TURKEY’S revolutionary forces said today that protests centred on Bogazici University must remain a fight against fascism and oppression not for “liberal ideas of academic freedom.”
An editorial in the Ozgur Gelecek newspaper said that elements such as the Kemalist Republican People’s Party (CHP) wanted “to keep the resistance within ‘acceptable’ limits” amid fears of a new Gezi, the 2013 protests that nearly brought down the government.
Turkey’s second-largest political party wants the protests at the prestigious university in Istanbul to remain within the boundaries of campus politics, the newspaper said.
But the resistance that began over the imposition of pro-government rector Melih Bulu has broadened out to all layers of society, uniting students, trade union members and others in struggle against Turkey’s authoritarian ruling coalition.
AS ANTI-GOVERNMENT protests continue to grow, revolutionary forces in Turkey warned today of the state’s attempts to break the backbone of their resistance.
Sixty-five people were detained in Istanbul last week after a press conference announcing the launch of a new opposition alliance, the United Fighting Forces (BMG).
Many of those hauled into custody will appear in court tomorrow. There have been allegations of torture during their four days of interrogation by security services.
The new alliance, which includes the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), Partizan, the Revolutionary Party and the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), has been hailed as a major step in uniting Turkey’s revolutionary forces against state oppression.