3-29-05, 8:28 am

From Solidarity Net

Rage Towards the US Occupation

In the 2nd year of the Iraq occupation, together with all the other anti-war forces around the world, thousands of workers and labourers coming from various provinces around Turkey to Istanbul condemned the US and chanted out for the 'US to get out of the Middle East.'

The thousands of workers, public sector labourers and students participating in the anti-war manifestation organised in Kadikoy (one of the central districts situated in the Anatolian coast of Istanbul), chanting such slogans as; 'The resistance will continue, the occupation will end' and 'The day will dawn, time will change, the US will account to the people', added their voices to the voices of all the anti-war forces holding manifestations at the same time in many places around the world.

In the demonstration to which such mass organisations as the Confederation of Public Sector Labourers' Unions (KESK), Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Trade Unions (DISK), Confederation of Workers Trade Unions of Turkey (TURK-IS), HAK-IS, Union of Architects and Engineers Chambers of Turkey (TMMOB) and Doctors' League of Turkey (TTB) and political parties such as the Party of Labour (EMEP), Freedom and Solidarity Party (ODP), Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) and the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) attended, the Newroz demonstrations to be held on the next few days all around the country were greeted with the slogan of; 'Long live the fraternity of the peoples.'

Among the slogans most often chanted by all the different groups of anti-war forces were; 'Labourers unite for a world without wars', 'Down with imperialism and Zionism,' 'Support to the resistance, not to the occupation' and 'War organisation NATO should be dissolved'. The demonstrators also showed their reaction to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) that is currently in power through such slogans as; 'We don't want a US puppet government.'

While the Petrol Workers' Union (Petrol-Is) drew a lot of attention with its massive participation, the engineers and architects coming to Istanbul from many provinces around the country to participate in the demonstration were a colourful part of the manifestation with their barrets. There was anger at the students' corteges at the constantly increasing student expulsions from the universities. The students expressed their reactions by chanting out; 'It's not enough to expel us, hang us!'. While some of the students performed the Iraqi resistance in a symbolic way; the spectators applauded for a long time the scene in which the US soldiers were defeated and Iraq was liberated.

Resistance With All Our Might

Rendering the opening speech on behalf of the Organisation Committee, Mehmet Soganci, the President of TMMOB said that; 'Today there is blood, tears, death, hunger and poverty all around the world. However there is also a resistance all around the world'. He then continued his speech with the following words; 'Being on the side of peace today means being side by side with all the forces of peace and democracy of the world against everything that is being suffered in Iraq and Palestine. Now is the time to stand against Bush and his collaborators together with all the peoples of the world, the time to resist with all our might to the attacks of the capital'.

Expressing that the peoples of the Middle East oppressed under the occupation were becoming more and more impoverished every day, Suleyman Celebi, the President of DISK said; 'We as the labourer classes are being made to pay the price of this'. Edelman is Going, Now it's Erdogan's Turn

While the US occupation of Iraq was condemned by the march organised in Ankara (the capital of the country); the US Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman who has been at the headlines recently with his intervention to Turkey's internal affairs and who has declared his resignation a few days ago was also protested. The marchers targeted the Prime Minister R. Tayyip Erdogan by chanting the slogan; 'Edelman is going, now it's Erdogan's turn.'

The trade unions, mass and professional organisations, associations and political parties protesting the US occupation of Iraq gathered around one of the central squares of the capital. More than a thousand people protested the US plans to further occupy the Middle Eastern countries after Iraq and the imperialist expansionist policies of the US along with its collaborators.

The Ankara Branches Platform of KESK, General Workers Union (Genel-Is) as well as other trade unions affiliated to DISK and such organisations as the Cultural Association of Pir Sultan Abdal (PSKAD), Doctors' Chamber of Ankara (ATO), Human Rights' Association (IHD), People's Houses, EMEP, Socialist Democracy Party (SDP), and the Socialist Platform of the Oppressed (ESP) participated in the march held under the banner of; 'The imperialists will be defeated, the resisting peoples shall win'. In the manifestation to which student groups also participated in, among the most often chanted slogans were; 'Murderer US, don't forget Vietnam', 'The day will dawn, time will change, the US will account to the people' and 'Murderer US, get out of Iraq, get out of the Middle East'.

Black Wreath to the US Consulate

The Human Rights Association, Genel-Is, Teachers' Union (Egitim-Sen), EMEP, TKP, SDP and ESP organised a protest demonstration in front of the US Consulate in Adana (a province situated in the Mediterranean region of the country in which there is an infamous US military base called Incirlik). Ethem Acikalin, a member of the Executive Committee of the IHD Branch of Adana stated that the US had massacred and continues to massacre many people on the pretext of `bringing democracy and freedom'. Acikalin continued his speech with the following words; 'We are calling the AKP government to stop the indirect or direct support it is currently giving to the occupiers and beginning with the Incirlik base, to close down the military bases and ports it has opened with a decree to the service of the US military'. Following the statement, a black wreath was left to the front of the US Consulate and the human rights report card of the US was read out.

The 2nd year of the US occupation was also protested with a march organised in Mersin (a province situated in the southern part of the country), in Gaziantep (a Kurdish province situated in the Southeast Anatolian region of the country), in Iskenderun (a province situated in the South region of the country, very close to the Syrian border), in Sivas (a province situated in the East Anatolian region ofthe country) and in Antalya (a province in the Mediterranean region of the country).