Turkey, Mayday 2010 - The Highest Revolutionary Commitment

greece / turkey / cyprus | anarchist movement | opinion / analysis Tuesday May 04, 2010 21:38 by Asli - DAF (Revolutionary Anarchist Action) devrimcianarsistfaaliyet at gmail dot com

"Those who entered the square by letting the police to search themselves and stay their hunger in the corners of Mcdonald's during and after the meeting became the most concrete example of being distracted by the state's blessing"

The social opposition which turned Taksim Square and the surrounding area into hell in the MayDays of 2007-2008-2009 is almost faded when the state opened the Square after 32 years. In the past three years, we- the anarchists who managed to convert the streets of Istanbul to resistance area, are far from feeling surprised. Because we know that; the "Taksim Square fetishism" was just an illusion created by the state. On that day, a treacherous game played in the Taksim square which was surrounded by police barricades, scanned by cameras inch by inch, monitored by helicopters all the time. Masters and so called slaves collaborated and they celebrated a holidays with all their spiritlessness. What holidays are they talking about? The workers who had a symbolic claim on 8-hour working time were executed by state 130 years ago. Who’s working for 8 hours for today? A shipyard worker, a textile worker or a cashier in Burger King? But we’re dying. We’re still dying, we’re still slaves. The anarchists and revolutionaries who were murdered in 1886, 1977, 1996 spilled their blood to raise the rebellion's fire; not to be mentioned in a day of reconciliation. Today, even the powers see no harm in adopting this holiday. This carnival organized by the state itself is combined with the left opposition's "achievements" perception and this scene increasingly resembles a parody. We have no role in this spoof!

We certainly know that, the state's blessing can not suppress the voice of the oppressed. Those who entered the square by letting the police to search themselves and stay their hunger in the corners of Mcdonald's during and after the meeting became the most concrete example of being distracted by the state's blessing. Appraising this failure as a vaunt is the most interesting and queasy part of this story. And we do understand now that, this conciliatory attitude is being used to amuse masses instead of raising the revolutionary struggle. This is a pedagogical method which is applied by modern capitalist state. Is the social opposition so blind to see this? Or about the fight against injustice, can we begin to have doubts?

Flying our flags in a square which is legalized by state was never important for us. We won't compromise. In the following MayDay, we won't be a part of this messy reconciliation policy and fake fight as we did this year.

We are not representative of an existing tradition. We are in pursuit of a new era and the world. We're carrying a huge passion for revolt in our little hearts which will overcome this order which is becoming more cruel day by day.

We come for bread, justice and freedom!

In Solidarity