From the Turkish–language weekly magazine Ekmek ve Adalet (“Bread and Justice”), issue 47, February 9, 2003, pages 38-41

We are going to Baghdad in order to be on the side of the oppressed people of Iraq

Grup Yorum (1) member Cihan Keskek and Eylul Iscan from the Istanbul Youth Association report on why they are travelling to Baghdad to be „human shields“ in solidarity with the Iraqi people.

To start with the question most likely to be asked: Why are you going there? There is a risk of dying...

Cihan Keskek: We could be hit by a bomb. Yes, that could happen, solidarity does not mean taking no risks. We are going there fully aware of this. But isn’t the struggle against imperialism and the rulers like that everywhere? Without taking risks, neither solidarity nor the struggle for rights is possible. It is like that in our country and also in other parts of the world. We will be on the side of the Iraqi people, in order to be in solidarity with the oppressed, and if necessary we will pay a price. We will show that the peoples are not alone, we will support them.
This is also the essence of the struggle we have been conducting up to now. The source of all our problems is this system of exploitation. It is imperialism, both with its culture and with its massacres, and the hunger and poverty it has created. This is a part of the struggle, whether we are inside the F-Type prisons (2) or outside them. It is known that, in a sense, the struggle in the F-Type prisons is directed against imperialism and against imperialism’s drive to „make them abandon their beliefs or die“. So solidarity with the oppressed peoples is an essential part of our struggle. Both in the F-Type prisons and on the streets, imperialism is encountering resistance.
I am a member of Grup Yorum. For decades we have been paying a price to come here. We are in the midst of the struggle. We have created values. And our initiative is not alien to Grup Yorum’s concept of struggle and resistance to oppression. Quite the contrary, it is closely linked. WHEREVER THERE IS OPPRESSION OR THE PEOPLES ARE BEING ATTACKED, WE WILL BE THERE AS WELL.
Just as we were on the side of the resistance in the shantytowns, the strikes and the boycott actions, we will now be on the side of the Iraqi people.
The name of the „human shields movement” is not so important, I see it much more as support of the Iraqi people, solidarity with the oppressed peoples against imperialism. We will be there with people from Europe and other continents who will have a different position on imperialism. So there have also been discussions among those who are travelling from here. Even someone who has taken such a great decision is saying, “We shouldn’t talk of America’s unjust war”. There is still confusion in their minds. They still believe that the imperialists can be “turned around” by pressure from civil society. Of course, we can build bridges to them through discussion.

Eylul Iscan: After we spoke to people who called themselves human shields it was clear to me that our views are somewhat different. What is the difference?
WE ARE NOT SIMPLY GOING TO IRAQ TO BE HUMAN SHIELDS.
The actual reason is to be on the side of the people of Iraq opposing America’s assault and occupation. If necessary we will show through being human shields that we are in solidarity with them and support them against America, or we will do it by sharing all their everyday living problems and by enduring the same suffering and oppression that they undergo. We will do everything that this solidarity requires.
We have no illusions about being able to stop the USA as human shields. The attack is the result of the American monopolies’ wish to establish their hegemony over the entire world. Our task is to resist this attack alongside the people. THAT IS WHAT OUR AIM IS. To be able to show that the peoples are brothers and sisters, united against America.


We are in the ranks of the oppressed

Today’s discussion cannot be about whether Saddam is good or evil, or whether or not he is a dictator. Those are completely different subjects for discussion. The obvious facts we must confront now are America’s attack, massacres and oppression. America has started a war against the peoples of the entire world. Yes, we are openly and officially dealing with A WAR STARTED AGAINST ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD. The issue is, what side are we on. We are on the side of all oppressed peoples. We are on the side of all the oppressed and for this reason we are going to Iraq.

Will it have an influence on preventing the attack?
Cihan Keskek: Difficult to say. It will give rise to a discussion, it will be an element in exercising pressure, and it will have an effect in making public opinion more sensitive. It could be that there will be no attack, if the contradictions among the imperialists come together with other factors to constitute a sufficient obstacle. That is another matter. So it could be that they influence each other mutually. But it should not be forgotten that all these initiatives can neither alter the character of imperialism nor prevent imperialist wars. For its CLASS CHARACTER is based on bloodshed. Depending on the struggle of the peoples, the imperialists might take a step back or go on the rampage, but they are always aggressive and destructive.

Eylul Iscan: I think that the slogan „No To War“ should be viewed from this angle. It is unclear what it means. It is wrong, we do not say “NO TO WAR”. It is misleading. As if there were two sides in the war and someone said, “Oh no, let there be peace, not war”. That is not correct. It is very misleading. It serves to COVER UP AMERICAN AGGRESSION, BENT ON OCCUPATION.
With a ruthlessness never previously experienced in world history, America tells lies and launches attacks. All those who claim to be opposed to America’s attack should be clear and open about this. There is no war, just an attack, an occupation, America’s war for the sake of its world empire. This is the reality that nobody can deny.

