Turkey: Five Communist Fighters Killed in Avalanche

[mosfeld]

RIP Red Martyrs!!


Turkey: Five Communist Fighters Killed in Avalanche (http://kasamaproject.org/2011/04/23/turkey-five-communist-fighters-killed-in-avalanche/)

Posted by Mike E (http://kasamaproject.org/) on April 23, 2011
http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/tkp-ml-tikko.jpg?w=320&h=171 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/tkp-ml-tikko.jpg)
Kasama received the following press release via the Maoist Revolution (http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/MAOIST_REVOLUTION) list. The TKP/ML is the name of one current of the Communist Party of Turkey, Marxist-Leninist. TIKKO is the name of their armed organization within Turkey. The press release was issued by the TKP/ML-International Relation Office.

This winter, a sudden avalanche came crashing through a Maoist guerrilla encampment in the high mountains of eastern Turkey. It was nighttime, 5 am, and five women fighters were buried.
5 martyrs of TKP/ML-TIKKO die in Dersim

The press statement of the TKP/ML-TIKKO Dersim Region Comittee from April 20th 2011 states that on 2nd February 2011, 5 guerillas of TKP/ML- TIKKO have lost their lives as a result of an avalanche. According to the statement of the Dersim Region; on February 2nd 2011 at 5am an avalanche destroyed the Winter-Camp and killed five female TIKKO guerillas.

http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/turkey-map.gif?w=350 (http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/turkey-map.gif)

1- Sefagul Kesgin, aka Eylem, was born in Erzurum in 1977. She joined the guerilla struggle in 2007. She was the Political . Polit- Lieutenant of the Dersim Region

2- Nursen Aslan, aka Emel, was born in Tokat (along the Black Sea coast) in 1981. She joined the guerrilla struggle in 1999. She was a forward sympathiser of the TKP/ML. She was a commander in the Dersim Region.

3- Gulizar Ozkan, aka Ozlem, was born in 1967 in Dersim. She joined the guerrilla forces in 2005. She was a forward sympathiser of the party. She was a TIKKO commander.

4- Fatma Acar, aka Dilek, was born in 1983 in Mersin. She joined the guerrilla struggle in 2006. She was a forward sympathiser of the TKP/ML and a commander of TIKKO.

5- Derya Aras, aka Sevda, was born in 1979 in Erzincan and joined the guerilla in 2009. She was a forward sympathiser of the TKP/ML and a TIKKO fighter.

Despite energetic efforts right after the slide, the five comrades were found lifeless.

The Dersim Regional Committee further declares that the martyrdom of our five comrades (including the leading member Sefagul Kesgin) represents a big loss for our organization.

We understand that such losses and death are part our war. In order to make our way past this heavy loss, we will focus on our struggle with all our abilities and strength. We will increase the struggle that has been handed over to us by our martyrs in a way that our comrades deserve.
Our five comrades have left a note on the page of history. They have done this with their leading role in our war and in showing the oppressed women the way towards freedom. Their lives, just as their martyrdom, was a rebellion against the oppression of women since thousands of years and this rebellion will illuminate the path of the comrades who will continue the struggle. We can only keep our comrades alive with the weapons we have taken over from them for the struggle of democratic peoples revolution, socialism and communism.

As the international office of the TKP/ML we know that the path of proletarian world revolution is a path full of willpower, sacrifices and determination. The way to final victory can only be reached with the knowledge of proletarian world revolution and the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideology. For this we call upon all revolutionary and communist forces to take notice of the martyrdom of our comrades Sefagul Kesgin, Nursen Aslan, Gulizar Ozkan, Fatma Acar, Derya Aras.

Long Live Proletarian Internationalism!
Long Live Peoples War!
Long Live Marxism-Leninism-Maoism!

http://kasamaproject.org/2011/04/23/turkey-five-communist-fighters-killed-in-avalanche/

[red cat]

May our comrades rest in peace. Their martyrdom shall not be in vain. The revolution shall emerge victorious in Turkey and spread throughout the world.

Lal Salaam

[SacRedMan]

RIP those who fought and died in the name of freedom and the working class :(

[Red Future]

A sad event ..rest in peace Comrades

[Spartacus.]

