House raids against Partizan in Turkey
The Turkish police carried out a coordinated operation against activists in Dersim, Hatay and Istanbul on the morning of 6th of May. Among the 12 detained were readers of Partizan and a correspondent of the revolutionary and democratic newspaper Yeni Demokrasi, who had faced death threats and intimidation attempts for weeks before the raid. Also the liaison office of Yeni Demokrasi was raided in Dersim and materials were confiscated. Many of those detained are to be arrested. To keep information from the public, the authorities ruled the case confidential. A 24-hour lawyer ban was imposed on the detained. On the 8th of May Yeni Demokrasi reported that police statements have been made in the case and the detained will be brought in front of the prosecutor on the 9th.
Parliamentary and presidential elections are coming up in Turkey on the 14th of May, and the reaction is desperate to attack revolutionary and democratic forces, at the same time as it carries out a massive campaign to integrate the people in the electoral system. During the past weeks, Partizan has been carrying out a determined campaign against the elections and for revolutionary May 1st mobilizations, in which it raised slogans for the communist leader İbrahim Kaypakkaya, who was tortured and murdered by the reaction 50 years ago, and for People’s War. The attack of May the 6th comes a week after the attack on the contingent of Partizan in the 1st of May demonstration in Istanbul by the police, who tried to remove the flags with the picture of İbrahim Kaypakkaya.
Partizan wrote shortly on Twitter that they will expand the struggle despite the aggressions, and that the attacks cannot intimidate them. The European Union of Migrant Workers (AGEB) released a statement in which they express their fury against the old Turkish State and denounce the attack, saying that it is an attempt to silence those who struggle for the demands of the people and against the State, which has left the people in ruins after the earthquake and is deaf to their basic demands. They also point out that what the attack on the first of May and the recent attack show is the weakness and fear of the old Turkish State in front of revolution.
Many other Turkish organizations have also released statements in support of the detained activists, condemning the attack and reaffirming that the repression will be in vain, because the reaction is bound to lose.
