KJK Coordination Member Emine Erciyes stated that it needs to be “not mourning but resistance”, like the slogan of the day, and said, “There is no fascist power that can’t be toppled with the resistance of peoples.”

“ERDOĞAN’S FASCISM HAS DECLARED WAR ON PEOPLES”

Erciyes stated that the massacre was carried out entirely by the AKP and said: “We are experiencing the first anniversary of the October 10, Ankara Station Massacre. For this, I respectfully commemorate the martyrs of freedom, democracy and peace who lost their lives there and offer my condolences to their families. Of course, this massacre is an unforgettable event for Turkey’s history and the struggle for democracy and freedom, and it will not be forgotten, not before it’s avenged.

This is a massacre that is said to have been committed by ISIS but it was fully organized and carried out by the state. It targeted the forces of democracy. The demonstration was a peace rally. In this sense, this is an intended blow on the peace people are trying to develop in Turkey. When we look at the history of Turkey, in every period with the demand for democracy and freedom has been on the rise, there have always been massacres like this. From the May Day demonstrations where the workers demanded their natural rights, the massacre on May 1, 1977, to the massacre of Alevis and intellectuals in Madımak, to the Maraş Massacre, there has always been a policy of intimidation and suppression in place in Turkey for democrats, intellectuals and libertarians, under the guise of bigotry.”

Erciyes expressed that the Ankara massacre was the pinnacle of these massacres and atatcks and said: “Actually, when we look at the year 2015, we see the reality of the AKP declaring war on the peoples. This begins in Amed, with the massacre in the HDP rally. Then continues with Suruç massacre and the Ankara massacre became the pinnacle. The state’s answer to the peoples’ demands for democracy, peace and freedom is a massacre. In this sense, this is an intended blow on the ongoing struggle for freedom. Of course at this point I would also like to state that there is a fascism on the rise in Turkey. We can say that the first steps of this fascism have surfaced with these massacres. There are two methods fascism uses to bring societies into line, the first being genocides and massacres, the other assimilation and remaking the people in their image. Creating a single type of person. It silences, intimidates and frightens the people with massacres and takes them prisoner by assimilation. They say, ‘Either you become like me, like the state tells you to be, or you don’t have the right to exist or to speak’.”

Erciyes pointed out that the rise of fascism became apparent in Turkey day by day after this massacre and continued: “The attacks and arrests on intellectuals, the pressure of shut downs and silencings on the free press, they are all connected. From physical massacres to political ones, to massacres of the right to information, they are aiming for an utterly blind society. They want a society that is physically alive, and loyal to the AKP government, but with no free thought and ideas outside of that. The AKP fascism expresses that they are basing these actions on the masses, but this appearance of the masses actually expresses their own circles that the state, and the AKP have organized and paid for. In reality, the fascism of AKP and Erdoğan have declared war on peoples. The only way to defeat and tear down this war declared on people that reaches the level of massacres, genocide and assimilation is resistance. Today Turkey has an Erdoğan and an AKP problem. We are facing a problem that is turning Turkey into a monochrome picture, the black color of AKP fascism. What will change this and put a stop to it is the self resistance of the peoples. For us, I would like to state that we as the freedom movement will of course make them answer for these massacres. Those who were martyred here will not have died in vain. In this basis, our struggle will continue until these people have been avenged. But the other pillar here is the self resistance of the peoples. There was a slogan people chanted after this massacre, “not mourning but resistance” - this is what is needed. In this sense, everybody who truly believes in freedom, peace and democracy in Turkey, primarily those who have lost their loved ones, relatives and friends in this massacre, should have one slogan: ‘Resistance, resistance, resistance.’ Resistance will prevail. There is no force of fascism that can’t be toppled with the resistance of peoples, if the peoples act together, fight together and believe we can prevail over fascism. I salute all who wage a struggle for freedom and offer my respect for the martyrs.”