The meeting, attended by 123 delegates from 68 parties and organizations from 54 countries, 18 of whom were at the general secretary level, started with a moment of silence for the Palestinian citizens who lost their lives in Israel’s attacks. Then, General Secretary of TKP Kemal Okuyan made the opening speech. Okuyan started his speech with his party’s message of support for the legitimate resistance of the Palestinian people against Israel’s massacres. Reminding the message of gratitude sent by the Israeli embassy to the people of Turkey after the October 7 raid by Palestinian resistance fighters, Okuyan pointed out that this time there was a radical increase in the number of those who agreed with Israel in Turkey.
“They are stealing the anger of the poor from us”
Okuyan stated that bringing the Hamas forefront through a media manipulation on October 7 brought two problems to the agenda: One of them is the problem related to the channels of the communists for addressing the society and the workers and the other is the phenomenon of political Islam. Okuyan asserted that the political Islam “is an important reality of the modern world, it is fundamentally a class phenomenon and a problem that cannot be overcome by romanticism or feelings of terror.”
“Perspective of socialist revolution instead of chosing between actors within the capitalist system”
Kemal Okuyan concluded that only through a socialist revolutionary perspective and strategy, the communists could break free from the shadow of bourgeois parliamentarism or nationalism or political Islam or EU funds or middle-class ideology. And in this way, “the humanity will not have to choose between Biden vs. Trump, Hamas vs. Zionism, Zelensky vs. Putin, the Mullah regime vs. the USA, Erdogan vs. the pro-Soros bourgeois opposition.”
A revolutionary strategy on information channels against the managing of peoples perception by capitalist forces
According the General Secretary of TKP, it would be unjust to attribute the decline in international responses to the decades of Israeli atrocities in Palestine exclusively to the reactionary ideological and political character of Hamas, which is well known to those in these parts of the world. Okuyan stated that communists need to ponder more about the channels of information where speed and impact are increasingly important; and communists should recognize that one of the important reasons of having difficulties in building a revolutionary strategy today is the enormous superiority of capitalism in the international arena in the ability of managing people’s perceptions. He concluded: “ On this issue, TKP has preparations on a number of platforms and will share them with the parties that are interested in the issue and with whom we share a common perspective.”
Earthquake, general elections and TKP
Okuyan explained the great impact created by TKP’s solidarity in the earthquake, but on the other hand, this impact did not turn into votes as a result of the people’s search for a “current solution” in the general elections, which were held shortly after the February 6 earthquakes. In spite of this, Okuyan pointed out, TKP continued its work without any reproach and with patience in line with its own strategy; “it continued to organize in working-class neighborhoods dominated by conservative ideologies, and opened District houses and party offices.” he said.
As last words, Okuyan stated that at a time when efforts were intensified to declare the Republic, which has completed its 100th anniversary, illegitimate, the TKP was making efforts to move the country’s Republican accumulation to socialism on a completely anti-capitalist axis.
Head of the International Relations of the Communist Party of Cuba: “Long Live the Free Palestinian People”
Speaking after Kemal Okuyan, Emilio Lozada Garcia, Head of the International Relations Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and a member of the National Assembly of People’s Power, stated that his party proposes a comprehensive solution to the Palestine problem and that they advocate the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders. Garcia reminded that the commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba continues to get worse. He stated that they fought against it with great ideological power and unity, and that they learned under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz that their unity was their greatest weapon.
The meeting will continue with the contributions of participating parties
At the meeting held in Havana last year, hosted by the Cuban Communist Party and with the participation of Cuban President Miguel Díaz Canel, Izmir was determined as the address of the next meeting.
The meeting was hosted by TKP in 2015 and 2019 (in partnership with the Communist Party of Greece).
The title of the 23rd International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties, was determined at a Working Group meeting held in Istanbul in June 2023 as: “Political and ideological struggles against capitalism and imperialism. The duty of communists to inform and mobilize the working class, youth, women and intellectuals. Against exploitation, oppression, imperialist lies and historical revisionism; for the social and democratic rights of workers and peoples; struggle for peace and socialism, against militarism and war.” It was declared as. On the first day of the meeting, the program will continue with the contributions and evaluations of the participating parties.”