Sudan has become an important site of resistance.
Al Bashir is Erdogan’s close friend. He is a murderer and parallels Erdogan in many ways. Al Bashir came to power in 1989, and his journey from power to prison began in 2019. When he could not visit any other country in the world, Al Bashir was making secret trips to Turkey. Currently, he is awaiting trial in International Criminal Court for his crimes against humanity.
Al Bashir’s bloody rule spilled a lot blood against the rising resistance. However, Sudanese communists and Sudanese insurgents did not bow to Al Bashir’s massacres.
The “Empowerment Elimination, Anti-Corruption and Funds Recovery Committee” has succeeded in seizing 3.5 to 4 billion dollars of Al Bashir’s fortune. This means that at least he didn’t manage to smuggle out all of his money.
Sudan is in the Northeast Africa.
The region of Northern Africa comprising Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, is one of the areas of partition in the new war of partition. When imperialist powers decided to divide up Libya amongst themselves, Gaddafi was in power. Gaddafi has fallen and now Libya is still struggling with civil war.
Turkey is the U.S.’ hitman.
It has shown this in all possible ways during the Syrian war. The Palace Regime has placed Turkey’s name side by side with gangs like ISIS. As the guard of American interest, and with Ottoman desires, it tried everything to invade Syrian lands and made U.S.-backed moves in the region.
It is now facing defeat in Syria against the resistance of Syrian peoples and the Syrian army, but most notably the Kurdish people.
The Palace Regime immensely loved this war as a way to extend its lifespan, and it had to see this war as a way out. Because of this, it continued to seek out every way possible to maintain its presence in the Syrian field. It caused the deaths of hundreds of soldiers by hiding its losses. However, it is still proceeding on the same course.
It is trying to sustain the Palace Regime this way.
War also means the increase of internal oppression and bloody practices. War is being used as a cover and excuse for this. The Palace Regime has entered many bloody offensives in Syria and Iraq. It is arm in arm with ISIS gangs.
Afterwards, with “Blue Homeland[1]” dreams, the Palace Regime got involved in the Libyan war. Up to this date, the Turkish state has sent more than 10 thousand gang fighters to Libya. The law case regarding MİT[2] agents who were killed in Libya was front-page news. Furthermore, according to some rumors, Turkey is still trying to send a group of 3500 to Libya.
This means that through foreign war, the Palace Regime is adding more massacres to the ones it commits internally. It has invaded parts of Syria and, furthermore, it is continuously piling up troops in Idlib. Taking advantage of the situation created by the pandemic, it is working with all its power to advance its wars. It is constantly making moves following orders from the U.S.
At the same time, taking advantage of the obscurity created by the pandemic, it is arresting elected municipal leaders one by one in Kurdish provinces and cities. It is trying all means to increase internal repression. While there is pandemic, while the people are scared for their lives, while they are locked up in their houses, and while the threat of unemployment and starvation is being swung like a sword, it is trying to accelerate its war politics and oppression at full speed.
It rolled up its sleeves and committed itself to placing the burden of economic crisis on the people, and capitalists are completely behind the Palace Regime in this mission. Through this, they seek to lower the wages and increase their profits.
Taking advantage of the pandemic again, it is trying to create new opportunities for Palace gangs through economic rent and plunder. It is introducing new profits through bids. The Palace Regime seeks to breathe this way. It wants to prolong its lifespan this way. With this way, it is trying to get a chance for a new election.
Sudan is not far at all, it is right over there.
It is quite close.
Putting aside the distance, the 30 year Al Bashir government’s practices are quite close to us. The policies of blood and massacre are akin to those that we are familiar with.
And Sudanese people succeeded in establishing a “Empowerment Elimination, Anti-Corruption and Funds Recovery Committee.” They are in the process of a deep cleansing. It is another issue how far they can take this cleansing. However, the path they chose is honorable.
And Turkey is here.
The people of Turkey, the working class and laborers, are looking forward the resistance. This search has manifested itself in social explosions such as Gezi. Today, there is no mass movement on the streets comparable to Gezi. Nevertheless, the days of Gezi are not over. The proof for this is the resistances advanced by workers. But still, those who want to turn a blind eye to this, at least can see the Gezi syndrome that is the nightmare of the Palace Regime. Why is the palace fearful that “a new Gezi is coming” in response to all incidents and developments?
