Workers' Party of Turkey is a Marxist-Leninist political party in Turkey. The party has been founded as a consequence of internal strife of two rival factions within the Communist Party of Turkey. The faction led by former chairman Erkan Baş firstly adopted the name People's Communist Party of Turkey in 2014 and after three years in 2017 this faction decided to establish TİP. High proportions of women and young people have been attained in the central organs of the party. The Workers’ Party of Turkey aims at making grassroots organizations more widespread and bigger, in order to strengthen the socialist movement. Within 2 years party established local branches over 40 cities and in their districts.
History
The preparatory works for the foundation of the Workers’ Party of Turkey were initiated in March 2018. The party's foundation declaration was signed by 146 people, including Erkan Baş, Barış Atay, Tuncay Çelen, Metin Çulhaoğlu, past TİP and past TKP members, various representatives from mass organizations and trade unions, workers, students, and academics.
As emphasized in its program, the Workers’ Party of Turkey is an internationalist Marxist-Leninist working class party. According to the party program, which begins with a section entitled “The Actuality of Socialism”, the aim of the party is the seizing of the political power by the working class and its allies. The Workers’ Party of Turkey is against the imperialist-capitalist system and the imperialist institutions such as NATO, EU and IMF. Party advocates freedoms, democracy and secularism and is against the racist, fascist and sectarian tendencies which have becoming more and more widespread both in Turkey and in the world. In their publications and speeches of the party's members of parliament importance of social movements such as the women’s movement, the environmental movement and the LGBTI movement underlined repeatedly. The Workers’ Party of Turkey opposes all foreign interventions of the imperialist actors, especially those targeting the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Balkans, and aggressive actions participated by the Turkish government as well. The party advocates peace and fraternity between the Turkish and Kurdish peoples in Turkey and among the peoples in the world and in our region.
