVJax9Ui2Y

— Anarşist Gençlik (@anarsistgenclik) April 1, 2021

Polis saldırısında aralarında; Atakan Polat, Batuhan Çotur, Mısra Sapan, Nergis Şen, Oğuz Arıcan ve Rıdvan Gezegen yoldaşlarımızın da bulunduğu en az 35 kişi gözaltına alındı.#DirenişKadıköyde #BoğaziçiDireniyor pic.twitter.com/hziV95E7Jw

— Anarşist Gençlik (@anarsistgenclik) April 1, 2021

War and fascism are the only “response” the system can give to its own deep and total crisis, to its own contradictions that result from its basic principle – the oppression and exploitation of one human being by another.

At a global level, the political and economic bosses are attempting an unconditional attack against the people of the capitalist periphery through war, military operations, subversion of regimes and enforcement of new ones, aiming to control whole areas, sources of wealth, even whole populations. This is a condition in which millions of people are condemned to poverty, sickness and forced immigration as a prerequisite for ensuring the over-accumulation of wealth in the hands of global financial elites and for the rearrangement of geopolitical balance of power in the context of international competitions between global, regional and local powers.

The thousands of refugees and immigrants arriving the last few days in the Greek-Turkish borders with the hope of escaping war and misery, in search of a better life, are coming against the murderous and racist politics of the EU and the Greek State. Military and police forces and parastatal groups have blocked their way. They do not hesitate to use even live ammunition to prevent their passage to the interior of Fortress-Europe.

For the Greek State, adopting the role of the border guard and imposing a modern apartheid in its interior with thousands of refugees and immigrants being trapped in concentration camps, is another statement of its commitment to the policies of European Union and NATO’s war machine, being an integral part of it, participating actively in the war conflicts by sending military forces, warships and missile systems.

For the state of Turkey that continues the war operations, aiming to the extermination of the Kurdish people, and escalates the military intervention and occupation of Northern Syria with the support of Islamist groups, the entrapment of millions of refugees and immigrants in its territory – as a result of the Turkey-EU agreement- and the promotion of thousands of them in the borders of Evros is another tool to serve its political agenda in the wider region of the Middle East.

Both the states of Greece and Turkey are promoting nationalism, intolerance and the rhetoric of hatred within the context of their increasing rivalry. Their target is to spread fear within society, to convince the social majority, which is plundered and brutally exploited by the state and the bosses, that they share common interests with the political and economic ruling elites.

Fascists in Greece are causing the massacre of the immigrants who manage to reach the islands on the Aegean Sea, by preventing them from stepping off the boats on the shore; with the support of the Greek police they are torturing the immigrants at the border line along the Evros river and are sending the immigrants who crossed the river back to the Turkish side of the border. In the same manner, fascists in Turkey are attacking immigrants from Syria who have taken refuge to Turkey, in the neighborhoods, torturing them and threatening to send them to Europe by destroying their homes and shops.

As anarchists from both sides of the Aegean Sea, we believe that the prospect of war societies, of poverty and impoverishment, the resurgence of nationalism and social fascistization will have devastating results to humanity. We are convinced that class and internationalist solidarity between the people, the organized counterattack of the exploited and the overturn of the world of state and capitalism at a global level can set the terms for the creation of a society of prosperity, equality, peace and justice without exploitation, wars and disorienting rivalries.

FREE MOVEMENT AND DECENT LIVING CONDITIONS FOR IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

THE STATES THAT FIGHT AGAINST THE PEOPLE WILL BE DEFEATED

SOLIDARITY WITHOUT BORDERS!

Devrimci Anarşist Faaliyet (DAF) / Turkey

Anarchist Political Organization-Federation of Collectives (ΑPO) / Greece

Waiting of immigrants moving to the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne continues for 4 days after the announcement of T.C state that opening of the border gates on the border of Greece. There are actively five thosound waiting immigrants on the border however the circulation of the number of incoming and returning people is quite high, expressed in tens of thousands.