Cihan Keskek: This slogan is one of those that ignores classes and the reality of the oppressors and oppressed as well as the reality of capitalism. So we are not going there to say “No To War” but rather “No To American Aggression”. We concretise our position on the basis of being on the side of the peoples opposing this aggression.
The human shields action in itself expresses a moral stand of considerable significance. Our attitude goes beyond that, however. It is both a moral stand but more importantly, the concrete expression of solidarity with oppressed peoples. American imperialism’s plans are on a big scale. It is somewhat illusory to think that the spirit of sacrifice of a few hundred people can stop these plans. But from America’s viewpoint, pointing a finger at these plans is a much greater danger.
In this way, the struggle cannot be waged with protests in which the imperialists are called on to institute reforms appropriate to a civil society. So it is necessary to find other paths, other forms of struggle. If we do not remain silent about American imperialism and its cruel exploitation, then the peoples will find the path themselves. Nobody should be surprised if such a phase of discussion begins, not only in relation to the human shields but as a consequence of all the anti-war protests.

We are peoples, we are brothers and sisters

Eylul Iscan: I would like to add the following. If the strength of unity is clearly visible, then we can talk about something that can be preventative. Moreover, the situation is clear. Dozens of artillery pieces were brought together, they will hold a weapons display, we see this in the newspapers. Weapons are put on display. I think it will be somewhat difficult if we do not show the strength of the peoples’ unity and set it in motion. The peoples possess this strength. We should not just be thinking about human shields but about total resistance to America. Otherwise, opposition to war does not really have a lot to say.
We experienced Afghanistan. It was said then: “We are against both terrorism and war“. The imperialists burned down and destroyed everything and occupied the country. They said, good, you do just that. It isn’t a problem if you oppose me, just keep it up. But if you say at the same time “I am against terrorism“ and keep your distance from those who resist, do not show solidarity with them, deny them legitimacy, then you strengthen the demagogy I use about terrorism. If you want you can protest, but don’t gather the peoples into a front. And it is precisely this approach that the imperialists have suggested to these circles.
It is no different today. One should not conclude from it that the democratic question is unimportant. It is truly important but it is an illusion to expect too much from it alone. It becomes important when it is a part of a great struggle.
There is an anti-American atmosphere in the world of a kind never before experienced. That is a great power. It is the result of US policies over the past 10 years and the search of the peoples for a way out. And they will also find this way out.
It is clear that this is not possible through reforming globalisation. How should this come about? This too will be crystallised from an analysis of this period.
It will not do to say: “HUMAN BEINGS SHOULD NOT DIE... THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY WARS“. Of course there shouldn’t be, but the imperialists have been doing this for centuries. And it has also become clear during this time that the only force capable of stopping them is the resistance of the peoples and their struggle. Now the destruction of this truth is desired by them, so it is being said that it is possible to live in peace with the imperialist system. The best proof that such a thing is not possible is the war that the USA has begun against the peoples, saying: „You are either for me or not at all”.
I am going to Baghdad quite conscious of these facts. I am going there to show that I am a sister of the peoples. But we are not dreamers. Put in parentheses, if the following were to happen: if hundreds of thousands, millions from all over the world assembled in Baghdad and cried out: “Come and bomb us then, we are the peoples, we are brothers and sisters and the death of Iraqis is also our deaths,“ then the situation would be different. And even then the reality of imperialism would not be changed, it would merely give rise to a change in this specific situation. And then America might seek other paths.

What will the programme for your departure be like?
Cihan Keskek: You know that a group has set off from England. There have been various organisational problems on the way so they will get here late. Another group will set off after the worldwide actions that will take place on February 15. They will be seen off by hundreds of thousands of people. Then they will depart from here. In addition, people from other Middle Eastern countries will meet in Baghdad.
We do not know to what degree but we think that we will have an influence and we also want at the very least to create publicity. We are talking to other artists and organisations. Every day new people appear who want to go to Baghdad voluntarily. Of course it is also a financial question. All costs amount to about 1,000 dollars, that is certainly an obstacle. At the moment there are about 30 people from Turkey. This number may well increase.

