Turkey:Interview with ODP president.

[Ryan Daum <rdaum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

For my friend Hugh, whose membership in the vanguard party will save us all.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published by International Viewpoint magazine, March 1996, issue #275.
Any reprint must include our address: PECI, BP85, 75522 Paris cedex 11, France.
Fax +33.1.43792961 E-mail <100666.1443@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

      *** Free trial electronic subscription now available ****
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

No heroes, no martyrs, and no gurus!

Ufuk Uras is president of Turkey's new Freedom and Solidarity Party (ODP), which
unites the absolute majority of Turkey's far-left militants and leaders, as well
as several thousand previously un-affiliated militants. Masis Kurkcugil asked
this 36 year-old lecturer in Economics and International Relations about his
views on the new party, the Turkish left's heavy heritage of sectarianism and
Stalinism, and the tasks ahead.
(3,800 characters)

* The ODP unites forces of very different origins. Internal democracy must be
very important.

Of course. From the inaugural meeting of the new leadership, we have stressed
the pluralist nature of the party. A range of voices express themselves in and
through the OeDP. There is no room for any "first among equals". No heroes, no
martyrs, and no gurus!
But this is not the political culture here in Turkey! So we have to improvise,
to build a new tradition. By correcting, and overcoming old habits, particularly
the sectarian tradition. It will doubtless be a difficult process. But we hope
we can create an amenable climate for such a development..

* How do you personally evaluate the Soviet and Chinese experiences ?

You can approach this question through the old debate between Lucas and Bloch.
Lucas thought that the worst kind of socialism would be better than the best
kind of socialism. But Bloch argued that bad socialism wasn't socialism!
In 1921, the Kemalist regime assassinated the leaders and many cadre of the
Turkish Communist Party. Three months later, they signed a state treaty, the
Turco-Soviet Accord, with the Soviet union. Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin all held
high positions in the Soviet leadership. Not one of them asked himself if the
establishment of privileged relations between the two neighbouring states, over
the bodies and blood of Turkey's Communist leaders, represented a political or
ethical problem. They gave inter-state relations a higher priority than
international solidarity between the [Communist] parties. You could argue that
our history gives us some early indications of the future development of events.

A series of other examples demonstrates how Marxism was sabotaged in the USSR
and China. How it became a frozen, official ideology. An obstacle for all of us.
ODP members have a critical view of these experiences and political traditions.
Which is why we are trying to develop, within the party, mechanisms which will
eliminate any bureaucratic methods.

* The party programme stresses internationalism. What does this mean concretely?

Internationalist traditions are weak here. A big handicap for us. Much of
Turkish socialist ideology is characterised by nationalism, provincialism. But
our party sees internationalism as an essential precondition for the realisation
of our project. We offer solidarity to all those who share our objectives of
egalitarian, libertarian, self-managed and internationalist socialism. And we
are ready to take our place in all international opposition platforms.

* And the Kurdish question?

We are for a bilateral cease-fire, an immediate end to hostilities, and peace.
We support any civic initiative in this direction. The real problem, though, is
seeing which parties will  sit down and negotiate a peace settlement. All the
other Turkish parties are pro-war, pro-army parties, which want to maintain the
status quo.
In the [Kurdish] region, we consider as legitimate representatives those HADEP
candidates who won the election in their constituencies (even though they were
not able to join the parliament in Ankara, since their party did not receive 10%
of the state-wide vote.

* Is the ODP an institutional party or a street party?

Both. We aim to be present in parliament, which will make our struggle in the
street somewhat different from that of some other left groups. But, since we
come from the street, our presence in parliament will have a very different
dimension from that of the other parties there. Our first such challenge will be
the partial parliamentary election in June.

* The media are calling you the "Love and Revolution Party"

This is very good for us. Political life in Turkey has traditionally been
asexual, while even the left has been dominated by a male, patriarchal and macho
political culture. "Love and Revolution Party" might suggest that we love
revolution and socialism. But it also stresses that love and revolution are
inseparable. Take "Land and Freedom", Ken Loach's film about the Spanish civil
war. These people are at the front. They struggle, and they fall in love. All at
the same time. People who see the film will understand the ODP a little better!
END




     --- from list marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---

     ------------------