soL English

We have poured our criticism over Özgürlük ve Dayanışma Partisi in the past, well, our “compliments” and theirs were reciprocal, and we’ve got our share of criticism as well. Therefore, coming to a state of sincerely wishing good luck and saying congratulations to ÖDP is not something to make light of.

After all, TKP and ÖDP are two different parties. Their programs, their political styles, their traditions are different… This was so when Ufuk Uras was the chairman and now it’s so as well. So, what is the difference?

In the past, the “polyphony” which ÖDP argued that it was a “big achievement” used to spread ambiguity, and ambiguity used to spread a dominant liberal tone. And, in fact, when you looked from the outside there was no polyphony; only the voice of liberalism was heard. Some of those who felt uncomfortable with this voice left the party in the course of time, a considerable number of them on the other hand tried to stop a “splitting” for various reasons, perhaps closed their ears to that voice, perhaps didn’t feel uncomfortable with what they have heard…

It would be improper to interfere with the internal affairs of another party. However, the response we gave in the period when only the voice of liberalism resounded in ÖDP in the name of polyphony and the response we will give to the fact that the voice of liberalism has been turned down and the voices previously remained in the background have become audible in ÖDP, which is criticized by some people for no longer being polyphonic, will of course be different..

We will not feel annoyed when our friends who remain in ÖDP and take over responsibilities say “ÖDP has always been revolutionary” or they put into words the objection of “ÖDP cannot be reduced to so-and-so person.” We’re talking about our own perception. In the final analysis, apparently we are talking as outsiders. Actually, being differently positioned, there has to be a limitation for discussing the past with the judgments shaped by such positioning.

That makes no big difference.

ÖDP, either because those who protect their revolutionary character, honor and spirit in themselves feel ready, or because the political and ideological provocations of a tendency that dominated the party for a long time became unbearable after a certain point, or because of the changes in the balances within the left, has entered a new phase.

What’s important is this and consequences of this.

As we said before, it’s not all about “we are different parties, we feel respect to different preferences.” Whether a somehow social democratic tendency or a revolutionary, socialist tendency will gain weight of course makes a “difference.”

For this reason, there’s no point in hiding that we are pleased.

The differences are there. Moreover, the differences between TKP and ÖDP are expected to become more apparent and more distinctive, since ÖDP will behave more like a party from now on.

Besides, it’s possible for the parties, which have obvious differences, have no expectations from each other as to elimination of these difference in the short run and do not go through the inevitable tension of playing in the same ground, to catch a common direction on topics of vital importance and transform the angle between them into an advantage for the benefit of this common direction.

TKP will see ÖDP this way and try to understand it with this perspective throughout the next period.

In the last period, yesterday in the congress we observed only honesty and sincerity from the cadre accumulation who protected ÖDP with “equality, freedom, revolution” slogans. Perhaps this bears importance above all else.

Our differences are still there, we don’t let anybody touch the differences which we believe are the indispensible part of our political and ideological identity; nobody do let. But, in a corrosive political environment, we care about the sentiment of “honesty and sincerity”, we don’t let anybody touch the source of this sentiment as well.

We wish you good luck, friends…

To you too, dear Alper! Our monopolistic media unburied the tomahawk yet from the first day saying, “An İmam Hatip* graduate took the helm of ÖDP”. Never mind, the history is our witness, we already know that in the geography where you are from**, genuine revolutionaries can graduate even from denominational schools!

* İmam Hatip schools are to educate imams for the mosques.

** Alper Taş, the newly-elected chairman of ÖDP, is from Rize, a city north-east of Turkey, to the Caucasus.