On December 7th, a panel was held in Paris about the resistances that have made a mark on Turkey. The panelists, who were part of the resistance committee, presented to an audience of about 20 people.
In the panel, where the speakers spoke in Turkish, the moderator also provided translation into French.
However, due to the urgency of the agenda and requests, the introduction was related to Syria. The speaker discussed the dynamics, developments, and the dirty games of imperialism in Syria.
After that, the first speaker talked about the Death Fast Resistance of Grup Yorum. While narrating the heroic resistance of Grup Yorum, the French audience was particularly astonished and impressed. This is because there is no other music group in the world like Grup Yorum. No music group or soloist has ever performed in front of 1 million people. Neither Madonna, nor the Rolling Stones, nor the Beatles, nor Michael Jackson has achieved this. Even these “artists,” who have been nurtured by all the media of American imperialism and have worked tirelessly to bring the lives of the world’s peoples into their fold using their material power, have not been able to do this.
However, Grup Yorum has done it with the people. Why? Because Grup Yorum is the people. The only invincible power in this world is the people. The example of Syria is the clearest proof of this. Neither Russia, nor Iran, nor any other power. The only power we can rely on is the people.
Another point that surprised the French was the “tradition of resistance” that Grup Yorum embodies: a culture of never giving up, never backing down. The speaker emphasized that Grup Yorum has never been without a political agenda. Ultimately, in order to create their music and art and reach the people, the members of Grup Yorum began the Death Fast resistance. NO MUSIC GROUP IN THE WORLD HAS EVER FASTED TO DEATH BEFORE.
The recent developments in Syria clearly show us the determination of resistance. In the “color revolution” orchestrated by the US-Israel-Turkey-UK in Syria, the Syrian army surrendered its country without firing a single bullet. They surrendered. The Death Fasts conducted by Grup Yorum and the uninterrupted efforts of the People’s Front in Turkey are therefore very important. Assad thought, “I have no chance of winning anyway, so let them take it without bloodshed,” and surrendered his country to imperialism. No, absolutely not. Resistance must never be abandoned. Assad’s humanitarian and reformist mindset will now turn into a disaster for the people. While imperialism may have taken over the country without spilling blood, much blood will flow from now on. As we always say: The only invincible commander is resistance.
The second speaker recounted the June uprising. She explained that the uprising was an expression of people’s reaction to the pressures of fascism, and that the issue was not about trees. The resistance, which spread across 79 cities of Turkey and lasted for a month, has been etched in history in golden letters. During the uprising, the murderous police shot Berkin Elvan. Berkin, a 14-year-old child, ultimately lost his life. But become the child of all of people in Turkey. Became their anger against fascism.
Perhaps it did not result in victory. Perhaps there are no tangible gains from the June uprising. But some gains may only become visible years later. If revolutionary movements and revolutionary activism in Turkey can stand firm despite all these attacks, encirclement, oppression, and corruption, and if fascism cannot extinguish them no matter what it does, this is part of Anatolia’s rich history of resistance. The June uprising has become part of this history.
The current global conjuncture is not working in favor of the world’s peoples. But this will not always be the case; it will not last forever. The day of the world’s peoples will come. Of course, there were tremors following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
But the refusal to bow to oppression, as seen in the June uprising or the Death Fast resistance of Grup Yorum, will gift a new Soviet Republic to the peoples of Turkey and the world.
