Statement from the Labor Party (Emek Partisi) of Turkey, Dec. 2, 2024. Translated for the Red Phoenix.
The HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham), a continuation of Jabhat al-Nusra, ISIS’ first organization in Syria, and the Syrian National Army, which includes structures trained, equipped and paid by Turkey, have entered Aleppo. This coalition, which calls itself the Fateh al-Mubin (Heralded Victory) Operations Room, is composed of groups on the United Nations’ “terrorist list.”
After Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, Israel’s attacks on Syria are known to have paved the way for the advance of these jihadist groups into Aleppo. On the other hand, Sean Savett, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement that the United States is closely monitoring the situation in Syria and that “the Assad regime’s continued refusal to participate in the political process set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and its reliance on Russia and Iran have created the conditions that have now emerged, including the collapse of the Assad regime lines in northwest Syria.” This statement confirms that Israel and the United States are pursuing a policy of joint support for these jihadist groups.
Although the Turkish Foreign Ministry has expressed concern about the developments and expressed concern about a new wave of migration across the Turkish border, the fact that groups trained and equipped by Turkey have joined this jihadist coalition is a sign that Turkey is supporting this jihadist movement. The Russian and Iranian media accuse Turkey of opportunism and betrayal for failing to fulfill its responsibility under the Astana, Sochi and Moscow agreements to keep these jihadist groups under control at certain points. Turkey’s ruling media, on the other hand, has been enthusiastically supporting this jihadist movement for days.
By defining the YPG, which is fighting against organizations such as ISIS in the region, as a terrorist organization, and by calling jihadist groups, which are on the terrorist list of the UN and other international organizations, “opposition forces” and supporting them, the AKP government is also revealing its side regarding the future of Syria, whose territorial integrity it claims to respect. While the one-man government is calculating to be permanent in Syria through the jihadist forces it trains and equips in Syria, it is also making Turkey an open target.
Pursuing a policy on the side of the jihadist groups in Syria together with the US and Israel pushes Turkey into an occupying position in the eyes of many of its neighbors in the region, especially Syria, Russia and Iran.
The AKP government, which has turned the Kurdish presence in the north of Syria, the indigenous population of Syria, into a justification for its intervention in Syria under the pretext of the “terrorist threat,” is also imposing the economic cost of the military bases in Syria and the jihadist forces it supports on the workers and laborers of Turkey in order to maintain this policy. Insisting on this policy also means insisting that the bread of the workers and laborers of Turkey shrinks a little bit more every day.
Achieving a democratic and populist solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey will also remove the justification for Turkey’s intervention in Syria. This is also essential for Turkey to be a party to a peaceful future with its neighboring peoples in the region.
Turkey should withdraw its military forces from Syria and end its support to jihadist organizations. This policy, which is tried to be legitimized by presenting it as a necessity to become an effective regional power in the changing regional conditions, keeps Turkey constantly in the fire. A lasting peace is not possible without the withdrawal of imperialist powers from the region, the termination of trade and military agreements with imperialists and Israel, the exit from NATO and the closure of all bases. The need to raise the struggle together with the peoples living in the Middle East for democracy in the country and peace in the region is more important than ever.
Seyit Aslan
Chairman of the Labor Party of Turkey (Emek Partisi)
Categories: International, Syria, Turkey
Related Articles
-
NY Earthquake Solidarity: “We will not forget! We will not forgive!”
-
How Will the Forces Interrelate as US Boots Leave the Ground in Syria?
-
EMEP Chairwoman Selma Gürkan Will Be On Trial Because of Criticising AKP’s War Policies
-
International Conference of Marxist Leninist Parties and Organizations: “Let us go onto the streets on May Day with a louder voice against exploitation and imperialist aggression!”
The Red Phoenix 