The fate of the country depends not on the government but on what the social opposition will do.

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BirGün Writer Bülent Forta and SOL Party Spokesperson Önder İşleyen spoke at the first session of the summer camp organized by Devrimci Union Solidarity (DSD) in Kemer, Antalya, with the motto of “Growing hope, protecting the future”.

In his presentation titled “Political and organizational tasks of the upcoming process,” İşleyen touched on the conditions that brought the AKP to power and the support of external powers. İşleyen noted that international power centers and capital circles paved the way for the AKP to come to power, and that the regime is still trying to survive by relying on Trump’s policies.

NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO, THEY CAN'T GET THIS SOCIETY TO SURRENDER

İşleyen stated that the government has not been able to make this country and society surrender for 25 years despite all the pressure and impositions, and said, “Despite their huge propaganda mechanisms, perception studies, and media, they have not been able to convince the society. This society has always voiced its objection against the government that dragged the country into the Middle East ring of fire. There have been many mass movements such as Republic rallies, TEKEL resistance, constitutional referendum processes, and Gezi. This society has somehow shown its objections.”

THE REGIME HAS LOST ITS POWER TO DETERMINE THE COUNTRY'S FUTURE

İşleyen, who emphasized that the regime had lost the power to determine Türkiye's future, emphasized the power and dynamism of the opposition with the following words: "This society will build the future itself. We see the seeds of this everywhere. Therefore, it is time for hope rather than pessimism. It is possible to see that the seeds of future demands are being planted today."

WE WILL ORGANIZE A NEW REVOLUTIONARY OPPOSITION

İşleyen, who stated that a united struggle line should be formed, used the following expressions: “If we cannot unite the widespread and broad opposition dynamics in a single struggle form, we will come side by side. What March 19 also showed is this; there is a tremendous dynamism in the country, on the streets, in the squares. We will be in this dynamism, we will try to organize. We will organize a new revolutionary opposition at every point of the struggle. We have to organize.”

Bülent Forta, who took the floor after İşleyen, made a presentation titled “Possibilities of fighting against the regime after March 19, what should be done?”

WE ARE IN A MOMENT WHERE EVERYTHING WILL FALL, THE GOVERNMENT IS AWARE THAT IT WILL END IF IT STOPS THE PRESSURE

Noting that the regime has dragged the country into a multiple crisis, Forta noted that the winner of the fight between the government, which is constantly increasing the pressure and taking it to an irrational level, and the opposition , which is trying to stand against it, will determine the future of the country.

Forta said, “We are at a moment when those who stand will fall. The government is aware that if it stops the oppression, it will end, and if the opposition does not resist, it will end. The government’s job is not easy at all, the hourglass is working against the regime. Each oppression is being carried out to cover up another crisis. Perhaps something unprecedented in the country’s history is happening, and as the oppression increases, the government is losing ground.”

THE GOVERNING PARTY WHOSE STORY IS OVER CANNOT CONVINCE THE SOCIETY

Forta, who said that the government has lost the crisis and the means to resolve the crises, said, “The government has run out of stories, therefore it cannot win over the masses, it cannot convince them. This is not the first time the country is experiencing a crisis , but the bourgeois rulers were able to overcome these crises with their own dynamics. This time the situation is quite different. This crisis is a crisis that differs from the previous ones.”

Forta, who emphasized that the political Islamist regime that has left its mark on the last 25 years is decaying as it loses its capacity for renewal, said, “Education, health, justice, foreign policy, and the economy are decaying. The regime has lost its capacity for renewal. This decay is spreading from the entire political process to the social process.”

Forta used the following statements: “The government that took over the state and the country has great power, the international conjuncture is also on their side, the AKP is getting support from these forces by saying that they will protect the interests of the imperialist capitalist system in the best way. They have once again gained support from Trump by being integrated into America’s Middle East policies. They are trying to stay on their feet by forming the most reactionary bloc domestically. But all of this is in vain,” he said.

Forta, who stated that the parties in the ruling party are also experiencing ruptures within their own bases due to the Kurdish initiative and relations with Israel, said, “The meltdown in the MHP along with the Kurdish initiative and the meltdown in the AKP base due to relations with Israel are a great handicap for them. Two marginal parties of the 80s are governing Türkiye today. The MSP tradition and the MHP. The regime’s general dilemmas are great,” drawing attention to the crisis in the ruling party.