Long live the people's war and socialist Turkey...

[El Chuncho]

R.I.P. Marxist-Leninist heroes.

[☭The Revolution☭]

Their sacrifice will not be forgotten.

[Lunatic Concept]

This is very sad. How big exactly is the armed revolutionary movement in Turkey at the moment? Just out of interest.

[mosfeld]

This is very sad. How big exactly is the armed revolutionary movement in Turkey at the moment? Just out of interest.

There are no exact numbers, but of all the ongoing PPWs the Turkish one is the most obscure, unknown and mysterious. There are currently three Maoist Parties with armed wings, the MKP, TKP/ML and TKP(ML), all of which are mainly concentrated in the Black Sea Region and occupied Kurdistan. The Turkish PPW is currently on the defensive, and has suffered severe setbacks in the past with their high-ranking members being wiped out by the Turkish fascist state.

TKP/ML's armed wing, TIKKO, is known to have collaborated with the PKK and used to consider them to be a revolutionary nationalist Party, but today they consider them to be "national reformists". The Indian publication People's March elaborated:


Uptil two years back the TKP/ML considered that the PKK as a National Revolutionary Parth fighting for a separate Kurdish nation. But since then it has changed into a National reformist party.

With the arrest of the PKK leader, Ochlan, the capitulation was swift. The PKK had a dual character and capitulation was expected but it was never estimated that total surrender would take place in just one month. The process of surrender, for others, e.g. Palestine, took a number of years - from ideological capitulation to finally military surrender.

After Ochlan and the PKK leadership surrendered, of their 10,000 guerrilla forces, one-third were dissolved and the bulk of the rest were dispersed to other countries. Only 150 were maintained in Turkey in order to destroy the real fighters. Those who wanted to continue the armed struggle for the liberation of Kurdistan, were sought out and killed by the PKK leadership. So after the surrender, roughly 300 PKK guerrillas have been killed. Also two central committee members, who wanted to continue the armed struggle, were killed in the Dersim region.

But resistance continues with a number of guerrillas organised as the 'Revolutionary Line Fighters of the PKK'.

Earlier 3 1/2 lakh military forces of the one million Turkish army were pitted against the PKK; now, overnight, the bulk of these have been freed, and will be focused mainly on the TKPIML.People's March, History of the Communist Movement in Turkey (http://www.bannedthought.net/India/PeoplesMarch/PM1999-2006/)

There are some serious political differences between these various Maoist parties in Turkey. If you want to read about them, take a look at "Maoism Versus Opportunism in Turkey (http://www.aworldtowin.org/back_issues/2002-28/28_OGsPolemic.htm)" by CoRIM and "First Congress of the Maoist Communist Party of Turkey (http://revcom.us/a/v24/1181-1190/1187/mkp.htm)".

The situation in Turkey is very similar to pre-2004 India, before the formation of CPI(Maoist), where there were several groups such as the MCCI and PWG. I believe that if these Maoist parties engaged in PPW are to unite, the Turkish state will most likely tremble.

[red cat]

This is very sad. How big exactly is the armed revolutionary movement in Turkey at the moment? Just out of interest.

This question is very hard to answer, because in case of such smaller armed struggles, accurate information can be obtained only from the party in question or its fraternal parties. Most non-Maoists will tell you that they are very negligible, rapidly declining etc. I know this much that they have been reviving since the disaster of 2008 and are increasing in numbers. Probably a few thousand fighters.

[mosfeld]

Here are a few photos from Turkey that I've collected
http://www.revleft.com/vb/album.php?albumid=909

http://www.revleft.com/vb/picture.php?albumid=909&pictureid=7902

[GallowsBird]

R.I.P comrades.

[Per Levy]

R.I.P Brothers.

"and five women fighters were buried."

rip sisters would fit better i guess.

[IndependentCitizen]

Fuck, what a horrible way to go. RIP Comrades.

[Leo]

There are no exact numbers, but of all the ongoing PPWs the Turkish one is the most obscure, unknown and mysterious. That is because it is not really ongoing at all and has never really been. There is nothing actually mysterious about it.


