>Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 20:08:30 -1000
>From: Stephen E Philion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: Re: [L-I] Part Two: DHKC Document on Fascism
>
>Stephen Philion
>Lecturer/PhD Candidate
>Department of Sociology
>2424 Maile Way
>Social Sciences Bldg. # 247
>Honolulu, HI 96822
>
>
>On Sun, 24 Sep 2000, dhkc wrote:
>
>> In Italy in 1922 and in Germany in 1933, fascist parties conquered power.
>> During the same period, fascist dictatorships in Romania, Bulgaria and
>> Yugoslavia were formed.
>> No matter in which countries the fascist dictatorships existed, they are not
>> different from one another since they are the forms of rule to defend the
>> interests of the monopolist bourgeoisie with the most brutal methods. The
>> main methods that are used by fascism are deceit, demagogy and terror. In
>> accordance with the conditions in each country the ways fascism conquers
>> power differ. Therefore we divide fascism into two categories:
>> CLASSICAL FASCISM AND COLONIAL-TYPE FASCISM
>> 1-Classical Fascism:
>> In the developed capitalist countries, where capitalism develops with its
>> own dynamic, fascism organises itself from bottom to top. The fascist
>> parties are organised by creating their own mass basis and by deceit and
>> demagogy, they conquer power on this basis. For example, in Germany, the
>> conquest of power by the Nazis was presented as a "revolution". The name of
>> the German fascist party was the "National Socialist German Workers' Party",
>> so that the longing for socialism of the masses could be exploited, because
>> socialism had become the hope of the peoples. With such total hypocrisy,
>> people were deceived by claims that starvation, poverty and unemployment
>> would be eliminated and all economic problems would be solved. In this way,
>> fascism deceived those who believed in it and terrorised those who did not.
>> "Fascism is in need of demagogy (racism, liberal-nationalism, anti-Semitism,
>> anti-communism) and mass propaganda on this basis. While they use violence
>> against people on the one hand, on the other hand they attempt to show a
>> smiling face to win them over. They make every effort to attract people to
>> their cause and even force them to become members of fascist organisations."
>> (Notes on Fascism, Togliatti)
>> As a result, no matter where it is, the biggest weapon of fascism is deceit
>> and demagogy on the basis of force.
>> 2-Colonial-Type Fascism:
>> In countries like Turkey, the monopolist bourgeoisie develops dependent on
>> imperialism. Therefore it is weak and deformed. It has to be in alliance
>> with pre-monopoly elements, both technologically and economically it is
>> dependent on foreign capital, that is, the imperialist countries. To be
>> dependent on foreign capital means a constant economic, social and political
>> crisis. This situation is called the "national crisis". Because of this
>> "national crisis", the oligarchy cannot exploit the people by using
>> bourgeois-democratic methods. Our country is a typical example. The
>> governments cannot rule for a long time and an atmosphere of elections,
>> coalitions and referendums is continuous. Almost every 10 years, a military
>> coup takes place. Those who come to power try to hang on to their positions
>> by force and repression, and all kinds of dirty business like corruption,
>> bribery, mafias, gangs are the reflection of the existence of the "national
>> crisis".
>> In short, the oligarchy has no alternative but to use tyranny, repression,
>> terror and price rises. And under conditions of continuous instability, it
>> can only survive by implementing fascism.
>> It is different from Classical Fascism in its application and the way it is
>> formed. In Colonial-Type Fascism, the formation of fascism as a form of
>> state arises from the formation of monopolist capital. Monopolist capital is
>> dependent on imperialism and forms from top to bottom, and this is how
>> fascism is formed. It is not based on the masses and their organisations, as
>> happened in Italy. The state is gradually reorganised by the bourgeoisie in
>> fascist style. The monopolist bourgeoisie, which is in control of political
>> power, implements fascism in alliance with pre-monopoly elements. Therefore,
>> while in the developed capitalist countries the class basis of fascism is
>> the most reactionary and chauvinist elements of monopolist capital, in
>> countries like ours it is the whole oligarchy. In our country the oligarchy
>> is the alliance of the collaborationist monopoly bourgeoisie, the usury
>> merchants and landlords.
>> Colonial-Type Fascism is exercised in two ways.
>> Secret Fascism: There are partial and formal bourgeois democratic rights.
>> But these have no other function than to cover up fascism.
>> Open Fascism: when monopolist capital cannot cope with the situation, the
>> cover concealing fascism is removed. Repression and force take place openly.
>> The more detailed explanation of colonial-type fascism, secret and open
>> fascism will be given below, by means of practical examples from our
>> country.
>> THE INSTITUTIONALISATION OF FASCISM IN OUR COUNTRY
>> TOOK PLACE STEP BY STEP
>> When the Republic of Turkey was established, it was not a fascist state.
>> Mustafa Kemal himself was not a fascist. In the first years of the republic,
>> there were Kemalists, in other words petit-bourgeois nationalists, at the
>> upper levels of the administration, but they were not the only ones there.
>> The state was a transitional one in which, besides Kemalists, there were
>> other sections of the petite bourgeoisie. The main aim of the Kemalists was
>> to develop capitalism by creating a national bourgeoisie. Since the
>> Kemalists enjoyed hegemony in this period, we refer to it as a "Kemalist
>> dictatorship" or a petit-bourgeois dictatorship. Mustafa Kemal himself said
>> that "we will try to create many millionaires and even billionaires in our
>> country."
>> Did they succeed? They succeeded in creating new millionaires but could not
>> succeed in creating a national bourgeoisie. Up to that time the bourgeoisie
>> were only merchants and therefore they avoided investments and risk-taking.