When we say returning we are meaning the people those who still have money and are able to return, those with a place to return.  We can explain as follows: One of the immigrants who were waiting at the border an Iranian immigrant residing in Turkey for 4 years: There is no positive outcome of staying in Turkey, they can’t build a life for themselves here, he told us that their only hope was to pass through the gate. In other words, they had neither money to return nor shelter where they could return. They remained on the limb beyond the Turkish border-behind the Greek Border where is called “buffer zone”, “forbidden zone”.

From Edirne Bus Terminal to the Border

Even at Edirne Bus Terminal, which is about half an hour drive from Pazarkule border gate, approximately 1,000 migrants are waiting. There is no means of transportation directly from the bus station to the border gate. It is difficult to find a taxi, and if it is found, it is difficult to pay the fee; Most taxi drivers say they will not operate the taximeter when they realize that they are immigrants; they charge hundreds of liras for the distance that will hold up to maximum fifty liras. Some taxi drivers refuse their passengers, saying that they cannot carry or taking money from immigrants who are directed to the closed border gate.

Those who can find vehicles for transportation can go to the border gate, Those who can learn that the border is closed somehow prefer to wait at the bus terminal –due to the better condition of terminal-.

Even if the Greek state decides to open the gate, passage of such a crowd is technically impossible due to the large number of immigrants waiting at Pazarkule Border Gate, Although this is the case, immigrants are not directed to the Kapikule border gate. Immigrants are directed to Pazarkule Border Gate, not Kapikule, in order to avoid the risk of closing the Kapikule Border Gate where imports and exports continue by Greece.  The strategy of T.C revealed itself: They know that the Greek state will not open its border gates to immigrants, although they know this, they direct immigrants to the border gate -that will not force the economy- as a threat in a political bargain.

Beyond the T.C border-behind the Greek Border

Gendarmerie and police checkpoints become frequent when approaching Pazarkule Border Gate,  the gendarmerie has established a two-stage barrier at the gate. Nobody other than immigrants is taken from the outer barrier. We were able to enter the buffer zone called the zero point by walking around the barrier -which we could not pass as a press- and mingling with the immigrants.

In the buffer zone, the T.C side has actually removed its boundary wires, at least this part of the statements made by government officials is real. The gendarmerie and other law enforcement officers are waiting only at the border post and at barriers that have been set up specially, as long as this unusual immigrant mobility is experienced. So it does not prevent migrants from crossing.

The Greek side, on the other hand, is not satisfied with completely closing its areas to the passage, it has turned over with extra wires, barriers and soldiers. This is where the Greek state law enforcement officers attacked the immigrants with tear gas, which has been served from different angles in the news as if they were different attacks for four days. The attack happened on the first day under the pretext that immigrants were trying to overcome the new “measures” we mentioned in the two previous sentences.

For now, the T.C side of the border and the buffer zone between the two sides is completely filled with immigrants. Even though the Red Crescent and refugee associations close to the State started distributing meals in 3 days, more than five thousand immigrants are waiting for the moment the gate will be opened under the difficult conditions and under the “Border of Honor” monument. Hunger, illness and the absence of sheltering areas are among the most striking challenges in the military zone between the woodland and the borderline. The air temperature drops below zero at night, the ice on the ground starts to melt at sunrise. It is really hard to sleep at night. In the area where there are hundreds of children, people are trying to warm up with fires built from branches gathered from the forest and get over another night with the makeshift barracks also built from branches.

As far as we can observe, quite a few of the immigrants are Syrian – contrary to what is claimed-; Besides many Afghan, Iranian and Turkmen immigrants, there are also immigrants from many African countries, especially Algeria. Most of the immigrants that we had the opportunity to interview or talk asked whether the gate will open today, but the possibility of the gate opening does not appear on the horizon.

When a rumor says that the gate has been opened, all the immigrants in the region hastily take their tents, belongings and children under their arms and run towards the gate with their shining eyes. It takes five minutes or less to realize that the gate is still closed, then they return to their fire that has not yet faded, with their eyes that lost their light. Decisions are taken; there are those who continue the wait or try to find another transit line, and those who give up …

Among States’ Strategies of Interest

It is obvious that the only demand of the Turkish state is not the waiting of the immigrants at the buffer zone. When the number of people waiting in front of the border gate increases, the new immigrants are dropped by buses to other points on the border line, and they are even said to be guided by showing paths to cross Meriç river.