Probably a few thousand fighters. A massive exaggeration. A the height of their big recruitment campaign it is said, a thousand and a bit more maybe but not two thousand. Their military camps proved unable to support such numbers and the result is said to be catastrophic.


There are currently three Maoist Parties with armed wings, the MKP, TKP/ML and TKP(ML), all of which are mainly concentrated in the Black Sea Region and occupied Kurdistan. There are two main armed Maoist parties currently actually, TKP (ML) is the older name of the MKP. There are a couple of others which are less well known.

It is said that these organizations exist in the Black Sea region although they aren't based or concentrated in there in any way. They aren't based in Kurdistan either but in a singe Kurdish city (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dersim) and they exist in surrounding cities yet more to the Alevi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alevi) areas in the West than to the Kurdish East. The independent candidate from the legal wing of one of these organizations, supported by other leftist parties such as the TKP and EMEP ran for the municipal elections in the mentioned Kurdish city and closely lost to the candidate supported by the legal wing of the Kurdish nationalists.


I know this much that they have been reviving since the disaster of 2008 What disaster in 2008 are you referring to?


How big exactly is the armed revolutionary movement in Turkey at the moment? Depends on who you consider to be revolutionary and not, of course. The PKK, it is claimed has a military strength of 7,000-8,000 at the moment. In the 90ies, the number used to be significantly bigger.

There are different accounts for the numbers of the Maoist organizations. My sources on this are entirely the Maoists who have been or are involved in this themselves. However, the accounts of the ones in Europe and the ones in Turkey are different. The ones in Turkey estimate the armed organizations to have the strength of a few hundred. According to what comrades from Turkey living in Europe say based on what they know of the people involved in Europe, the actual figure is considerably smaller. People I know here tend to be either involved in the movement in the cities and within affiliated legal organizations, or have been formally involved with the armed wing, have been in prison without becoming a confessor but didn't resume political actively after being released for personal reasons - in other words not high-ranking people. Their people in Europe tend to be among the leadership.

As tragic as this incident undoubtedly is, Maoists even publicizing this to such an extent that it finds an echo on Revleft quite obviously shows that Maoists are extremely far from clashing with the forces of the state on a daily, monthly or even yearly basis and that there is no "people's war" going on. There is one and only one war going on in Turkey at the moment, and it is the one between the Turkish army and the PKK.

Personally, I think none of these armed organizations have anything whatsoever to offer the struggle of the working class.

[mosfeld]

Thanks for that Leo.

The struggle might be very low in intensity right now, but that does not change that things might change. There are always twists and turns, bends, etc, in PPW. I'd like to cite the Indian example again.

I'd also like to dispute that "there's only one war going on". The Maoists are clearly on defensive. What do you call it when the state is on a murder campaign against the Maoists and have been on one for decades?

http://revcom.us/a/009/martyr-turkey-remembering-rosa.htm
http://rwor.org/a/008/mkp-massacre-turkey.htm

[Devrim]

I'd also like to dispute that "there's only one war going on". The Maoists are clearly on defensive. What do you call it when the state is on a murder campaign against the Maoists and have been on one for decades?

http://revcom.us/a/009/martyr-turkey-remembering-rosa.htm
http://rwor.org/a/008/mkp-massacre-turkey.htm

The events that you refer to happened six years ago and were pretty much a final devastating blow against the Maoists. They have never recovered.

Devrim

[mosfeld]

The events that you refer to happened six years ago and were pretty much a final devastating blow against the Maoists. They have never recovered.

Devrim

Once again, I think you guys should hesitate before saying something like "final devastating blow". The Turkish Maoists are not over forever. People used to say that Kaypakkaya being killed, Gonzalo getting arrested, Mazumdar getting killed, etc, were "final blows", when they clearly were not.

[Devrim]

Once again, I think you guys should hesitate before saying something like "final devastating blow". The Turkish Maoists are not over forever. People used to say that Kaypakkaya being killed, Gonzalo getting arrested, Mazumdar getting killed, etc, were "final blows", when they clearly were not.

Of course you are right. It is difficult to say 'final'. However, I don't think that it is any exaggeration to say that they are currently completely inactive, and that there is no war against the Maoists in any real sense.

