Statement #8 From The DHKP-C

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.etext.org>

Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C)
Statement #8
March 30, 1997

To all the people's forces which want independence and socialism, 
To all workers, peasants, and patriots,

On March 30, 1972, ten revolutionaries were slaughtered by forces of
the contra-guerrilla in a village near Niksar. Like nowadays, the
fascist forces thought they could stop our liberation struggle by
butchering revolutionaries. It wasn't just ten revolutionaries
who they wanted to destroy in Kizildere, they were the cadres who
represented the hope of the people in its liberation struggle.

In 1971, Mahir Cayan and his friends were the first in the history of
the revolution in Turkey to launch an armed struggle against
imperialism and the oligarchy. According to them, the revolution could
only be achieved after a long people's war. Their decision to take up
arms represented the re-birth of the revolutionary movement in Turkey
and it opened the way to victory. The fascist forces recognized this
threat and they tried to destroy all the revolutionary cadres and
liberation fighters.

The cadres and the liberation fighters of the THKP-C were not only
attacked by the fascists. At the same time, they were confronted with
accusations by the opportunists and the reformists who claimed to
oppose the system but who did not wage a serious struggle against
it. The cadres and liberation fighters of the THKP-C answered the
opportunists and reformists, who accused them of adventurism and
espionage, by raising the flag of the liberation struggle even
higher. The oligarchy and the reformists demanded the annihilation of
the revolutionaries.  The junta of March 12 pursued the same goal.

In the course of the terror by the contra-guerrilla, the
revolutionaries Deniz, Huseyin, and Yusuf were condemned to death. The
Party-Front stated: "The death sentence against Deniz, Huseyin, and
Yusuf is a blow against the revolutionary movement in Turkey, aimed
against its esteem." However, the Party-Front continued its
fight, fighting for Deniz and his friends. From this perspective, they
kidnapped three English agents in Unye and brought them to Kizildere
in order to prevent the executions. When the contra-guerrilla found
out that Mahir and his friends were in Kizildere, they were
massacred. The massacres which are now being revealed in the context
of Susurluk originate from Kizildere.

Besides the most important cadre of the THKP-C, Mahir Cayan, seven
other cadres and fighters of the THKP-C and two fighters of the THKO
were murdered.

With the massacre in Kizildere, the fascist forces wanted to announce
the annihilation of the hope of the people for independence, democracy,
and socialism. Those who had shown the road of liberation, the road to
revolution in Turkey, were physically annihilated. But they had been
aware that the history of the revolution in Turkey could only be
written in blood. That's why they answered the call to surrender when
they were surrounded by the enemy by saying: "We did not come here to
turn back, we came to die!"

They were people from our land. Their roots went deep. These people,
who had died but who did not surrender, had followed in the footsteps
of Seyh Bedrettin. They died, but they were never beaten. The
propaganda by the oligarchy, which spoke about having "finished off"
these people, caused some people to surrender or defect, but on the
other hand the number of people prepared to die but never surrender
grew as well.

March 30 is not a day of defeat, it is the road to liberation!

The history of these people from the Party-Front, written in blood,
spread across the country like a wave. It became a legend of
resistance, spreading to all the people through the youth. The
traitors believed in the destruction of the Party-Front and they
returned to the system, offering their services, much to the joy of
the contra-revolutionary forces. But the Party-Front was soon to take
its position in the political arena again. And now with an even bigger
support among the masses which carried "Kizildere is not the end, the
struggle continues!" as its slogan.

Those who saw March 30 as a defeat and who condemned Kizildere as an
act of adventurism, could not fight the slogan "struggle until
victory!". Their numbers decreased and in time they completely
abandoned the struggle.

The oligarchy was indeed able to kill the cadres and the fighters of
the Party-Front, incarcerating the others, but they could not erase
their history, written in blood.

The younger generation did not lend an ear to the traitors, they
looked at Kizildere. From 1974 onwards, the ideas of the Party-Front
gained ground again and they were able to push themselves through,
against the opportunist and reformist tendencies, developing into the
line of the revolution in Turkey. Some, who had abandoned their ideas
in prison, tried to destroy the spirit of Kizildere after they were
released to win followers themselves or considerations of
prestige. They took on the mask of the Party-Front and tried to split
its potential. But the masks were soon to fall off their faces again
and the spirit of Kizildere was prevailing again.

Devrimci Sol And The Re-Building Of The THKP-C Have Been Organized Anew
In The DHKP-C!

Against all the insidious splitting and destruction attempts by the
opportunists, Devrimci Sol was founded. With Devrimci Sol, the
re-building of the Party-Front began. The arrival of Devrimci Sol in
the political arena destroyed all the plans to destroy the Party-Front
by treason. Devrimci Sol delivered a blow against the traitors and
opportunists and it realized the continuity of the Party-Front. From
this time onward, rumours were spread about Devrimci Sol and its
so-called abuse of the ideas of Kizildere. The opportunists furthermore
claimed that Devrimci Sol had nothing in common with the Party-Front,
that it did not have its spirit. But all these accusations and
presumptions were reputed in daily life. The opportunists and
reformists, who tried to present themselves disguised as the
Party-Front, were shown their places.