The boots of the immigrants who try to cross Meriç are not allowed the land ashore beyond the border as a result of the fascist government’s immigrant policy, and those who are caught at the border are tortured and stripped to their pants and thrown to the T.C side of the wires. Today, it is heard that Greek soldiers killed an immigrant by shooting while he is trying to cross via boat.

The influx of immigrants towards Edirne started with the announcement that border security will be lifted by AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik, “Our refugee policy is the same, but there is a situation, we are no longer in a position to hold the refugees.” is wanted to be increased further with the claims that 117,677 immigrants have crossed the border according to the figure given by Minister of Internal Affair Süleyman Soylu.

Although the information that immigrants cross the border is completely false, this news, which is done to increase the number of immigrants who are on the border, is used to increase the trump in the hands of the TC in the negotiations with the EU for Idlib war.

Even the number of people who can pass at the normal time cannot exceed the limits due to the soldiers and the police that the Greek state has accumulated on the border. While the number of those who can pass by sea is expressed in 5-6 boats, the claims of T.C that more than 100 thousand immigrants has passed the border are not another goal than receiving a congratulation from the nationalist-fascist section with the message of “we are sending Syrians”. Rising of fascist attacks against Syrians in various regions of Turkey is the reflection of these claims.

There are millions of people, especially the president himself who said “No matter what they say, you are never a burden” for the immigrants a few years ago, wants to forget and ignore his words today “We don’t have to feed them”. You can try to ignore everything, but you can never ignore the what was happened to the people who have been removed from where they live for the interests of states, you should not ignore them.

Mercan Doğan & Furkan Çelik

Photos: Sergen Saka

Revolutionary Anarchist Action

EVERY STATE THAT FIGHTS THE PEOPLES WILL LOSE!

The state of Turkey pursues a new war with its with old policies filled hostility, its tanks, cannons, fighter jets and warmongers. In the lands we live, the parliment which was almost never worked after the changes called “Presidential Government System” convened immediately with the war on their agenda. Hands in the parliment were up for the war. The ones who expressed “Erdogan leads 80 million people to the disaster” in every opportunity, did not hesitate to support the war this time.

Not even 10 years have passed since the beginning of the war, in which many states have acquired a place in Syria over time; The State of Turkey, like many other states, continues to act as if it had no role in starting and spreading of the war.

With the new missive, the Turkish State decided to re-enter to the geography that it partly occupies, with the excuse of “protecting its own territorial integrity” . The heads of state were not ashamed to talk about peace, nor they were ashamed to name the war that they lead for their own interests, as peace. In the war operation called “Peace Fountain” warplanes, especially non-discriminating air strikes were put into operation immediately. All of this has started to take place before the eyes of the states and public opinion allegedly “condemnating” the Turkish State.

While the US withdraws its troops, it declares that the endless war “ends for them” and adds that Turkish State has to accept the ISIS mobs, which Europe does not accept to take back.

The state that watched and paved the way to the massacres of our comrades, siblings and friends in the land we live, now undertakes the guardianship of ISIS. Starting one day before the anniversary of one of the biggest massaces that took place in these lands, the October 10 Massacre which killed more than 100 of our people meeting for peace, this war foreshadows new massacres.

The media controlled by the state is supporters this policy of war. Not long ago, the media which was in their anti-immigrant rhetoric, asking the Syrians “what they are doing in the land we live in”, never asks what the soldiers of the turkish state are looking for in the land inhabited by Syrians. The media whose duty is supposedly to “deliver the facts to the public”, continues to make warmongering and ignore the massacres. The media, which cannot make any “news” other than the legitimization the Turkish State policy of war, continues its lies with its heroic rhetoric.

All wars waged by powers for their own interests are massacres. Every war promoted by nationalist and militarist policies is a massacre. Every bullet, every bomb targeting the oppressed peoples, has targeted freedom.

Every war that targets freedom is condemned to be lost.
Neither they can win this war nor can they justify the massacres they will make.

