Protesters stand against repression from the Turkish regime

Demonstraters outside the Turkish Embassy stand against Erdoğan’s state repression (pic: Guy Smallman)

Protesters staged a solidarity rally outside the Turkish embassy in London on Thursday. It came after president Recep Erdoğan’s regime launched a wave of arrests against political opponents. 

The Turkish state has arrested political activists and trade unionists over false charges of links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

Those arrested include Mehmet Türkmen, chair of the Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers’ Union, and Şenol Karakaş, a leading member of the revolutionary socialist DSIP party. 

Around 75 people joined the rally called by Solidarity with the People of Turkey (Spot). At the rally, Louise Regan from the NEU education union said, “The NEU has a long and proud history of standing with the people of Turkey. 

“We stand in solidarity with Mehmet Türkmen and all those others who have been arrested. 

“This is a mass anti democracy crackdown. This is not new—there have been huge attacks for a long time, particularly on trade union leaders. This is state harassment of legitimate trade unionists,” she said. 

“I’ve tried to hand in two letters from Spot, but I have been refused on the basis it is unacceptable.”

Charlie Kimber from the Socialist Workers Party said, “The purpose of this demonstration is becoming clearer by the hour. 

“Figures from the last 24 hours have suggested that over 50,000 people have been arrested in the last six months. This is a regime that claims it stands for peace. 

“But at the same time, it represses those who stand for democracy, for peace, for justice and for civil rights. 

“It’s good to see the TUC union federation releasing a statement calling for the immediate release of those arrests. 

“It’s good to see the trade unionists that are here today. Spot has always stressed the importance of workers’ action.”

Ceren, a member of Spot, explained that the recent arrests are a bid for Erdoğan to maintain power. “He is constitutionally not allowed to re-stand for president,” she told Socialist Worker,

“But we know this hasn’t stopped him before, and elections are coming up, so he’s looking for ways around it. He’s looking for other ways to boost nationalists because without them he won’t be able to succeed.” 

Ceren said that the recent ramping up of repression is Erdoğan’s response to the weakness of his party. “When we look at the last national elections, his AKP has less than 50 percent of the votes—that’s a drastic drop in recent years. 

“His aim right now is to silence as much opposition as he can. He wants to ensure that there aren’t any active campaigns against him, whether that’s from politicians, artists, journalists and the media. 

“It’s also why he’s been targeting mayors that have been democratically elected.”

The rally heard other speeches from the Unison union, the National Shop Stewards Network and Turkish organisations. 

The mood was clear—immediately release those arrested, fight Erdoğan’s repression and defend workers’ rights to organise.