It Is Impossible To Separate The THKP-C From Devrimci Sol And The
DHKP-C!

Devrimci Sol represented the phase of re-building the THKP-C, the
DHKP-C represents its new organization. The history of the THKP-C is
the history of the revolution in Turkey. The honorable and legendary
history of the THKP-C, of Devrimci Sol, and the DHKP-C is the history
of the revolutionary movement in Turkey. This history cannot be
split, like the THKP-C can not be separated from Devrimci Sol, and it
from the DHKP-C.

Those who have made the struggle and resistance their own can never
be defeated.

Those who tried to set this history aside, or who ignored it, became
rather disappointed, but they still have not freed themselves from
these thoughts.

The struggle against fascism knows very well to distinguish between
friend and foe. Again and again, traitors were unmasked during the
several phases of the struggle when the contra-guerrilla violence
increased. Those who wage an armed struggle against fascism have to
reckon with treason. Besides heroism, the history of the Party-Front
knows treason as well. The struggle against the enemy will also
produce people who are prepared to compromise with the enemy, people
who want to save themselves, people who go down on their knees. In its
struggle against the enemy, the Party-Front had to deal with traitors
which were fought and destroyed. That's the tradition of the
Party-Front, that's our tradition. On the road to victory, those who
reckon with treason and defeats, those who know the enemy, who strive
for power, those who resist and never surrender will grow in numbers,
they will never become fewer.

Devrimci Sol and the DHKP-C followed this tradition, they developed new
tactics and new forms of organization, they grew and took their place
in the struggle. Devrimci Sol grew and it repeatedly knew to hit the
enemy, despite the attempts by the enemy to destroy it by means of
provocations, attacks, and treason. In this tradition, Devrimci Sol and
the DHKP-C took their places in the political arena. This tradition
and this perspective were taken from the heroes of Kizildere.

The Flag Of Liberation In Kizildere Is Now Carried By The DHKP-C!

March 30 is also the day when the DHKP-C was founded. The struggle by
Devrimci Sol and the DHKP-C represents continuity on the road to
revolution.

The struggle, although temporarily weakened, was waged without
interruption from Maltepe, Kizildere, through the Death Fast of 1984,
July 12, 1991, April 17, 1992, until today. Hundreds of our comrades
and many cadres fell in this struggle. But the people from the
Party-Front never dropped the flag from Kizildere. This flag was
waving in the cities, in the mountains, and above many bases. Based on
Kizildere, new traditions and ideas were developed. These traditions
and ideas were so strong, they determined the views and the conduct of
the left. The left groups could not, despite there hostile views,
withdraw from this influence.

The History Of The Party-Front Is The History Of The Revolutionary
Movement!

Anyone who denies this history also denies the history of the
revolutionary movement. Those who speak about Mahir and his friends,
about the THKP-C and Kizildere, but who do not mention Devrimci Sol
and the DHKP-C, deny the THKP-C, Mahir and his friends, and Kizildere
as well. They deny the revolutionary history since 1974.

March 30, 1972, is the date of birth of the revolutionary movement in
Turkey, the day on which the road was taken to the liberation of our
people.

April 17, 1992, represents the waving of the flag of the Party-Front,
the invincibility of socialism, the decision to win, together with the
Party-Front.

March 30, 1994, is the day on which the Party was organized again, the
day of the call to the people to arm itself to take power.

In the past decades, we have given thousands of martyrs to unmask the
collaborators of imperialism, to spread the truth about the fascist
state, to bring down this regime. And we will give even more. Without
overthrowing the regime, without destroying the state, our country
will never achieve freedom, will never have a future. Our country is
controlled by the imperialists, the monopolists, it is controlled by
the contra-revolutionaries. They possess this country. There is no
other way than to overthrow this regime with violence. Kizildere,
that was taking up arms, necessary to lead the people in Turkey to
liberation. Since then, we have waged this fight and we have been
giving sacrifices. Since then we are approaching the day of
liberation.

With respect, we commemorate our martyrs who fell in the struggle in
the days between March 30 and April 17.

The way of our martyrs is the way of the revolution. We call upon
everybody, no matter of what nationality, religious creed, or class
they are, upon all who do not want to render services to imperialism
and fascism, upon all who love their country and people, to join the
struggle for building up the revolutionary people's power under the
flag of the Party-Front.

The Way Of Liberation Is The Way Of The Party-Front!
Let's Join The Struggle Of The Party-Front! Let's Be Victorious And
Build Up The People's Power!
War Until Liberation!

Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Partisi-Cephesi
(Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front)

---
DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam
http://www.xs4all.nl/~ozgurluk/dhkc1.html


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information
collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide 
variety of material, including political prisoners, national 
liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, 
the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our 
writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and
bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact:

Arm The Spirit
P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1P7 Canada

E-mail: ats at etext.org
WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats
MRTA Solidarity Page: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats/mrta.htm
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit
ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++
   ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++
     ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++