You are going to be coming under bombing, how do you feel about that?
Cihan Keskek: That is really a quite different feeling. We will part from our friends and take on a task, in a sense. I am proud of this task. We could encounter other problems. We could be imprisoned, there are other risks, and we might also die.
I think the facts that our country produces such people and that the majority who have volunteered to be human shields come from our country have not been a disappointment for us. The traditions created in Anatolia are really quite different. The self-sacrificial culture or form of struggle has always developed in a quite different way. Support and fraternity have been strong. And they still are. The values that are being maintained are also clear. As in the world as a whole, it is the revolutionaries who create the greatest values. It is the consciousness and the readiness for self-sacrifice that they have created with their anti-imperialist struggles.

I am ready to pay a price on behalf of the oppressed

Eylul Iscan: We know the culture of self-sacrifice. This has often been discussed during the Death Fast and we also know it from Palestine. I thought that this too is a form of sacrificial action. That is what I felt. To find oneself in such solidarity with other people produces a very strong feeling in people. Like the example of the great INTERNATIONALIST Che, who spoke of feeling that a blow to the face struck against someone at the other end of the world was felt by him personally. True, he had a gun in his hand when he acted. But when the matter is viewed from the point of view of revolutionary feelings and thoughts, it is the strength and the dignity of being a revolutionary when one can say, “I AM READY TO PAY A PRICE FOR THE OPPRESSED PEOPLES OF THE WORLD“. You feel that you are the sister of the peoples. These words take on a material substance. I see this as a revolutionary responsibility. And I am happy and proud, as was said by Cihan.
You know that Feride Harman (3) was on the Death Fast outside prison.
She had someone buy her a bridal veil. I was jealous, why should I lie about that. She said we all have tasks and hers at this moment was to be prepared for death. She was modest. I have learned a great deal. I think another friend could have gone in my place. But I am very happy that I can be the one. It is difficult to leave here and I will miss my friends very much.
I am going there full of anger. In me I feel a great wave of anger against America. There are billions like me in the world.
One day, this anger will anger will absolutely sweep the evil of the world, imperialism, off the face of the earth. The peoples will live in freedom and justice. We are part of a history that is full of dignity, we are its advance guard.

Is there anything you want to add?
Cihan Keskek: Up to the present, Grup Yorum has sung the resistance marches of all the peoples. It was honoured by their struggles and it took a position against imperialism. Now we are on the side of the Iraqi people and we are going there to support them. And we will show our anti-imperialist attitude once again when we are in Iraq.
I would like ALL GRUP YORUM’S LISTENERS to dedicate themselves to this struggle and oppose American aggression. We must oppose it with our marches, slogans, anger and solidarity with the oppressed peoples. I call on them when necessary to take part in the campaign of the Association for Basic Rights and Freedoms as well as in the mass actions. I would also like everybody, wherever they are, to organise actions against America and the AKP government (4) that collaborates with it. I would also like to add that the great resistance in the F-Type prisons against imperialism’s isolation cells and its policy of prison isolation is also a part of this struggle.

The AKP is opting for collaboration in spite of the people
We are going to Iraq in the name of the people

Eylul Iscan: I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS YOUNG PEOPLE;
Young people are and should be everywhere where there is a struggle and an attack on the peoples. This is our history, our inheritance. Just like we threw the Yankees into the sea at Dolmabahce, (5) we should now shout out very strongly in the city squares our slogan, “Down with American imperialism”. And in the city squares we should also expose the true face of the collaborators who shamelessly support the American attack while for months deceiving our people with talk of „peace“, we should shout out the slogan, „This Land Belongs To Us, This Homeland Belongs To Us“.
Cihan has described their strategic partnership. The AKP government could not end its partnership with America and Israel even if it wanted to. If it did that, the existing capitalist system could not function and the AKP would fall before long. Those who want to stay in power at whatever price and who see their own interests represented in the government will not take up an anti-imperialist position. They cannot side with the oppressed peoples. The AKP has deceived our people with the words, “We are against the war“, and it has sold our land to America. That is the reality. Now they are holding a secret session in parliament to cover up the truth and the details of their collaboration. They are saying, “O people, we are selling this country and the way we are selling it is a secret we are keeping from you.“
We are in a different place. We are on the side of the people. The peoples are not the enemies of one another. And we are going in the name of our people to show solidarity with the Iraqi people. The AKP is collaborating with America, in spite of the people.

Notes:
(1) Grup Yorum – a well-known music group in Turkey with revolutionary politics
(2) F-Type prisons – prisons with isolation cells introduced in Turkey as an attack on political prisoners. To date, 104 prisoners and their supporters have died resisting these prisons, many of them in a hunger strike called the Death Fast.
(3) Feride Harman – a former political prisoner who continued the Death Fast after release from prison and was martyred recently.
(4) The AKP – Justice and Development Party, “Islamist”, but basically without any values except staying in power. It won the November 2002 elections in Turkey.
(5) Dolmabahce – an action during the Vietnam War when US servicemen in Turkey were seized by protesters and thrown into the sea.