Letter from Turkey on May Day

A short letter on the mood developing in the Turkish labour movement

Dear Comrades,

In this letter I would like to tell you about May Day in Turkey, especially in Istanbul. As I told you in my previous messages, for the first time since Bloody May Day in 1977, permission was given to celebrate May Day in Istanbul’s Taksim Square. This achievement was the result of years of continued struggle of the Turkish working class, despite police brutality, coordinated by the ruling AKP government.

On May Day, about 200,000 people gathered in Taksim Square. Taksim was full of trade unionists, students, activists, intellectuals and laymen on the street. It was a great day and the largest crowd was gathered in the Square. This can be seen as the final message of the Turkish working to the ruling AKP government prior to the General Strike of 26 May 2010, which is widely expected to be a very effective political action.

Trade unions are preparing for the 26 May general strike. It will be the second general strike in turkey in 2010. The first general strike was on 4 February 2010. This second general strike is expected to be much more effective than the previous one in February. This time people argue that planes won't fly, public buses won't work, trains won't go, ships won't sail. It will be a real general strike.

This is a sign that the Turkish working class is gathering momentum. Hopefully, the starting point will be 26 May 2010 General Strike.

Meanwhile, in the international media, in newspapers like Wall Street Journal and Financial Times, there are articles arguing that there is a bloodless civil war in Turkey between the ruling Islamists and the secular elites. It is the duty of the working class to turn this bloodless civil war into a battle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat!

Now it is time for that!!!

Comradely,
The Hook