- Early in the morning of 18 February the Turkish police rounded up 52 Kurdish and leftist activists as part of a wave of mass arrests. In a series of coordinated operations across ten provinces, numerous journalists, artists, and politicians were detained, and their access to legal representation was blocked. Over 300 people have been arrested since 14 February, and fears have been expressed that thousands more will fall victim to this clampdown.
- The arrests on 18 February resulted from an investigation into the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (PDC). This was founded in 2011 when there were peace talks between the Kurdish freedom movement and the Turkish state headed by the AKP government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It is a coalition of leftist and democratic parties, including the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), Its founders included many leftists from the Turkish socialist left, journalists, human right activists and people from the Kurdish movement.
- The main objective of the organisation was to work on peace, democracy and freedom for all peoples and spread these ideas within society. Though the peace process broke down, the PDC is still active. All its activities have been peaceful and there has been no legal charge against it. Şenol Karakaş, co-chair of our Turkish sister organisation, the Revolutionary Socialist Workers Party (DSIP), was among those initially arrested, although he wasn’t a member of the PDC.
- According to the campaign Support the People of Turkey (https://spotturkey.co.uk/), ‘The crackdown extends beyond political figures to labour leaders and journalists. Mehmet Türkmen, the president of the textile workers’ union Birtek-Sen, was arrested for organising workers—an act that should be a fundamental right. The government has also banned strikes and protests in the city of Antep, where two factories linked to an AKP-affiliated politician were facing labour unrest.Journalists are also being imprisoned for exposing corruption and government misconduct. Political party leaders, artists, and activists are being arrested for speaking out against Erdoğan’s rule. In some cases, individuals are facing prosecution for incidents that occurred 10, 15, or even 20 years ago.’
- This wave of repression is Erdoğan’s response to the declining popularity of his government. Votes for the ruling AKP are declining and those for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) are increasing. The CHP is beginning to demand early elections. The anger among the society is growing because of the economic situation. Inflation is running officially at over 42%. All the external issues, Syria, Palestine and a potential war against Iran, are also very concerning. The government, a coalition of the AKP and the fascist MHP, wants to keep control of the situation by crushing democratic forces. The repression reflects Erdoğan’s weakness, not his strength.
- DSIP (https://marksist.org/kategori/2/1) says in a statement: ‘Time and time again, we have seen that such early-morning detention operations go hand in hand with antidemocratic practices. We are not prepared to accept this. All those taken into custody must be released immediately.‘We know that these raids against those who stand on the side of peace, true equality among peoples, democracy and freedom are a part of a politics of intimidation against the whole of society. We will continue to stand together, as we strengthen solidarity and build our struggle against the politics of oppression that aim to criminalise demands for peace.’
- We call for the immediate release of all those arrested, for the dropping of all charges, and for the Turkish government to respect the democratic rights of the people and the organization of trade unions to advance workers’ conditions. We also demand that the government enters in good faith into speedy negotiations to end the war in Kurdistan.
The Coordination of the International Socialist Tendency
23 February 2025