Finally, touching on the situation of the opposition, Forta said: “The opposition has come to this day by going through great traumas and defeats. What we need to do is ensure the departure of the one-man regime, but also to reveal what needs to be done after that. Conditions are forcing us to be more revolutionary. The fate of the country will depend not on what the government does, but on what the opposition does. The future will be how we make it.”

WARS, CRISES AND CONFLICTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ARE NOT INDEPENDENT FROM THE GLOBAL POWER STRUGGLE

BirGün Publishing Coordinator İbrahim Varlı and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elçin Aktoprak spoke in the afternoon leg of the session.

İbrahim Varlı, who made a presentation titled “Imperialist war in the Middle East, political Islamists and the future of the people”, noted that the events in the region cannot be considered independently of the global power struggle. Varlı stated that all the stones were being moved in the Middle East leg of the imperialist powers’ struggle for hegemony, power and influence, and noted that the region was being transformed in line with US-Israeli interests within the scope of the Greater Middle East Project ( GBP ).

THE BLOODIEST LEG OF BOP: IRAN

Varlı stated that the October 7 Hamas attacks were turned into an opportunity to implement the third and bloodiest phase of the Greater Middle East Project, and that Israel, which drowned Gaza, Lebanon and Syria in blood, has finally turned towards its ultimate target: Iran.

Varlı said, “The war that started with Israel striking Iran on June 13 opened the doors to a new era in the Middle East. Although the timing of the attack was surprising, it was not unexpected. Because the Israeli war machine had frequently voiced that Iran would be next after Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

Israel, which seized the opportunity it was looking for after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, has since taken action to design the entire Middle East in line with imperialist-Zionist interests. Israel, which is essentially a security state, is pursuing a comprehensive security policy against Iran. The basis of the military-security policy it has been implementing against Iran since 2018 is based on the “octopus doctrine,” he said.

PROCESSES IN Türkiye AND SYRIA ARE INTERCONNECTED

He stated that the process that has not been named in Türkiye but which the regime is trying to facilitate as a “terror-free Türkiye” is the product of this climate.

Varlı said, “In the painful climate of the Middle East, there are two intersecting processes in Turkey and Syria; Ankara-Imrali, SDF-Damascus negotiations. The main subjects of both processes carried out simultaneously are the Kurds. The process that the AKP regime is trying to code as a “terror-free Turkey” and the negotiations between the Kurds and HTS are affecting each other, progressing slowly and with uncertainty.

Kurdish sources in Rojava also emphasize that the talks in Syria should not be considered independently of the process carried out by Öcalan, and note that the process is being carried out together as a whole. Naturally, there are many question marks about what is happening in this rather complex issue,” he said.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elçin Aktoprak, who took the floor afterwards, noted that neither the first nor the current process was carried out transparently.

NEITHER THE PAST NOR THE PRESENT PROCESS IS TRANSPARENT

Aktoprak said, “We don’t even hear about globalization from globalists anymore. Today, we are talking about the diversity of authoritarian regimes. The diversity of democracy was being talked about under the influence of the neoliberal winds of the 90s. The 90s were different from today, that was a reality. Today is worse in every sense. There is a regression on a global level. After the 2000s, nation states regained their power. The EU lost its influence.”

Aktoprak, who said that conflicts had to end for capital to circulate, said, “There was great support for peace in Spain, Ireland and South Africa on a global scale. Peace had also become an object of popular culture. However, the situation was different in Türkiye. In places where there was conflict, conflicts had to end in order for capital to flow. They partially solved the problem within the scope of the process of integrating into neo-liberalism, they swept the real problem under the rug. Armed conflicts and apartheid ended.”

Referring to the ongoing process with İmralı, Assoc. Prof. Aktoprak said, “We have to transform this process into a peace process for all of us, not the “big brothers” - Erdoğan-Bahçeli-Öcalan. This “solution” process was initiated under the pressure of the insistence in the Middle East, and this alone shows that the issue is flawed. Those who once described themselves as “pariahs” have become today’s masters. The AKP was not sincere during the 2013-2015 process either. Neither the past nor the current process is transparent.”