21.12.1995

Election stitch-up in Turkey

Left in disarray

Turkey is preparing for an early election on December 24 following the political turmoil in the late summer and early autumn.

The government was forced to resign as a result of a change in the leadership of its social democrat coalition partner. A minority government without the slightest hope of winning the approval of the Grand National Assembly (parliament) was formed. And it promptly lost a vote of confidence.

This whole charade was centred around the large demonstrations organised by the leadership of Türk-Is, the trade union confederation. On face value the aim was to force the government’s hand in public sector bargaining. In reality the Türk-Is leadership played the role of king makers by supporting one faction of the political spectrum against the other. On formation of the new coalition government, the demonstrations promptly ended and a series of rather mediocre public sector pay agreements were concluded.

In this overcharged political atmosphere the four-yearly Turk-Is Congress was held and much dirty linen was washed in public. Essentially two rival factions, both supporters of right wing political parties and movements, contested for the leadership. The group that adhered to the extreme nationalism of the fascist Nationalist Action Party lost the elections to the ‘moderate’ right wing which supports the True Path Party of prime minister Çiller. However this shaky victory was only achieved after obtaining the support of the social democrat trade unionists who support the coalition partner Republican People’s Party.

The congress showed that, despite a series of positive gains in the private sector and within some trades, the left wing is not yet a force to be reckoned with in Türk-Is.

It became apparent that many union leaders were involved in lucrative privatisation deals. For example, the top leadership of the seamen’s union formed a limited company and bid for the privatisation of the public sector merchant marine. With the cooperation of the government which they helped to power, this company bought the ships dirt cheap. They also intimidated competitors using fascist hit teams with the connivance of the police. The new trade unionist management told the workforce that those who do not work hard enough would be sacked immediately.

The preparations for early elections coincided with an important step in the long drawn out process of integrating Turkey into the European Union. The EU has admitted Turkey into its Customs Union.

The ruling class has come to the conclusion that there is no other way forward for capitalism in Turkey. However, integration still meets stiff opposition in many circles.

The coalition government had done its best to meet the criteria for admission into the Customs Union and to remove all obstacles in the way. For example, in a last minute rush they removed the infamous 8th article of the anti-terror legislation which allowed the imprisonment of intellectuals and writers for terrorist offences such as advocating the right to self- determination of the Kurdish people. Other aspects of this legislation however, which allow the summary execution of so-called terrorists, are still on the statute books.

The coalition partners tried to keep a deal on Cyprus under wraps but The Times spilled the beans. All the opposition took it as a sellout of the great national interests of Turkey and put more pressure on the government along Islamic fundamentalist and nationalist lines.

However the main sticking point of joining the Customs Union was the Kurdish question. The last minute offer of a truce by the Kurdish guerrilla movement was sufficient to persuade the human rights champions in the European parliament to give a green light to the Turkish government. The motion was only carried by the yes votes of the socialist group.

The Turkish government has done its best to woo its European critics by claiming that if its membership fell through, the fundamentalists would gain the upper hand. The Turkish left played into the hands of the government in this respect by exaggerating the danger of Islamic fundamentalism.

Within a few days of joining the Customs Union, it became apparent that the Islamic vote was not that high and even the nationalist vote would be barely enough to get it into the Assembly. In the last municipal elections the protest vote, in the absence of a credible left alternative, did go to the Islamic parties. In order to maintain that vote, they were forced to use the left rhetoric of social justice and rights for workers. Had the left managed to put forward a credible alternative, the Islamic fundamentalists would not have stood a chance.

One part of the legal left, including the remnants of the United Communist Party, formed a loose front with the Populist Democratic Party, a legal exponent of the Kurdish guerrilla movement.

The ex-Maoist Workers Party adopted an ever increasing nationalist position and managed to obtain open support from some intellectuals for its go-it-alone strategy.

An Alevi party initiative calling itself Democracy and Peace Front put up last minute candidates and obtained support from Alevi organisations abroad. Many Alrevi organisations inside Turkey, however, publicly stated that they were against the formation of an Alevi party. The initiative felt it was too late to sort out all these difficulties and dropped out of the elections this time.

Illegal left organisations either chose to support the front, or to boycott or to spoil their ballot papers.

This is the first time an election in Turkey has been held in the middle of winter when two thirds of the villages have lost their road communication with the provincial centres. This will inevitably lead to election fraud, with the ballot boxes transported under the escort of right wing militiamen or tribal security men. On the other hand a change in the constitution allowed 18 year olds to vote for the first time, but only if they registered within a week of the election announcement.

A party must have more than 10% of the total number of votes in order to gain access to parliament. Since 1968 every election has been held with a different electoral system best suited to the government of the day.

While the workers are striving for basic human rights, for a job, for social security, for decent health provision, for free education, for decent housing, for peace in Kurdistan, for democracy and liberties, the bourgeois political agenda has distanced itself from these demands. But the working class seems paralysed and unable to take the opportunity to be the champion of the peoples’ demands.

The lesson which should be drawn from this impasse is the need for its own programme. The working class must organise its own political party with its own hands.

Aziz Demir