Every state that fights the peoples will lose!

Revolutionary Anarchist Action

An investigation has been opened to Merve Arkun, Co-Chairman of the Consencious Objection Association, by Diyarbakır Office of the Chief Prosecution, due to the activities which were held on the 15th of May, The International Day for Consencious Objectors.

We had organised two-day activities on the 15th of May in 2016, and throughout the activities; we had organised a press release and declarations of consencious objection in front of Tahir Elçi city forest, with the title “We Do not Let Amed, to Become a Garrison Town”.

After two years, we had learned that an investigation has been opened because of the press release in front of the Tahir Elçi City Forest.
Co-Chairman of the Consencious Objection Association Merve Arkun who is accused by “ making propaganda of the organisation”, went to anti-terror branch of police headquarters on 5th of June, and gave statement with Gökhan Soysal who is the lawyer of our association .

Arkun stated many times that, all around the world, consencious objectors are in anti-war struggle and that the declaration of the Consencious Objectors Association is an anti-war attitude, and that consencious objection is a human right.

Though the government is trying to frighten and discourage consencious objectors and antimilitaristst with investigations and trials; will not be successful. We, who defend life against death, who defend peace against war, are not going to give up telling that “Consencious objection is a human right.”

Merve Arkun is not alone!
It is not a crime to fight for peace!

The attack of Israeli soldiers who killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to protest the new embassy of US in Jerusalem, has been protested by thousands of people who gathered in Tunel Square and march into Galatasaray Square in Taksim-Istanbul.

With the call of BDS (The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement), many political parties, unions and revolutionary organisation attended the protest. Devrimci Anarşist Faaliyet (DAF) has also attended the protest with the pancards in turkish and arabic which is written “The people who resist will win.”

The protest has been trying to be cut by police in Tunel Square; but the insistence of the protesters forced police to open the way to Galatsaray Square. During the protest, slogans as “The children who throw stones in Palestine will win”, “Salutes to the ones who fight in Palestine”, “Boycott to Israel, Freedom to Palestine” have been shouted  by the protesters.

The press briefing has been read in turkish and arabic in Galatasaray Square. In the press briefing, the strategy of moving US embassy to Jerusalem has been underlined as the date is the same with Nakba. Nakba is still going on for 70 years and Israel state is making “ethnic cleansing”.

Protest has been finished with the solidarity slogans and boycott call to Israel.

Thereafter the speech of Erdogan “If the people say ‘over’, I will step aside”, we have organised an “Over” action in Kadıkoy. After this action, at 19.00, we have organised a second action that police attacked. The people of Kadıkoy supported the action. Afterwards the action, police chased the people who attended the action and took 10 people under custody in which our 6 comrades included. Comrades are still being held in police station.

We are living in a political process where the voice of the street has been forgotten, where the solution has been looked for in the ballots and elections; we say “Over, it is enough!” to dictatorship, prohibitions, repression, economical crisis, stealing our lives!

Repressions, Custodies can not discourage us!

On winning or losing;

For the last three elections, nearly one sixth of the voters do not participate in elections. This shows us that 10,000,000 of the nearly 60,000,000 voters will not participate in the referendum. 25,000,001 of the 50,000,000 voters will give yes vote or no vote. 24,999,999 voters will have lost with the difference of a single vote. It’s that easy to win or lose in this system.

Research companies say that the difference between yes and no is less than 1%, or even less than 0.5%. Who will win by a half point margin on April 16, and who will lose?

Whoever wins, whoever loses;

Yes side doesn’t consider the possibility of losing. Yes side enjoys the convenience of being in power. They are relying on their dominance in street and square propaganda; because they are creating this dominance themselves. Preventing the no campaign with partisans locally, and generally with its police, i.e. the law enforcement . While there is yes propaganda in mainstream media from children’s programs to magazine programs, from TV series to feature films, from news reports to discussion-commentary programs; opposition media has a shy criticism of yes along with timid praise for no. Beyond this convenience created by the “unjust” practice they established during the campaign, yes side also knows other “emergency” practices at the election day will “protect” the votes, the boxes and the election results.

