This document is a history of the working class in Turkey, from the
19th century to the present day. It is from the English section of the
Turkish Marxist website Sinif Mücadelesinde Marksist Tutum.
Turkey's political establishment has been stunned by the landslide
election victory of the moderate Islamic Justice and Development Party,
the AKP. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the former mayor of Istanbul who leads
the party, won a crushing victory in Sunday's election. None of the
parties that went into parliament at the last elections have survived.
This dramatic turnaround is an expression of the anger, frustration and
disgust of the masses with the corrupt and degenerate bourgeois
parties, which have ruled Turkey for the last four years. However their
experience of an AKP government will be a bitter lesson for them. This
is another bourgeois party that will do nothing for the Turkish masses.
The scene is being set for the intervention of the masses on the
industrial front.
The present war, in which US imperialism seeks to maintain its
hegemony, is further aggravating the current contradictions in Turkey.
Although the country is engulfed in a serious economic crisis, Turkey
is setting out to undertake new roles in the region, playing "little
brother" of the USA. The Internationalist Communists of Turkey report
on anti-war movements, and send solidarity greetings from the Turkish
workers.