Devrim

[bricolage]

i tell you if there's one thing anarchists and maoists have in common it's that they both think they are far more important than they actually are.

[red cat]

What disaster in 2008 are you referring to?

If I recall correctly, twelve members of the CC were martyred in 2008.



There are different accounts for the numbers of the Maoist organizations. My sources on this are entirely the Maoists who have been or are involved in this themselves. However, the accounts of the ones in Europe and the ones in Turkey are different. The ones in Turkey estimate the armed organizations to have the strength of a few hundred. According to what comrades from Turkey living in Europe say based on what they know of the people involved in Europe, the actual figure is considerably smaller. People I know here tend to be either involved in the movement in the cities and within affiliated legal organizations, or have been formally involved with the armed wing, have been in prison without becoming a confessor but didn't resume political actively after being released for personal reasons - in other words not high-ranking people. Their people in Europe tend to be among the leadership.

I am not claiming that you are wrong, but there is a possibility that you might be. Generally Maoists do not reveal the full strength of their armed wing to non-partisans, and even within their ranks, those who work in the legal or semi-legal fronts are not kept much informed about the details of the rural people's war.


As tragic as this incident undoubtedly is, Maoists even publicizing this to such an extent that it finds an echo on Revleft quite obviously shows that Maoists are extremely far from clashing with the forces of the state on a daily, monthly or even yearly basis and that there is no "people's war" going on. There is one and only one war going on in Turkey at the moment, and it is the one between the Turkish army and the PKK.

In the extreme defensive period of the people's war very few actions are reported. Still I remember that there was a clash between Maoists and Turkish security forces around the middle of last year. But thank you for your very informative post.

[Leo]

If I recall correctly, twelve members of the CC were martyred in 2008.

Nope, seventeen leaders in 2005.


Generally Maoists do not reveal the full strength of their armed wing to non-partisans, and even within their ranks, those who work in the legal or semi-legal fronts are not kept much informed about the details of the rural people's war.

Yes, this is undoubtedly true, but with one difference: they exaggerate their numbers rather than downplay them. This is the reason why I think the lower figures sourced from European leaders are more likely to be true than the higher figures from local sources, yet honestly the former was so small that I couldn't believe it when I heard it so I am not going to make any clear guesses. I do think it is clear what the range is between though.


Still I remember that there was a clash between Maoists and Turkish security forces around the middle of last year.

Yes, there was an ambush (I don't think the soldiers got the chance to fire back so can't really be called a clash) somewhat recently (could be last year or the one before) which was done in coordination with the PKK.

[El Chuncho]

i tell you if there's one thing anarchists and maoists have in common it's that they both think they are far more important than they actually are.

Ah, the first post in the thread that hasn't gotten a thumbs up from me. Good job!
:thumbdown:

[mosfeld]

i tell you if there's one thing anarchists and maoists have in common it's that they both think they are far more important than they actually are. Jealous much...?

Why are you trying to derail this thread with such a useless comment?

[Spartacus.]

i tell you if there's one thing anarchists and maoists have in common it's that they both think they are far more important than they actually are.


Really? :rolleyes: Last time I checked, there were huge Maoist movements that have won or are close to winning state power in Nepal, India and Phillipines, as well as movements with quite a significant support in Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Peru and etc... Could you name me a single country where the Anarchists have more than 50 followers? :)

[bricolage]

Ok I admit that was a trollish comment and it was just me being stupid (apologies) but there was a point to it. People here talk about how the Turkish state will tremble before the Maoists, people in that Belarus threat talk about anarchists being a direct threat to Lukashenko's rule, it's all completely deluded. It's like when people talk about the Zapatistas fighting off cartels in Juarez, about the PSL as some massive communist force, about the PFLP as on the verge of single handedly defeating Israel, none of it has any basis in reality and is just the playing out of fantasies over the internet. I mean sure lets set our sights high, after all it's about changing the world isn't it? But c'mon don't kid yourself. I do wonder how anyone can really get an idea of where we are and where we could be when there is absolutely no sense of perspective at all.

On the other hand you can be like Spartacus, wave your dick around making ludicrous statements like the one above and then wonder in fifty years time why absolutely nothing at all has changed...