Even in the case of the most negative result for yes side, they also have the convenience of being able to call a new referendum by launching a new internal or external war or aggravating an existing one. AKP has experienced this repetition technique when it made the November 1 elections to replace June 7 elections and took what it wanted.

If yes side loses;

If the yes side still lost despite the odds of all this “no losing no matter what” they will lose their motivation. This loss is also a loss of legitimacy among its mass and this is the end of yes side.

If the no wins, the opposition will make various maneuvers to prevent the power from playing the moves “to not lose even if lost”, which we wrote about. They will bring the early elections agenda and want to have similar gains in the elections process. Having won the upper hand of motivation, the opposition will try not to lose advantage by taking it to the streets, square and the parliament.

No side is considering the possibility of losing, because they are used to it. This habit also carries an intolerance for loss. The injustice during the campaign which was built in a state of emergency and the injustice during election day will increase this intolerance. Such intolerance will result either in a social uprising or a social cringe. We are telling -that the yes side has anticipated these results- from {related or unrelated individuals’ statements such as “So we do this, we do that, we put to the sword … allowed, not allowed on sharia”. In fact, they do not expect uprising in the society cowered by State of Emergency though, but uprising is one of the possibilities. In case of losing, particularly because the referendum that will be voted by this society, which has been cowered by State of Emergency, was reduced to an existential question by the opposition, the cower effect that is desired by power, will increase. This cowering will be tried to be broken down by some fight back related to identity; State of Emergency experience of Kurdish and Alevi peoples revolutionaries over many years and their resistance reflexes despite the state of emergency, may decrease the effect of this cowering that was increased. But whether this resistance will be enough in this process, is controversial.

Not To Lose, To Win;

For opposition in the parliament, winning or losing has only one meaning. That is to win or lose the elections. This is the aim of the parliamentary opposition. The understanding of the referendum as being separate from general or local elections, is a fallacy. Because in every referendum, as in the case of this referendum, the sides are the sides of the other elections. It is usual for parliamentary opposition to present every election to society and to its own voters in society as an existential false dilemma. What is not usual is for revolutionary opposition to present this “to exist-not to exist” false dilemma to society. For the ones whose claim is revolution, revolutionary organizations and individuals, using such a dilemma as a campaigning tool, calls the discussion of means becoming the ends. In the discussion of means becoming the ends, to understand what is right and what is wrong, one needs to see if the socialism propaganda was more than the electoral agenda during the elections. Socialist organization that do not make propaganda for socialism are accused of trying to “grab seats” in the parliament . In history, this discussion in socialist organizing is surpassed by using the adjectives democrat and revolutionary, as well as other polite-impolite adjectives.

As for anarchism such discussions did not take place. Anarchists, as a principle, do not establish relations of power. Fighting back an authoritarian behavior of someone else, of society, of administration, will start with not acting authoritarian to someone else. Create relationships of freedom while destroying authoritarian relationships is another anarchist principle. Resisting the manager-managed adjectives in governing relations of society, objecting the submission of individual’s will to another individual or to the community, are ends for every anarchist. And the political counterpart of this objection is non-participation in the for elections. Therefore, it is an objection by principle, not participating in elections. Anarchists can not use elections as a means like socialists do. Using such means amounts to using authority, which one has to destroy in order to create relationships of freedom, as a means. For anarchists, principle is an idea that is not based on indisputable dogma, but on experience that can be discussed.