>> They were inexperienced, weak and therefore cowards.
>> Under these circumstances imperialism was able to dig its claws in bit by
>> bit and with its colonial policies it started to establish its own fascist
>> system.
>> FIRST IMPERIALISM CREATED A COLLABORATIONIST CLASS
>> Imperialism could not establish a system to protect its own interests
>> without establishing a class with mutual interests.
>> Therefore in 1948 it strengthened the colonial bourgeoisie with loans and
>> credits called "Marshall Aid". In alliance with other sections of the
>> bourgeoisie, this group was elected to power in the 1950s.
>> These elections then were not ordinary ones like today's. They resulted in
>> the influence of the Kemalists being ended, while the oligarchy became
>> hegemonic.
>> In a short time new sections of the collaborationist monopolies came into
>> being, one after another. In this period the Koc and Sabanci families
>> started to come to prominence. When the DP (Democratic Party) came to power
>> in 1950 the institutionalising of fascism accelerated, especially in the
>> government bureaucracy and the military. The first thing they did was to
>> remove the Kemalists from the senior ranks of the armed forces. Turkey's
>> entrance into NATO placed the military at NATO's disposal. And the
>> contra-guerrillas were being established by reorganising the MIT so it was
>> under the control of the CIA.
>> Meanwhile, civilian fascist groups were encouraged to organise under the
>> banner of a reactionary ideology which made use of religion.
>> There were certain obstacles to the institutionalising of fascism. Against
>> the background of these developments and the collaborationist policies of
>> the DP, Kemalists who had been driven from the upper levels of the army
>> succeeded in carrying out a political revolution on May 27, 1960 by taking
>> into account the discontent of the people. Kemalists in the military seized
>> power. The May 27 administration succeeded in achieving certain changes like
>> the "constitution" of 1961, semi-autonomous universities, freedom of
>> participation in democratic organisations, all things which should not be
>> under-estimated. So we define May 27 as a political revolution.
>> But despite the May 27 revolution, which interrupted the institutionalising
>> of fascism, it could not be permanently halted, because the forces that made
>> May 27 were too weak. For example, they could not put an end to relations
>> with the imperialists. Since they were afraid of US intervention, as soon as
>> they conquered power, they declared that they would be loyal to bilateral
>> agreements and imperialist institutions such as NATO and CENTO. As a result
>> of their inability to alter relations with the imperialists, after a time
>> they lost the initiative to the collaborationist bourgeoisie. The AP
>> (Justice Party) replaced the DP and the institutionalising of fascism
>> continued.
>> But still there were obstacles. Especially since in the 1960s, there was an
>> atmosphere of freedom and anti-imperialist consciousness, and the struggle
>> associated with it developed.
>> When the oligarchy could not rule any more in the old way, it did not
>> hesitate to make use of open fascism. The junta periods arising from March
>> 12, 1971 and September 12, 1980 were periods when fascism proved its
>> existence by means of massacres, torture and prisons.
>> Hundreds of thousands of people were dragged out of their beds in the middle
>> of the night and taken to unknown destinations.
>> The news was full of stories of torture and deaths resulting from clashes.
>> Military vehicles, tanks and armoured cars were in the city squares and at
>> every street corner.
>> Hundreds of people were made to lie down on the pavements with soldiers and
>> police standing over them.
>> The prisons were full of revolutionaries, democrats, intellectuals, authors,
>> trade unionists.
>> Associations, trade unions and political parties were closed down.
>> Strikes and demonstrations were banned.
>> The entire opposition was banned in this period. A suitable environment was
>> prepared for the rule of the oligarchy to continue. These were periods when
>> the institutionalising of fascism took place at the most rapid pace.
>> For example, on March 12, 1971, the Kemalists were almost completely
>> expelled from the military, and on September 12, 1980 even those who saluted
>> revolutionary or democratic officers were expelled, and the Kemalist
>> elements were completely eliminated. Again, March 12 changed the
>> constitution of 1961 beyond all recognition. September 12 abolished it
>> completely and replaced it with the 1982 constitution.
>> The institutionalising of fascism continued at other times at a much slower
>> pace than in the junta period. We call these periods secret fascism, ands in
>> these periods civilian fascists replace the military. As they openly
>> admitted, they tried to suppress the revolutionary struggle by acting as
>> assistants to the state. Meanwhile, all the state institutions, especially
>> the educational institutions, were filled with fascists. The education
>> system was reshaped according to the needs of fascism. Those who were
>> recommended by civilian fascist organisations were accepted into the ranks
>> of the police. After the September 12 junta, fascism was openly implemented.
>> Its institutionalisation was completed. At present, Turkey is an openly
>> fascist state.
>> THE INSTITUTIONALISING OF FASCISM IN OUR COUNTRY
>> When fascism is mentioned in our country the end of the 1970s springs to
>> mind. During these years the civilian fascist terror intensified. They were
>> not attacking with chains, knives, iron bars, but with automatic weapons and
>> explosives. Today's President Demirel was then the Prime Minister (Note:
>> Demirel has retired since this article was written.). Hypocritically he
>> said, "You cannot get me to say that the rightists are committing crimes."
>> At the same time the fascists were committing brutal murders and the country
>> was turned into a lake of blood. They were spraying houses, cafes, bus-stops
>> and so on with indiscriminate gunfire. Fascist massacres and attacks spread
>> all over the country. On March 16, 1978, fascists committed their first mass
>> killing. Seven students were killed in a bomb attack in front of Istanbul
>> University, and dozens were wounded. The Balgat (Ankara) massacre followed,
>> with five killed and 14 wounded by gunfire. And again, the Bahcelievler
>
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