What should we do now?

Selahattin Erdem writes about the 28 May election and the way to approach it.

There are serious threats against the Kurdish people and a dangerous process. It is possible that new attacks against the Kurds may emerge. Therefore, it is necessary to be prepared to develop resistance against all kinds of attacks.

Three main alliances entered the 14 May elections in Turkey. They are called the 'Labour and Freedom Alliance', the 'Nation Alliance' and the 'People's Alliance'. Of course, there were no fair and equal elections on 14 May and the voting took place in an environment of serious pressure and fraud.

The political map revealed by the parliamentary election outcome showed that there are three basic political tendencies in Turkey. In the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts and in the largest cities, the Nation Alliance, which promotes a 'European democracy', received the most votes. In North Kurdistan, the Labour and Freedom Alliance, more specifically the Green Left Party, which aims to democratize Turkey based on the freedom of the Kurds, won the elections. In the rest of the country, the fascist, colonialist and genocidal People's Alliance came in first.

As a result, the People's Alliance won the majority in the parliament after the 14 May elections which were marked by a government crackdown and election fraud. Thus, in the upcoming period, the laws and bills in the parliament will be made by the People's Alliance. Moreover, the presidential system created by Tayyip Erdoğan and Devlet Bahçeli will continue. If Erdoğan is elected president in the 28 May election, he will form a new government. In other words, the Erdoğan Government and the People's Alliance will rule the Kurds as well as the whole of Turkey in the post-election period.

However, over 60 percent of the Kurds voted for the Green Left Party in the parliamentary elections. Over 70 percent of them voted for the Nation’s Alliance’s presidential candidate, Kılıçdaroğlu. A very large majority rejected the People's Alliance and Erdoğan. What will happen now in the face of such an obvious vote? It is certain that in the coming months and years, the People's Alliance and Erdoğan, who were rejected by 70 percent of the Kurds, will rule the Kurds! So, is this acceptable? Would the Kurds accept being governed under the rule of Erdoğan and the People's Alliance, which they rejected with their votes? Can the Kurds be blamed if they do not want to be governed under an administration that they voted to overthrow? What would the states that have put the Kurds under the domination of Turkish governments for a hundred years, approved and supported all kinds of massacres and genocides against the Kurds, say about this situation?

It is certain that the voters who voted for the Nation Alliance can live under the rule of Erdoğan and the People's Alliance, even if they are reluctant and have some objections to doing so. As a matter of fact, there are no serious ideological differences between them. But the Kurds who voted for the Green Left Party can never accept to live under such an administration. They would oppose and fight this government on behalf of freedom and democracy. If they do so, can the Kurds be blamed? Obviously, they cannot be blamed.

So, what should we do now? First, the Kurdish people and their democratic political institutions must openly declare to the public that they will not accept such an anti-Kurdish government in any way. Without any political apathy, we must organize and join forces in order to develop the struggle for freedom and democracy against the AKP-MHP fascist dictatorship in a stronger way in every field. In short, we must prepare for a much stronger antifascist struggle. In addition, we should use every opportunity to criticize the states that established this genocidal system a century ago and make efforts to stop them from endorsing the Kurdish genocide.

Undoubtedly, these are long-term and key objectives. But there is another thing we can do before achieving them. We must make Erdoğan lose the election on 28 May by paying more attention to the second-round voting and working with a more effective mobilization. We must overthrow the fascist dictatorship of Erdoğan by completing the election success we, as the Kurdish people, enjoyed in the first round of the presidential elections.

Undoubtedly, a Kılıçdaroğlu victory may not pave the way to democratization. However, Erdoğan’s defeat would bring much in terms of developing an anti-fascist democracy struggle. This means that it is necessary to mobilize for the 28 May election and to work for Kılıçdaroğlu in order to make Erdoğan lose rather than to elect Kılıçdaroğlu.

Because after the 14 May election result, who will win the presidential election has become much more important. In a parliament where the People's Alliance has the majority, who will be the next president is very important. If Erdoğan becomes president again, this will certainly lead to a more severe attack and massacre on the Kurds. Heavy oppression, persecution, terror, massacre and genocide in the last eight years will continue and increase. Kılıçdaroğlu’s presidency will somewhat balance the fascist majority in the parliament and will not allow the fascist-genocidal massacres to develop further, although he cannot do anything serious to change the regime.

Therefore, the 28 May election is more important than the 14 May election. We need to see this and act accordingly. In order to overthrow the fascist Erdoğan dictatorship and create a more favourable ground for the struggle for democracy, we must take care of the 28 May election and defeat Erdoğan. The future of Kurdish freedom and democratization of Turkey depend on this outcome.

It is obvious that the effects of Erdoğan's victory will not be limited to North Kurdistan. Even before the 28 May elections, the Iraqi army moved into action and besieged the Maxmur Refugee Camp, one of the most important centres of Kurdish patriotism. It is indisputable that this attack was carried out in consequence of the pressures and demands of the AKP-MHP fascist-genocidal administration. It seems that if Erdoğan becomes president, the attacks on Bashur (South) and Rojava Kurdistan will be further escalated. Not only the fascist AKP-MHP administration, but also the Iraqi and Syrian governments will have to escalate tensions as a result of Turkish pressure. Like the Iraqi administration, the Syrian administration will be able to launch an attack against North-East Syria, especially by relying on its recent reconciliation with the Arab League.

It is obvious that there are serious threats against the Kurdish people and a dangerous process. It is possible that new attacks against the Kurds may emerge. Therefore, it is necessary to be prepared to develop freedom resistance against all kinds of attacks. Because the only way for the Kurds to exist and live freely is to resist and remove genocidal attacks. It is impossible for the Kurds to maintain their freedom in any other way than resistance and victory.

We praise and celebrate the historic resistance of the Maxmur people, especially their women and youth, against the Iraqi attacks. We want them to know that they are not alone, and all Kurdish people stand by them. We wish them to believe wholeheartedly that they will win by resisting and to continue this historic resistance for humanity and freedom until the end.

Source: Yeni Özgür Politika