Parliamentary opposition and socialist opposition are similar with respect to winning the power. Anarchists do not want to win the power; but to destroy the power to create a world without power. Among tides of win and lose, “April 16th Referendum” is now presented an existential slogan by both sides. For nearly 15 years, the organization of society for justice and freedom is being formed by anti-AKP-ism. The days of Taksim Revolt were the most positive days of social opposition which rose again in every election period and then declined. Every banned May 1, March 8, Newroz, ecologic resistance, resistances in docks and factories, actions in high schools and universities organized one by one, each were important on their own before these days. The Kobanê process which had strategic importance for Rojava, were at least as important as Taksim. In all these processes, in revolutionary solidarity with organizations; in the platforms that we were part of; we discussed and argued that the declarations, actions, resistance, revolts should not be narrowed down to opposing AKP. Our argument was that through AKP opposition, the oppressor/oppressed contradiction, which was the source of inequity and captivity lived by our society, was being ignored. This was a popularity centric opposition structure which overrated quantity, and therefore dismissed quality. This democrat revolutionary opposition structure, together with the parliamentary opposition, is doing again, as it does in every election, AKP opposition. In the referendum process, we are again in the false dilemma of “to exist or not to exist” created by this structure. This opposition may win in this referendum. But this win, will not be a win for the oppressed peoples, workers, women, LGBTI, youth, rivers, trees, animals in the oppressor/oppressed contradiction. For the oppressed, winning is never a win in elections.

Now the votes cast by 25,000,001 voters, will win in the referendum for constitutional amendment. And the votes cast by 24,999,999 voters will lose.

Now we must ask ourselves a numeric question; Does, over 50% always win? What if 35,000,000 voters of the 60,000,000, had not participated in the referendum, instead of the 10,000,000, and all of the 25,000,000 which participated in the referendum had given yes votes, “yes” would have won by 100%. Considering the rate of participation in this referendum, would the “yes” win be legitimate?

Not to lose justice and freedom, to win revolution ; Not to be 1 number of the election, but be an individual of revolution; Long Live Revolution, Long Live Anarchism.

Revolutionary Anarchist Action

Anarchists, in principle, do not vote and do not participate in elections.

It is our responsibility not to vote.

On the voter:

To politicize by one vote; or as part of a one vote election campaigns for a party or a president. In the last elections made in Turkey, 87% of voters participated in the elections. The number of participants in the elections was 49 million, while the number of those not participating is about 9 million. Participation in the referendum to be held in front of us for a change in the system will be at a similar number.

What does it mean for voters to participate in elections?

In all selective systems, the ones who is majority takes the power. In democracy, the power of majority is democratic. Whoever is majority takes the power, whoever is minority does not have power. The relationship between the majority and minority during the election continues as a debate between two separate methods. The only thing that they don’t discuss is elections. Election is a bet which begins when a group says “I-we want to administrate society” and they are replied by another group saying “no I-we want to administrate”. Election is a process of counting voters, initiated by agreement of the parties of the bet and can not occur without the voters. The government of society is owned by the side which has more voters than the other side. The voter is only a numeric value in the bet. This numeric value is not a value to care about for a citizen trying to solve the many problems of everyday life. To increase participation to elections, the parties of the bet, want to promote the citizens from the voter title into the bettor title. This should increase the participation of the bet. The increase in attendance will cause the voter, being a number, to internalize the bet and then the domination formed as a result the result of the elections. The voter will accept the result of elections and the power of the selected side, regardless of who won or lost. This acceptance of the citizens is a win for each group who bets on elections. As long as the winner of the elections continues its government, the loser will continue its opposition and both sides will wait for the next elections.

What does the responsibility of voter mean?

It means the participation of citizens, in the government of society. The voter who actually believes that by placing a single vote, he or she is participating the social, economic and political management of society, will agree with this manufactured system because of responsibility nonsense. The deal is simple; whether your vote won or lost, you must submit your right to be administered to the winner, that is the rightful power. It is the responsibility of the deal which you approve with the vote you place in the ballot box.

What does, the equalization of the voters with one vote, mean?

Elections create a fallacy in the conflict between classes. Elections creates the fallacy of equalization of a worker who receives a salary of 1,400 and the engineer who receives a salary of 14,000 and even the boss who profits 140,000 by “one” produce of these workers and engineers, with one vote. This fallacy lasts for months, but ends in a day, reducing the oppressed to nullity in social management. The oppressed live the exploitation of all the governments that are elected.

