[SOCIALIST Organiser fights to act as a real…]
Socialist Organiser1982 1982-08-26Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 12 →
Read from the scan by machine and not corrected: expect misread words, and now and then a caption or a line from a neighbouring story. For anything you quote, read the scan.
Scan page 12
SOCIALIST Organiser fights to act as a real çampaigning paper which can organise ster Suleyman Demirel, they dispensed with the 1960 constitution which guaranteed parliamentary democracy in Turkey.
Trade union democracy was held in equal contempt. They issued a decree banning the main trade union confederation -called DISK - and outlawing strikes and mass factory meetings.
Declaring martial law across the country, they instantly despatched selected hit-squads to round up socialists and trade unionists who could provide a focus of democratic opposition to their regime. Over 100,000 were detained in their raids.
Stamp
The Generals claimed their takeover was necessary to stamp out endemic political unrest in Turkey. But the crackdown wasn't applied to the Fascist Nationalist Action Party, the perpetrators of the street violence and terrorism, with the same terocity. Prejudiced to right-wing politics, with vital allies in the fascist party hierarchy, the Generals deliberately allowed the fascist party structure to survive intact.
The thrust of the repression was directed against socialists and trade unionists - because the GenAffiliate to the Turkish Write to: TSC, BM Box 3XX.
erals wanted to weaken resistance to the pay cuts and price rises they wanted as part of their economic strategy.
But their offensive wasn't just restricted to the Left. Democrats who defended the democratic rights of the Left were similarly subject to repression. Most recently the Generals have put on trial the leaders of the Turkish Peace Association for subversion.
As the Generals approach the second anniversary of their coup, they are diverting attention from such repression with promSolidarity Campaign. 5965, London WC1N ises to return Turkey to democracy next year. But the democracy of the Junta is rigid and authoritarian. The 'democracy' is a facade for a strong state.
The Turkey Solidary Campaign is anxious that the Junta's hints of a return to democracy should not stall solidarity action in Britain.
Set up before the coup, the Campaign believes that the vital work of rallying support for the people of Turkey must continue remorselessly. Why not commemorate the second anniversary of the coup by joining the Campaign?