Above photo: Mass protest on September 3 against presence of US Navy Ship. TKP.
“Yankee Go Home!”
While the Turkish government has been engaged in military collaborations with the US and its allies to protect Israel, masses in Türkiye have showed steadfast support to the Palestinian people.
The Turkish Communist Party (TKP) alongside other Turkish political groups and masses took to the streets on Tuesday, September 3, near İzmir port to protest the anchoring of the United States’ Navy multi-purpose amphibious assault ship, USS Wasp (LHD-1) at the port.
The arrival of the US Navy ship at İzmir Port followed a joint training exercise that took place in the Mediterranean sea between August 13-17 with Türkiye’s first amphibious warship TCG Anadolu. The exercise has been considered an indicator of military cooperation between Türkiye and the United States, which provoked the outrage of Turkish political groups and activists.
The presence of USS Wasp in the Mediterranean sea is considered part of the efforts of the US and its allies’ to deter potential threats to Israel amid the Gaza war, and potential escalation with the Axis of Resistance in general.
“The ports of our country cannot be the supply and logistics point of the imperialists,” TKP stated on Tuesday vowing that the protest which they have dubbed the “Honor Watch” will last until the ship leaves the port. “We do not want the US ship that brought war and death to Palestine in İzmir,” the party added.
Bugün İzmir #YankeeGoHome sloganlarıyla inledi. Bu memleket bizim! ABD işbirlikçilerine, NATO sevdalılarına bırakmayacağız. #USSWasp ülkemizden defolup gidecek! pic.twitter.com/HTVTwfscEk
— TKP (@tkpninsesi) September 2, 2024
Following Tuesday’s mass march, protesters reportedly threw eggs at US soldiers who they saw walking on the streets.
On Monday, September 2, the Turkish authorities reportedly arrested 15 people (with some sources saying just 10) after two United States’ Marines personnel were attacked by members of Türkiye Youth Union (TGB), in Konak district, within Türkiye’s coastal western city of İzmir. According to the Criminal Court of İzmir, ten activists, who have been arrested, will be facing charges of “depriving more than one person from their liberty”, while five others will be tried without being arrested.
The suspects were arrested after a video spread quickly on social media networks showing two women and 13 men attacking the two Marines’ soldiers stationed in the USS Wasp (LHD-1), and putting a bag over the head of one of them. The TGB is linked to the Patriotic Party in Türkiye, which has an anti-United States and anti-imperialist stance.
Commenting on the incident, the TGB clarified that its members attacked the soldiers in protest of the US involvement in the genocide that has been carried out by Israel against Palestinians as of October 7, 2023.
“US soldiers who carry the blood of our soldiers and thousands of Palestinians on their hands cannot dirty our country. Every time you step foot in these lands, we will meet you the way you deserve,” TGB said in a statement.
On Tuesday, September 3, the US administration praised the swift response of the Turkish Government to the activists who attacked the marines. Major General Pat Ryder, a spokesperson of the United States Department of Defense (the Pentagon), confirmed that the two soldiers were safe and that they underwent the needed medical examination at a local hospital in İzmir as a precautionary measure. He also emphasized that the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service and local İzmir police have initiated a joint investigation on the incident, which is still underway.
“The two Marines are safe, thanks to the swift intervention of other Marines in the area. They were not injured and have been safely returned to the USS Wasp,” Ryder stated.
In a statement made just days after arresting the youth activists, Recep Tayyip Erdogan showcased his inconsistent regional and international policies. The Turkish President held Israel and its supporters accountable for the massacres, starvation and medicine shortages that the Palestinian people in the Gaza strip have been subjected to for almost one year.
“The responsibility for every innocent person who dies in Gaza due to starvation, thirst, or lack of medicine lies with Israel and its supporters,” Erdogan said during a news conference while receiving his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
It is worth mentioning that Türkiye has been a member of the US-dominated North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 1952. Nonetheless, on Tuesday, September 3, the Turkish government reportedly announced that it formally applied to join the Russia-led BRICS group of major emerging market nations, which again reflects the contradictory stances of Erdogan in terms of regional and international politics and alliances.