Sudan is there, it should be thought of as close.
Because the growing revolution is encompassing all of the Middle East, the Balkans and Caucasia. Of course, this is not an easy process. In our region, leaving aside the Kurdish movement, the organization of peoples and the working class is currently weak. This is not a matter to be ignored. This much is true.
However, up through the present, there are constant mass movements in our region. It is certain that these movements are not pure. Moreover, to expect such a thing would be against the nature of the matter, especially in our region.
Our region is one of the focal points of the imperialist war of partition. This is the reason behind the U.S.’ attacks in every section of the Middle East. The U.S. is after ways to strengthen its presence in the region. It must be anticipating gaining advantage in the war of partition by increasing its presence in the Middle East.
However, the developments are triggering a reaction against primarily the U.S.’ but—through this—all imperialist powers’ presence in the region. Therefore, even though they have differences, all the resistances developing in the region are important. Even though they do not possess the level of organization of the Kurdish movement, the resistance movements in Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Tunisia, Egypt, and Turkey are quite important. They also do not have connections amongst each other.
Despite all of this, protests in all parts of our region carry revolutionary potential within them. This potential is drawing all countries in the region closer to each other.
This is why some of the results achieved in Sudan are so important.
This is why we say, Sudan is right there, it is close.
Revolutionary movements in Turkey have to show close interest in the developments in the region.
A socialist revolution in Turkey has the potential to spread to the whole region.
Of course, in our region there is a tendency to lean on one imperialist power when opposing another. This tendency has historical roots. In the First War of Partition, there were many manifestations of this phenomenon. These tendencies in our region, which is the permanent field of sharing wars, are indubitably a weakness. However, attaining an anti-imperialist quality in the developing resistances, and establishing a consistency in this anti-imperialism, can be realized through the influence of revolutionary movements with socialist perspectives in the region.
All the countries of our region are colonial countries dependent on imperialism. All the states of this region are puppet states in cooperation with imperialism. This actually brings together the two strands of the struggle. Those who struggle against the despot, the puppet state in their countries, must at the same time struggle against imperialism. If we also include North Africa, this is one of the focal points of the new imperialist war.
The most important thing is for the developing resistance of the region to gain determination. Sudan is an exceptionally positive example in this regard. This resistance can only cultivate determination through organization and expanding organizational structures.
Our country is one of the most advanced countries in the region in terms of the development of the working class. It is at the same time one of the foremost countries with respect to the intensity of control through NATO mechanisms and U.S. imperialism.
The Palace Regime is the organization of this control with respect to the new war of partition. The state is now plainly visible to the people with all its qualities and secret mechanisms. The Turkish state is taking the position of being the U.S.’ hitman to new heights by assuming more and more roles for the U.S. It sees its own continuity in these roles. In this way, the efforts of the Turkish state to be present throughout the entire region accelerates the process by which Turkish institutions are becoming offices of U.S. institutions. MİT used to work as a bureau for the U.S. This is still the case today. Yet today, it is trying to enlarge its reach. The same thing also applies to the Turkish army. So much so that today the U.S. is bringing together Turkish institutions and ISIS gangs without hesitation, two groups has used to hold apart in two different mechanisms. This is exactly what is happening in the Syrian war.
This entire process is also increasing the potential of the Anatolian revolution to influence the whole region.
Progress is always unequal but interconnected. A resistance developing in one part of our region would influence another part positively, even if does not do so immediately. And today, a revolutionary movement that seems to be the most undeveloped, is gathering possibilities to come forward rapidly tomorrow.
Any socialist revolution that develops here, in the region, also carries reckoning with the thousands of years of history of class society of our region.
In light of all of these, Sudan can be thought of being just there, it is quite close to us.
Jun/2020
Aysun Sadıkoğlu
Kaldıraç movement/Anatolia(Turkey)
[1]A term describing Turkey’s military and strategic maritime policies.
[2]Turkish intelligence service.
