Turkish Communists Rally Against NATO Summit, Criticize U.S. Imperialism

The Turkish Communist Party (TKP) convened a public meeting in Ankara's Ayrancı district to mobilize opposition against the upcoming NATO summit and what the party terms U.S. imperialism. The gathering, held at Adile Naşit Park, aimed to organize resistance ahead of the 36th NATO summit scheduled for July 7-8 in Ankara.

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Today we see a picture where the dignity struggle of this country is organized day by day. We see a new dark picture every new day. Whatever happens, we are looking for the energy to stand up and fight.

Police reportedly prevented participants from marching from the TKP Ayrancı District House to the park, citing a broader ban on demonstrations. Despite these restrictions, the event proceeded with performances by Murat Özdağ, Grup Granma, and local TKP ensembles. Ali Ufuk Arıkan, a member of the TKP Central Committee, addressed the crowd, framing the current moment as a continuation of historical struggles for national dignity.

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How did we enter NATO? They sent our soldiers to die for the U.S. in Korea. Prime Minister Adnan Menderes gifted hundreds of Turkish soldiers to the U.S. so that the order of bosses and sects could continue. When we dig into a massacre committed in this country, into the murder of an intellectual, NATO emerges.

Arıkan strongly criticized Turkey's NATO membership, asserting that the alliance benefits U.S. imperialism. He recalled historical events, including the deployment of Turkish soldiers to Korea, and alleged that past governments, like Adnan Menderes', "gifted" soldiers to the U.S. "When we dig into a massacre committed in this country, into the murder of an intellectual, NATO emerges," he claimed.

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We do not consider NATO an agenda far from the people in Turkey of 2026. NATO protects only one thing in these lands: the inability of the working people to achieve prosperity. They protect this order. The only thing the AKP can do in the management crisis it has entered is more Americanism, more NATO-ism.

The party views NATO not as a distant agenda but as an entity actively preserving a system that prevents the Turkish working class from achieving prosperity. Arıkan accused the ruling AKP party of increasing its "Americanism and NATO-ism" amid a governance crisis. He further warned of potential new NATO deployments in Turkey and criticized the government for prioritizing foreign interests over national sovereignty, stating, "The U.S. is the biggest threat to this country's future."

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Deniz [Geçmiş] threw the 6th Fleet into the sea, and the tradition that the government came from also made the 6th Fleet its qibla. The fight is the same, they never changed their qibla.