The Left Party called out to the entire country from Artvin: We will establish a free and equal country.

News Center

The Şavşat District Organization of the SOL Party held a mass rally on the 46th anniversary of the events that took place in Şavşat on July 23, 1979, and became known in history as the "Şavşat Massacre." Thousands of citizens attended the rally, which was themed "Labor, People, Nature." The march, which began at the Şavşat Bus Station, concluded in Şavşat Square. Gathering in the square, citizens commemorated the suffering of the past while also reaffirming their resolve to fight together against the oppression and injustices perpetuated by the Palace regime.

Alper Taş, a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Left Party, began his speech by recalling the deaths of five good people in the Şavşat massacre 46 years ago. Taş stated that this massacre was part of the special operation that prepared the ground for the September 12th coup, and emphasized that revolutionaries also lost their lives fighting against oppression, exploitation, and cruelty during and after the September 12th coup.

Taş stated that those who fought against price hikes, oppression, and exploitation in the past are facing similar conditions today, and that it is time to hold accountable injustice, inequality, and injustice. He said, “Not only people, but also nature and all living things are disregarded. Attacks on forests, olive groves, waters, and plateaus continue at full speed with the mining law in Parliament.”

Emphasizing that Türkiye and the world are in crisis, he said, "The imperialist capitalist system is responsible for this fire. The solution lies in changing this regime."

Taş emphasized that these attacks are no different from the massacres of the past, but rather a continuation of the same mentality, and stated that the massacres in Şavşat, Maraş, and Sivas are nourished by the same roots as today's destruction of nature.

Taş, recalling that revolutionaries were massacred before the September 12th coup for opposing human and labor exploitation, stated that today, the exploitation of nature continues alongside labor exploitation. "Revolutionism means resisting the tyranny of the oppressor," Taş said, adding that as the revolutionary people of Şavşat, they are determined to protect their living spaces, forests, waters, and plateaus. Emphasizing that this is a time for resistance and the climate is one of resistance, he declared, "Long live our organized struggle."

The struggle will grow

Ebabekir Keskin, the Şavşat district chairman of the Left Party, emphasized the importance of protecting nature, forests, water, and mineral resources in his speech. He stated that the country has been plunged into darkness under a one-man regime and a sultanate, surrendering to religious orders. He added that one ministry is now under the control of one religious order, and another under the control of another.

Keskin stated that with the Minister of Health owning a private hospital, the Minister of Trade owning a business, and the Minister of National Education owning private schools, they've even lost the meaning of the word "national." They're handing over all public domains to monopolistic capital. We've never said "yes" to this, and we won't say so in the future. Keskin stated that if we fight back, what was stolen from the state and the people can be reclaimed, but if we don't, what was lost will never come back. He stated that streams and mines are being coveted, some of which are being handed over to symbolic local collaborators, while the majority are being handed over to monopolistic capital. He also noted that forests are being brutally cut down, technical and scientific methods are being abandoned, and valley after valley is being clear-cut, leading to landslides, and examples of this are evident everywhere. Noting that 74% of Artvin has mining licenses, Keskin declared that they will fight resolutely and demand that mining companies leave Artvin.