The delegation of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) conveyed a message of full solidarity with the suffering Turkish people and the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) at the mass event organized by the Communist Party of our neighbouring country on 18 February. The  event took place at the Kocatepe Cultural Centre in Ankara, with Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the CC of the CP of Turkey, as the main speaker. 

Giorgos Marinos, member of the PB of the CC of the KKE and MP for Evia, addressed the great political event on behalf of the KKE.

The event was also attended by Eliseos Vagenas, member of the CC of the KKE and head of the International Relations Section of the CC of the KKE, Aris Evangelidis, member of the International Relations Section of the CC of the KKE and Birgül Maksum, KKE candidate for MP in Xanthi, who were part of the KKE’s delegation to earthquake-stricken Turkey.

G. Marinos speech reads as follows:

Dear comrades, friends, brothers and sisters,

The delegation of the KKE, which is present in Ankara today, conveys a message of full solidarity of the Central Committee of our Party with the suffering Turkish people and the Communist Party of Turkey.

We extend out heartfelt condolences to the families of the tens of thousands of victims of the catastrophic earthquake and send to the injured people our wishes for a speedy recovery.

Tomorrow, in the earthquake-hit town of Adana, we will meet our comrades, local workers and our young friends with whom we met a few months ago in the ‘District Houses’ and told them that we would always remember them and that we would meet them again.

We stand by your side in these difficult circumstances of the tragedy that has struck the Turkish and neighbouring Syrian people.

We salute the vanguard role, the tireless and valuable action of the Communist Party and the Communist Youth of Turkey that immediately stepped forward in an organized manner, with self-sacrifice, led the struggle of rescue, and supported the affected people with food, clothing, blankets and basic essentials.

This is the CP of Turkey, this is who the communists are; vanguard militants on the side of the peoples for the right to life, for every right against the exploitative regime, for the new socialist society.

We warmly shake hands with the comrades and all the militants who have turned the ‘District Houses’ into centres organizing help for the survival of the people suffering without shelter, in the cold.

The responsibilities of the bourgeois state are criminal. We live in an earthquake-prone area, therefore substantial protection measures against the earthquake,  modern seismic building codes, durable buildings, regular checks, and structural interventions are needed. All these can be done. We have the necessary scientific knowledge and appropriate technological means. However, the bourgeois state and its governments serve the interests and profits of the few, of big capital. They trample on the needs of the people, allocate billions of dollars for the arms race and the needs of NATO, for imperialist competition and wars. The peoples in Turkey, Greece and other countries pay for this capitalist barbarity with their own lives.

Dear comrades and friends,

The response of the Greek people and their solidarity is astounding!

The KKE and KNE, the All-Workers’ Militant Front (PAME), the trade unions and other mass organizations are at the forefront, collecting essentials and organizing blood donations. Medical and other groups are ready to contribute to the relief of the affected people.

We greatly appreciate the enormous efforts of the Greek search and rescue team and the other crews who offered their services to rescue people from the ruins of the collapsed buildings.

Under these difficult circumstances, the friendship between the Turkish and Greek people, the other peoples, is growing stronger; because there is nothing dividing the peoples, they share common interests are united by the fact that they face the same problems and sufferings.

Their strength lies in solidarity and the joint struggle against the exploiters and their political representatives.

This is the cause that the TKP and KKE have served with consistency. We will continue on this path, strengthening the cooperation between our parties and our peoples.

We march forward together, with faith in communist ideals and values, in the just cause of the peoples and in their aspirations to live a better, human life, with the potential provided by our era, the 21^st century.

We wish you strength and success to your struggles!

21.02.2023