Urgent Need for Turkey

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Turkish police drag away gunned down militant immer Scho Sessions on: Crisis of Imperialism;

Reconstruct the Fourth International For more details write to: WSL, BM Box After eight months of far away from consolidating its control.

The regime remains as unstable as ever in the face of millions of workers pressing their economic and democratic demands. These same workers have been the main victims of the economic policies of the junta.

The demands of the masses have come through the unexpected channel of the reactionary yellow trade union confederation TURK-IS, which sits in the state-established High Arbitration Committee.

One demand is for a new formula for the minimum wage, which workers are arguing should be calculated on the basis of a 4-member family, while the employers' federation insists it should calories per day.

The workers' demands amount to 4.5 times the present minimum wage. At one point in the talks, TURK-IS leaders actually walked out of the Arbitration Committee. wages and collective bargaining-which has not taken place since early 1979. Prior to the September coup dies AFTER 10 weeks on a hunger strike which was entirely blacked out by the West German press, terrorist prisoner Sigurd Debus died last week.

The German capitalist press had succeeded far more even than the British Tory press in muzzling reports of the hunger strike which was In pursuit of demands for a relaxation of the savage prison regime afflicting Debus and other terrorist prisoners.

This death must be added to the grisly toll of violence carried through by Schmidt's reactionary Social Democratic government, involving the murder in prison of the leadership of the BaaderMeinhof group and other prisoners.

hundreds of thousands of workers, in particular DISK members, had been on strike.

The first new collective bargaining agreement has been issued by the Arbitration Committee for the workers at the giant iron and steel plant at Eregli, offering a 50% rise for 1979, 50% for 1980 and 40% for 1981, in a deal to last for the next three years.

Such an offer must be set in the context of 170% inflation (government figures) and the appallingly low wages prior to the coup.

But the fact remains that the Turkish working class remains far from defeated.

Its militancy and its fighting capacity remains strong despite its setbacks under military rule.

Explosive issue

The question of wages will remain an explosive issue in the face of deepening problems for the regime and for Turkish capitalism.

Last week the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the regime to "return to democracy" within two months-or face the freezing of relations with the EEC.

This development runs hand in hand with a growth of the bourgeois opposition to the regime from the RPP and its former leader Bulent Ecevit. This opposition is based on human rights violations by the junta.

Ecevit has published an article citing the example of the ex-mayor of Istanbul, arguing that there is systematic torture in Turkey.

In response the junta has brought charges against Ecevit and banned him from attending a meeting of leaders of the Second International in West Germany.

There are nearly 100,000 Eventually a new minimum wage, agreed by employers, TURK-IS and the government has been fixed at a figure nearly five times higher than in the pre-coup period!

At the same time workers demands for the lifting of suspensions on trade union activities and for the right to strike have also been expressed through the TURK-IS executive-even while these collaborators pledge their support for the dictatorship.

Millions of workers, both within TURKIS and • the now illegal left wing confederation DISK, are also pushing forward demands on political prisoners in Turkey and massive repression against the whole labour movement and socialist and revolutionary organisations.

Mass trials have begun of DISK, DEV-YUL, DEV-SOL and PKK (Kurdish) militants with 200-300 death sentences being demanded by the prosecution.

Continuous military operations are being carried out in Kurdistan, with villages and towns terrorised by the Turkish army The extension of this repression to layers of bourgeois liberals was the main factor that spurred Ecevit into opposition.

Fascist line

Meanwhile junta chief Evren has been touring the Aegean coast, declaring in speeches that the main dangers to the Turkish state are "secessionism" and "communism"

This same line was the backbone of fascist propaganda during their terror campaign prior to the coup.

Only 500 fascists will be brought to trial while the mass fascist party remains free and waits only for an opportune moment to resume the offensive.

The international workers' movement must not let the trade unionists, working masses, revolutionaries and democrats in Turkey remain at the mercy of the junta, their torturers and the fascists.

It is necessary to organise active solidarity. In world economic crisis: Stalinist crisis: Central America: and 5277. London WCIN 3XX e ec Britain the Turkey Solidarity Campaign stands at the head of this fight-and has just produced a new information bulletin.

Raise the issue of Turkey in your union branch, Labour Party or students union. Affiliate to the TSC:

*Defend democratic rights in Turkey.

*Free all political prisoners in Turkey.

*Black all arms, economic and military aid to the military dictatorship! 9-26 July 1981

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military rule in Turkey, the dictatorship is still

be based on a single worker- and a consumption of 3,200