= Prosperity? No thanks!
* Britain/Turkey
Despite these differences, the union lefts generally agree that it is through action that the union 1s built. Experience shows that workers join the union when industrial action is organised to oppose a management attack. Yet the majority of union leaders and the TUC are turning the unions into welfare organisations providing cheap travel or credit
The Islamic fundamentalist Refah (Prosperity) party came to power in cards, and rely on the law or the European
Union Social Chapter protection.
Turkey at the end of 1995, on an anti-Western and populist programme, following the collapse of a conservative coalition government. Once in power Refah made
Another common thread through the broad lefts is the fight for democracy in the massive concessions to their neo-liberal backers within the Turkish bourgeoisie unions. This means supporting the right for and the military bureaucracy that still controls Turkish politics behind the scenes.
branches and members to take industrial
Disillusionment, and a series of scandles linking Refah and the other bourgeois parties to the military, the Mafia and the neo-fascist right have rocked the action when necessary, for officials to be elected and accountable, and for the decisions of national union conferences to be res-
We asked Ufak Uras of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (Ozgurluk ve
Dayanisma Partisi — ODP) how the left is responding to this unstable situation pected and implemented.
Here we go
These broad lefts believe that it is necessary to prepare the ground now for a fight with a New Labour government on some key issues such as against wage controls and for a minimum wage set at a decent level, or for taking back into public ownership the privatised utilities and providing the funds necessary for a welfare state that actually meets the needs of the working class.
Recent New Labour statements have made it clear that it will keep to the Tories' economic framework for the next two years, that there will be no repeal of the anti-union laws, and that the spirit of privatisation will remain. A recent five-year agreement at Blue
Circle Cement has been hailed by New
Labour as the way forward.
In exchange for a no-compulsoryredundancy agreement, the union agreed to total flexibility and pay rises determined by arbitration. A few weeks later, Peter Hain,
Labour's employment spokesperson, stated that a Labour government would bring back employment security where it could, such as in the civil service, in exchange for flexibility.
With the forthcoming general election and the possibility of a Labour government after 18 years of Tory rule, a new political situation will arise. A Labour government may well enjoy a honeymoon period while workers breathe a sigh of relief after 18 years of the Tories.
But there are already expectations that a
Labour government should mean a change, however small in particular over pay and a minimum wage, and proper funding of health and other welfare services.
After years of seeing pay eroded, an ever increasing gap between the rich and poor, and obscene pay rises to the directors of the privatised utilities, a two-year pay freeze managed by a Labour government coinciding with continued cuts to meet the convergence criteria of the Maastricht Agreement could lead to a collision between union members and a Labour government.It is in such a context that this co-ordination of the union lefts, although small now, could develop into a real alternative leadership at the head of a wave of industrial action pressing for some minor concessions from a
Labour government. *
• What is the result of the first year of Prosperity Party rule?
The Prosperity Party (Refah Partisi came to power with the tacit support of the army and the business community. Its behaviour in power has embarrassed its own militants: the Refah government has implemented pro-business economic restructuring projects. As a result, Refah has lost its fresh, new image. Nevertheless, Refah is different in some respects from the other parties, with its strong rank-and-file base, its network of economic relationships, and the community identity it has developed.
Refah presents itself as the ideological umbrella protecting all those rejected and marginalised by neo-liberalism and privatisations. At the same time, they reach for the whip to strike discipline into the
The only real ideological challenge to Refah at the moment is from rather marginalised Islamic radicals and intellectuals within the party. The poorer sections of Turkish society have not yet reacted against Refah's anti-social policies. They have not yet realised Refah can neither transform relations of power at the local level, nor significantly transform daily life; the party has nether the intellectual capacity nor the force to do so.
The Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) links a libertarian, non-confessional perspective with an orientation towards social struggles, particularly the labour movement, in opposition to political Islam and neo• Retah may be a fundamentalist party, but they follow the same foreign policy as their pro-Western predecessors
As part of the opposition, Refah said relations with the Muslim Middle East were more important than those with the European Union. But once in power, Refah declared their allegiance to the traditional foreign policy objectives. Refah didn't even hesitate to implement a military co-operation agreement with Israel, a decision that alarmed many ordinary party members.
The lowest-common-denominator politics of "we are all Muslims, we can solve all our problems by talking to each other" no longer hides the truth about Refah: they came to power without having done their homework. Their opposition to the West is a cultural opposition, which doesn't question the capitalist system that links us with Europe.
Turkey's relations with the European Union are limited to a customs union. Ankara cannot enter the European Union, but its economic ties, and position in the Middle East oblige Europe to take Turkey into account. But the West European countries have distanced themselves from Turkey over the state of emergency, the human rights issue, democratic problems, and the chronic economic crisis that has caused massive unemployment and very high inflation. • Is there a possibility of democratic openings?
We try to express the libertarian, democratic alternative. The ODP slogan is "either they become accountable, or the people will sweep them away!" We seek to accelerate the massive protests that have been developing. To oppose the establishment parties, we need the broadest possible union of left forces. The ÖDP is building its own solidarity networks at a district and provincial level. • Why are Greek-Turkish relations so
The initiative in Greek-Turkish relations has always come from the hawks on both sides. The previous Ciller government was yet another example of the strategy of political masturbation on the international arena whenever the domestic crisis deepened. • What does the ÖDP suggest to reduce the tension?
At our own level, we are preparing for a joint conference [of anti-militarist forces] to strengthen internationalist solidarity. We hope to work together with AKEL (Greek Cypriot Communists), the Turkish Republican Party of Cyprus, the Greek Communist Party and the Greek left party Sinasmismons. • What about the Kurdish question?
The state of emergency continues. We call for a mutual cease-fire and a general am-
### CFDT
Ufuk Uras (right) with French Trotskyist leader Alain Krivine. Both men attended the recent Congress of the French Communist Party [see report inJanuary issue] nesty. We recognise the HADEP party as our ally [in the Kurdish regions]. We celebrated World Peace Day together on September Ist, 1996, launching a campaign to gather one million signatures on a peace petition. We realise that the struggle with the pro-war parties will be difficult. But there is no alternative to the construction of a multilingual, orders from above. No to the excessive professionalisation of politics, with decisions are made far from where they are to be implemented. Enough of people not participating in politics, but viewing it passively!
As ÖDP President, I support the principle of rotation of party posts. I have kept my job at the University. We have also implemented a 30% minimum quota for women in the party's leading bodies. And indeed, the number of women and young people in the leadership is increasing.
Many outside the ODP were sceptical when the former Stalinists, Maoists and Trotskyists came together in a new party. People expected to see internal disputes. Instead, there has been active co-operation, as we have prioritised common work against the system rather than sterile arguments.
Our foreign relations are still below a level corresponding to our position in the country, though we shared our experiences with others at last year's Zapatista Conference for Humanity and against NeoLiberalism and will do the same later this
Turkey * year at the Sao Paulo Forum.
Inside Turkey, we reject any temptation to manipulate the trade unions, associations and professional groups where we have a real influence. Similarly, wherever we have an influence in the Turkish immigrant communities of Western Europe, we refuse to portray ourselves as speaking in their name and on their behalf. Those who try to use emigrants in this way, in the hope of building a political lobby in Europe, are doomed to failure. Hundreds of thousands of Turks live in Europe. We encourage them to turn not only towards the ÖDP, but towards the left groups and mass movements of the countries they live in. This is how we can build solidarity networks against multinationals like Shell, Mobil and Carrefour (supermarkets), who are sacking their Turkish workers, and preventing us from forming * ODP, Necatibey Cad 23/11, Sinhiye, Ankara, Turkey. © 0312/2317230