[Spartacus.]

On the other hand you can be like Spartacus, wave your dick around making ludicrous statements like the one above and then wonder in fifty years time why absolutely nothing at all has changed...


What was ludicrous in my statement? The fact is that, currently, it is the Maoists that are leading the biggest and most promising revolutionary struggles on the planet. Your comparision of Maoists with Anarchists is the one that is ludicrous and utterly flawed. If you want to compare someone with the Anarchists, Trotskytes would be much better couple to them. Both are ultra-critical toward all other revolutionary movements and both have never managed to carry out a single succesfull revolution anywhere. :)

Btw; things are changing, but not in the first world, but in the third one. Just like Mao has predicted. :)

[Sword and Shield]

What was ludicrous in my statement? The fact is that, currently, it is the Maoists that are leading the biggest and most promising revolutionary struggles on the planet. Your comparision of Maoists with Anarchists is the one that is ludicrous and utterly flawed. If you want to compare someone with the Anarchists, Trotskytes would be much better couple to them. Both are ultra-critical toward all other revolutionary movements and both have never managed to carry out a single succesfull revolution anywhere. :)

Btw; things are changing, but not in the first world, but in the third one. Just like Mao has predicted. :)

I more inclined towards Marxism-Leninism than Maoism, but this is why I respect and support Maoist movements. They actually accomplish something, and don't go around criticizing every successful leftist movement.

It's really easy to chase an untenable perfect system and criticize everything for its imperfections. What's hard is to actually accomplish something.

[red cat]

What was ludicrous in my statement? The fact is that, currently, it is the Maoists that are leading the biggest and most promising revolutionary struggles on the planet. Your comparision of Maoists with Anarchists is the one that is ludicrous and utterly flawed. If you want to compare someone with the Anarchists, Trotskytes would be much better couple to them. Both are ultra-critical toward all other revolutionary movements and both have never managed to carry out a single succesfull revolution anywhere. :)

Btw; things are changing, but not in the first world, but in the third one. Just like Mao has predicted. :)

Let's not feed the troll though. The original comment on Maoists and anarchists was made with no intention other than starting a Maoist versus anarchist tendency war.

[bricolage]

actually it wasn't intended to start any tendency war, it was a criticism of the common nature of both movement to overstate their influence, ie. the nature of the totality of the 'left' to overstate its influence. Maybe I should have put it in the Belarus thread so you lot could have joined in slagging off anarchists, or maybe I should have messaged a few anarchists so they could come here slagging off maoists, either way it's pretty useless but it's on your level of discourse.

look if you think maoists are close to taking state power in India and Phillipines then fine, you are deluded but fine. if you think the maoist movement in bhutan is anything at all fine, you are deluded too. I remember when the BCP (MLM) first announced itself because I made the wikipedia page for them, since then I've seen nothing to suggest there is any movement to talk of.

I'm not even talking politics here, I don't think Maoism has anything to offer the class or gets us any step nearer to communism but I'm just talking facts and you vastly overstate all of them. same as when anarchists where I live talk about every london black bloc as if it's storming the winter palace. I'd be happy to discuss things but it would be easier if people actually took things how they are as opposed to blindly beating their cheats and living in a fantasy world.

[Bright Banana Beard]

I don't think anarchism or left communism have anything to offer to the working class either, they may yap and theorize all the time, but they refuse to do anything that will help us get through communism.

[Chambered Word]

Ok I admit that was a trollish comment and it was just me being stupid (apologies) but there was a point to it. People here talk about how the Turkish state will tremble before the Maoists, people in that Belarus threat talk about anarchists being a direct threat to Lukashenko's rule, it's all completely deluded. It's like when people talk about the Zapatistas fighting off cartels in Juarez, about the PSL as some massive communist force, about the PFLP as on the verge of single handedly defeating Israel, none of it has any basis in reality and is just the playing out of fantasies over the internet. I mean sure lets set our sights high, after all it's about changing the world isn't it? But c'mon don't kid yourself. I do wonder how anyone can really get an idea of where we are and where we could be when there is absolutely no sense of perspective at all.

