People Have the Power to Overcome Coups and Military Regimes

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

In just a few hours, the Turkish masses defeated an attempted military coup by a faction of the army to seize power by force. After military forces took control of state television, airports, and major streets in Ankara, Istanbul, and other cities, tens of thousands of Turks rushed to confront the coup forces in the streets to protect democracy from the iron fist of military rule.

The tanks occupying the streets and the fighter jets flying at low altitudes, filling the skies with thunderous noise, failed to intimidate the youth who took to the streets. They stood firm to prevent the military from utterly annihilating democracy. Had this coup succeeded, it would have dealt a fatal blow to human rights, crushed public movements in the streets with an iron fist, and further solidified military oppression against the Kurds fighting for their liberation. A military coup could only have brought bloodshed.

The tens of thousands who rose to break the coup at its inception did so not merely because of relatively better living and educational conditions but because of accumulated experiences and struggles. More importantly, they were prepared to act at a critical historical moment when the very survival of democracy was at stake.
Since the establishment of the republic, Turkey has witnessed four military coups, the last of which was in 1997, toppling the government of Necmettin Erbakan. This time, however, the coup failed—not due to state power or government decrees but because of the masses and their united struggle. Furthermore, the coup attempt failed to gain any political traction. The main opposition forces in Turkey played a significant role in this outcome by unanimously rejecting and condemning the coup.
This, of course, does not mean that Turkey enjoys an ideal democratic state. On the contrary, democracy in Turkey has been deteriorating for some time, with a sharp decline in recent years. This decline is evident in the harsh crackdowns on journalists and the arrest of dozens on charges of “insulting the president,” a familiar accusation wielded by any dictator against dissenters. Additionally, privatization policies have harmed the working class and union freedoms, while Erdogan’s relentless war against the Kurds has relied on the military as an ally. Erdogan has also recently called for normalization with the Zionist entity. However, a military coup would have obliterated even the limited democratic space that the masses had wrested through decades of struggle.

The Turkish people—both Erdogan’s supporters and opponents—and the opposition parties chose not to replace the deteriorating status quo with something far worse. They understood that the struggle for democracy must be fought inch by inch and that the military cannot be part of this battle. The masses refused to accept unrelenting military dictatorship as an alternative, instead choosing to preserve their right to democratic struggle. They stood firm against the coup, thwarting it at its onset.

The masses that poured into the streets to block the tanks’ path to power have demonstrated that the fight against coup regimes and military dictatorships cannot be waged by compromising with the military, attempting to reform their systems, or supporting them against perceived alternative threats, such as Islamic movements. No authority is more dangerous than military rule, and no political movement is more perilous than a military coup. The Turkish masses proved today that the absolute path to resistance lies in the streets, in grassroots movements, which, though they may retreat for long periods, will never vanish entirely. Public battles against authoritarian military power, no matter how limited or seemingly ineffective, accumulate over time, laying one brick upon another to construct a solid wall of social resistance that will ultimately shatter the pillars of tyranny and oppression.

One of the most important lessons the Turkish people offer to Egypt is that unity in the struggle against a common enemy that oppresses all is the path to victory.

This swift and resounding victory over the coup attempt is a decisive halt to the march of military dictatorship and the opening of a new chapter in the fight for democracy and its expansion in the future through the strength of the people’s will. It transforms the battle against the coup into an open struggle against all restrictions on democracy under Erdogan. This victory also serves as immense inspiration for all the region’s people to resist attempts to impose tyranny by force of arms.

Glory to the will of the people in asserting their voice. Let us fight against the military dictatorship in Egypt with unwavering determination.