It is obvious that the subcontracting system operated by new laws for many years during the period of the AKP government, also works for the local governments of CHP. These two parties taking the highest votes in all the elections for almost 20 years, hold similar positions in the class conflict. One of them being the government and the other being the opposition will not affect the class conflict positively or negatively. The boss who profits 140,000 will always have more impact on the social government, and as the owner of capital, will continue relationships with the owners of the government. The worker who is given 1400 in exchange of his or her labor will have no effect in government. The momentary happiness of “I also exist in this society” created by the fallacy will end with the social and economic realities of everyday life.

What does it mean to be qualified voters?

It means to belong to the majority in society. For all groups entering the elections, the segment which makes up the majority of the population is the mass that will determine the outcome of the election. Properties of this mass also determines the axis of propaganda for the election. Both AKP and CHP aims to win the segments that constitutes the majority in society, the segments with mainstream values like the Turkish, the Sunni sect, the nationalist-nationalitarian. Voters other than qualified voters, mean less votes compared to the number of the mass. This means, unqualified voters are secondary in the election propaganda. Therefore, social and economic identity of the citizen, determines his or her voter quality.

On the opposition

What does it mean to be the opposition to power in elections?

To be the opposition to power in the elections means that, you were not selected in past elections, and you’re hopeful for the future elections.

All of the electoral systems require the participation of at least two groups to the elections. The two groups are in opposition to each other until the election day in which the winner and the losers will be determined. The winner will be in power, in parallel with the loser being in opposition.

In the parliamentary system, CHP who opposes all decisions of AKP in the parliament, brings into question the administration practices of AKP and their negative effects on social life and functioning of the state. This mission of opposition in parliament helps CHP to make propaganda opposed to the political power. From then on, this is the only relationship that the opposition establishes with voters; since the agreement that it made with voters for a single vote, has ended with the defeat in the elections.

The opposition outside the parliament however does not base its existence on opposition against the political power who had won the elections; the rest of the non-parliamentary opposition is based on anti-capitalism and/or anti-imperialism. Such opposition is a side of the class struggle in the Marxist-Leninist class framework. They fight for the revolution that will end class struggle with the political power of the worker class against the bourgeoisie. Among their strategies of struggle, they are for practical associations with the parliamentary opposition in the elections. Revolutionary opposition who advocates the elections as a strategy, highlights the opportunity of organizing society during the elections. They argue that politicization of the citizen with one vote during the election period could be beneficial. Marxist, Leninist and scientific socialist organizations in general, interpretation differences aside, advocate using the elections strategically.

The HDP is now beyond being the representation of the Kurdish people in the parliament and has become an institution that the revolutionary opposition came together. HDP has continuously increased its voters in the elections it participated until the general elections on November 1. Now that its number of voters has reached 10%, which is the minimum required percentage required for participating the parliament as a party, it could act as a party in the parliament. The votes it has been receiving from the people of the region, their own, primary voters, has stabilized. Along with the votes it receives from metropolises, its votes fluctuate between 10-11%. However, the process which began rising in November 1, during which the state of Turkey confronted Kurdish movement in internal and external politics, has resulted in the removal of HDP by legal-illegal methods from the parliament that it entered after being elected. The fact that the elected are being judged and arrested one by one despite their legal immunity, indicates the unconstrained-ness of rule maker, i.e. the state, to change its rules. Yet another indicator is elected mayors being replaced by trustees in municipalities won by HDP in local elections. The state proves the fact that representative democracy is an illusion of administration by reducing the elections and the elected to nullity in line with its internal and external strategies.

In June 7th elections, we saw the process of total revolt, street actions, slowly being compressed into the ballot box. This process of compression would be considered existential for the opposition from CHP to the Patriotic Party, but it had an incomprehensible and complex aspect: HDP’s suggestion to society for the ballot box, and not streets. While the street actions continued socially, they were dissolved in election campaign. Even the liberation of Kobanê was compressed by the campaign. The ones who went out to the street, not as part of a campaign, but to realize themselves, first went inside the buildings of the ballot box, then into the apartment buildings of their homes. HDP said “Come and end the AKP dictatorship” and asked them to vote, the ones who were politicized not a day by a vote, but every day by resistance. Election campaigns, cast votes and system not changing, has transformed into a constant state of despair under the unchanging dictatorship of the state. The discourse of “that’s life, it’s inevitable” spread mouth to mouth, didn’t it? Those who compressed hope in the streets inside the ballot box, and think hope means voting, now want to repeat that fallacy in another election. Voting is not a hope, but a politicization fallacy for the voter; and elections are not a hope for justice and freedom, but a fallacy of social management.

