The Communist Party of Britain stands in solidarity with the Communist Party of Turkey and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of TKP members and other prisoners who have been detained and arrested in the recent protests against state repression!
Below is a letter from our General Secretary, Robert Griffiths:
Dear Comrades of TKP,
The Communist Party of Britain (CPB) stands in solidarity with our comrades in the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) following the unjust arrests of their members, including central council leaders, as hundreds of thousands of working people continue to organise mass anti-government demonstrations across the country.
Following the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Mayor of Istanbul—Turkey’s largest city—on exaggerated charges of corruption last week, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in the largest anti-government protests in Turkey in over a decade. These demonstrations oppose the erosion of the country’s secular constitution, and the Communist Party of Turkey has amplified the voices of millions, transforming them into an organised masses not just calling for İmamoğlu’s reinstatement but demanding better working and living conditions for all of Turkey’s working people—fighting for an alternative system that ends the ever-increasing cost of living crisis.
The British government, for its part, has spent the last 20 years supporting the erosion of secularism in Turkey—paying only lip service to opposition while funding Turkish weaponry that inflicts death and misery both abroad and within its borders.
These arrests are an example of the anti-democratic nature of capitalism in Turkey. The arbitrary detention of TKP İstanbul Provincial Chair Ahmet Dinçel, Party Council member Arda Hacıyusufoğlu, and other party members—taken from their homes in morning raids—along with hundreds of other demonstrators, political activists, and journalists, exposes the repressive nature of the current system.
We call for the immediate and unconditional release of TKP members and all progressive political prisoners. We stand in solidarity with the struggles of progressive workers in Turkey—our struggle is their struggle, as we fight for an alternative to the cost of living crisis and an end to needless weapons spending, we fight against the same system.
Long live the Communist Party of Turkey!
Long live socialism!
Long live international solidarity!
Yours in comradeship and solidarity,
Robert Griffiths
General Secretary
Communist Party of Britain
END.
You can find out more about the international work here.
For further information or to arrange an interview contact Johnnie Hunter, Communications Director, johnniehunter@communistparty.org.uk.