At the end April Turkey was thrown into a constitutional
crisis as the ruling AK Party’s presidential candidate failed to gain the
support of two thirds of parliament. The Republican People’s Party (CHP)
challenged the result through the Constitutional
Court. Now Turkey faces early elections.
Behind all this is the ongoing conflict between the AKP, which has the backing
of big capital in Turkey
and imperialism, and the old Kemalist military state apparatus.
On June 25, 600 worker brothers and sisters from various
factories, neighbourhoods and towns in Turkey turned out for the launch meeting
of the UID-DER (Association of International Workers’ Solidarity – Turkey)
determined to make it a success and offer a genuine class alternative to the
Turkish workers.
This
year’s May Day rally in Istanbul was somewhat smaller than last
year’s. However, there are growing tensions in Turkish society over
such issues as cuts in welfare and pensions and rising unemployment.