On the other hand you can be like Spartacus, wave your dick around making ludicrous statements like the one above and then wonder in fifty years time why absolutely nothing at all has changed...

This is all fair, but at the same time, there are sects from practically every tendency guilty of this (some more than others though, i.e the PSL).


I don't think anarchism or left communism have anything to offer to the working class either, they may yap and theorize all the time, but they refuse to do anything that will help us get through communism.

I'm sure the left communists and anarchists will be more than happy to prove you otherwise.

[bcbm]

Could you name me a single country where the Anarchists have more than 50 followers? :)

canada, united states of america, mexico, chile, france, germany, greece, italy, spain, england, turkey, ireland, russia, denmark, i doubt that is all


things are changing, but not in the first world, but in the third one. Just like Mao has predicted.

uh, recession and austerity have provoked changes in the first world as well not sure where you've been?

[Spartacus.]

canada, united states of america, mexico, chile, france, germany, greece, italy, spain, england, turkey, ireland, russia, denmark, i doubt that is all


I suppose you haven't heard of a thing called irony? I was joking. :)



uh, recession and austerity have provoked changes in the first world as well not sure where you've been?


By "changes", I mean existence of organized working class movements that have a clear intent and vision of making a socialist society and of offering a viable alternative to capitalism. Does such a movement exists anywhere in the "first" world (exept, perhaps Greece)? No, it doesn't! :)

[bcbm]

I suppose you haven't heard of a thing called irony?

no


By "changes", I mean existence of organized working class movements that have a clear intent and vision of making a socialist society and of offering a viable alternative to capitalism. Does such a movement exists anywhere in the "first" world (exept, perhaps Greece)? No, it doesn't! :)

i think we can see the beginning of a class rebellion against capitalist austerity

[dernier combat]

By "changes", I mean existence of organized working class movements that have a clear intent and vision of making a socialist society and of offering a viable alternative to capitalism. Does such a movement exists anywhere in the "first" world (exept, perhaps Greece)? No, it doesn't! :)
Events both in the first and third worlds have provoked historic changes in the general course of class struggle. Your definition of "changes" is oddly specific, obviously biased to the Maoist cause and it was pulled out of your ass only after bcbm made a point that would have otherwise defeated your argument that "things are not changing in the first world" - an argument which, at the time of posting, held its validity in an ambiguous definition of the word which was open to interpretation.

[Alaz]

This is very sad. How big exactly is the armed revolutionary movement in Turkey at the moment? Just out of interest.

- Maoists have approximately 100-120 guerillas up in the mountains of Dersim and Tokat. This number includes both TKP/ML and MKP.
- PKK has approximately 5000-6000 guerillas in Turkey/North Kurdistan. And 3000-4000 guerillas more outside of the borders.
- The other armed revolutionary groups have approximately 150-200 urban guerillas in the cities, including a small portion of Maoists.


There are no exact numbers, but of all the ongoing PPWs the Turkish one is the most obscure, unknown and mysterious. There are currently three Maoist Parties with armed wings, the MKP, TKP/ML and TKP(ML), all of which are mainly concentrated in the Black Sea Region and occupied Kurdistan. The Turkish PPW is currently on the defensive, and has suffered severe setbacks in the past with their high-ranking members being wiped out by the Turkish fascist state.

You are mistaken. There are currently 2 Maoist Parties; Maoist Communist Party (MKP) and Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML). MKP's armed wing is called People's Liberation Army(HKO) and TKP/ML's armed wing is called TIKKO. Supposedly TIKKO has slightly more guerillas.

Note: TKP(ML) is the former name of MKP.

These two Maoist organizations were first separated in 1987 and then unified in 1992. Then again split into two in 1994. The process between 92-93 is called "the opportunist unity term". From 1994 to this day, the unity is still considered as an option by MKP but rejected by TKP/ML.


I know this much that they have been reviving since the disaster of 2008 and are increasing in numbers. Probably a few thousand fighters.

That mournful massacre was in 2005 and 17 CC members were killed.

Note: Almost every single CC member who was killed in 2005 were death fast veterans.



P.S. I wanted to post a video link about those CC members but my number of posts are not adequate to do so. If wanted please send a PM.