On Political Power

Elections mean their power is continued or ended. Every power wants to get the approval of the whole of society, and this approval is given by participating in the elections.

After a period during which AKP won elections one after the other and continuously passed through crash scenarios, we now have an untimely referendum/elections. These untimely elections, that is, out-of-season elections, are AKP’s favorite type. We are again in an election process where the power is assumed unconstrained by being the majority; the power makes its own rules and lifts the rules he doesn’t like. This referendum, is AKP’s third referendum and if it wins, he will have gained an important position in the shaping of society. The most important detail in AKP’s electoral strategy is that it wants not only to increase the number of its voters, but also to increase the number of voters participating in the election. The power acts like it does not care about the thoughts and feelings of its opponents, but in reality it does care; because one of the things it tries to avoid is not being able to have social approval. The power already has the approval of voters who vote for him. For the power to have the approval of opposing voters, their participation in the elections will suffice. The fact that the opposing voter have participated in elections and lost, will provide the legitimacy of the election results. Because illegitimate power, cannot take power. The thing that it is most wary of, is low participation in the elections. Directly or indirect boycott, is what AKP is really afraid of. Consequently, in order to increase participation, AKP continues to increase tension in general. By using provocative words and actions while doing its propaganda, it tenses up the opposition and increases the confrontation between voters. More confrontation means more participation in the elections.

On Us Anarchists:

Does non-participation to elections mean neutrality?

Anarchists who reject the administer-administered relationships, must also reject elections made for the administration of society. This is not being neutral, but taking the side of the struggle for a world where there are no administers or administered people. The elections obviously create the illusion of free will. The individual who thinks that he or she gets closer to social management and influences it with free will, is going to become distant to the daily reality because of this fallacy. The individual who distances away from the injustice, poverty and deprivation that one lives, inevitably becomes more obedient. In this unjust and not-free world order created by the conception of society that ignores the individual, there is no society in which the administration of society is not determined by elections. The options presented to the voters are clear and regardless of the choice the voters, these major facts do not change:

1) The ones who has to earn a living by selling their labor and their time, that is the oppressed, have no influence on administration.

2) For the oppressed, there is no difference between the implementations of the post-election administrations.

3) Owners of administration and owners of capital share interests.

4) In every society, there are of families, tribes, ideological parties, sects and ethnicities which have chronic potential for power or opposition. In Turkey, these are formed like Turkish, Kurdish, Sunni, Alevi, secular, conservative.

5) Power is responsible for the regulation of state-company relations. It fulfills this responsibility by using its bodies such as the execution, the judiciary and the law enforcement. This is the responsibility of perpetuating the desired shape of the relationship between the oppressor and oppressed. In turkey or whichever state in the world, did the power which won the elections favored the oppressed class against the oppressor class, ever? No elected power, conservative, liberal or even socialist, has ever favored the best interests of the class of the oppressed.

Anarchists cannot advocate voting and thereby acknowledging the power of winner of the elections, whether their vote win or lose. Anarchists do not take the organizing of society by participating in the elections and turn it into a strategy, like Marxist Leninist scientific socialists. Parties participating in the elections, create the fallacy that all demands of the people for justice and freedom have been covered in the electoral discourse and these will be met after they win the elections. To be a supporter, individually or as an organization, of the election campaign which means, in one way, a comprehensive demand, is to help propagate this fallacy. The desire to turn the election process into an opportunity to be utilized, is the desire to make propaganda for the electoral system, i.e. the fallacy. Anarchists should call all individuals that make up the society for the responsibility of abstention. This call, is the responsibility of the individual, for not leaving one’s own will, and also one’s desire for a just and free world, to the will of a party or the will of the president. Such responsibility is the beginning of a politicization that will span not a single day, but every day.

Revolutionary Anarchist Action

First Declaration On The Referendum.