In Turkey, statements are being made every day that thousands of members of criminal organizations, including the managers of foreign criminal organizations wanted with the "Red Notice", have been detained and dozens of gang structures have been collapsed; however, pro-government figures are not touched. The people in question attack and threaten especially opposition and democratic circles. In recent years, such attacks have come to the fore especially in neighborhoods where Kurdish and Alevi citizens live. Hasan Ferit Gedik was killed during the anti-drug march in Gülsuyu District in Maltepe, Istanbul. Also yesterday, Partisan sympathizer Soldier Akkoç was injured in the armed attack in Gazi District of Istanbul.

 

While small structures in the neighborhoods carried out attacks against revolutionaries and Kurds, the fuse for this was ignited by state-linked criminal organization leaders such as Sedat Peker, who threatened to shed the blood of Peace Academics, and Alaattin Çakıcı, who made threats against Kurdish politicians. We talked with People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) İzmir Provincial Cochair Mehmet Kuruş about these gang structures, which were frequently used in attacks against intellectuals as well as unsolved murders of Kurdish business people in the 1990s.

 

'GANGS ARE NOT INDEPENDENT FROM GOVERNMENTS'

 

Stating that it is not possible to evaluate the existence and organization of gangs independently of the democratic culture and economic existence of societies, Kuruş said: "Gangs are used as a means of controlling society in countries that are not democratized, not transparent, where the people do not participate in the government and where the treasury is not shared equally. Gangs are political organizations in this respect. It would not be right to see them as organizations that only collect rent by taking advantage of legal gaps, and develop a rebellion against political powers independently of them where there is no law. They are the product of the social and political policies produced, leaning on the powers that be. On the other hand, it is possible to evaluate the governments that are not transparent and do not determine the method of solving their own problems with their internal dynamics as political formations that suppress the society and prevent young people from participating in the political process by integrating them with crime-producing devices; therefore, the economic and social areas that gangs want to dominate are independent of the governments. We cannot evaluate it as such." 

 

'THE TRADITION OF STATE'

 

Emphasizing that the widespread development of gangs in Turkey is not independent of the political conjuncture of the country, its perspective on democracy and its history, Kuruş said: "Gangs are very visible, encouraged, political messages are given to the society and important subjects of the government ruling the state take many photos with gangs. These groups have a historical mission. It is also a political situation to create a rosy upper class dream for young people and to give them the impression that they can gain respect in society and live comfortably through non-democratic methods. We can say that obedience is shaped as a social culture with this culture created. In this respect, When we look at it, it is necessary to calculate that these groups can be used to eliminate those who insist on the solution of social issues through democracy and who want to participate in the administration, where the state cannot provide security, where objections develop. The method of educating certain social sensitivities with certain social sensitivities is the state tradition. We cannot ignore their missions on this issue."

 

SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE

 

Stating that this mission has been handed over to politicized gang groups today, Kuruş continued as follows: "By making a sign of a certain political movement and taking pictures with the government's Minister of Internal Affairs, they create the impression that they have the state ideology, produce politics to protect the state, and act as a buffer. Currently, we have seen how popular a gang leader living abroad. We will shed the blood of this country's intellectuals', gaining popularity in the media and acceptance in society, and how political movements benefit from such outbursts rather than suppressing them; therefore, we cannot consider such gangs independently of political structures that want to maintain their power."

 

'THE RESULT OF THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM'

 

Referring to the encouragement of such groups, especially in neighborhoods where poor and disadvantaged citizens live, Kuruş said: "Poverty is not only a social wound that creates victimization, but also a social wound that produces crime. It is necessary to take into account that disadvantaged groups that have been victimized in some way, left out of the political process, and prevented from benefiting from economic resources may resort to such methods. As a result, young people who sell drugs do not do it because they love it. Organizations that do not refrain from committing authoritarian and murderous acts, such as gangs, are also very popular among young people. It would be against the nature of psychology to say that they are willing to participate in such structures. Young people's involvement in such structures is not independent of the policies produced by the governments. These gangs are the product of the capitalist system that enriches a certain segment of society by producing inequality, but does not see the poor majority. People's inability to participate in the social process through democratic methods means that other gangs developed illegitimately. It also means developing methods. It is necessary to understand the historical reasons why some of the young people living in the suburbs choose such structures as a solution to express themselves, create the necessary resources to survive, and feel that they are under pressure against their identity and culture." 

 

'THE SOLUTION IS THE DEMOCRATIC METHODS'

 

Stating that the solution to this issue is not through operations, Kuruş said: "If the country is not democratized, if the people's participation in government is not ensured, if historical problems such as the Kurdish issue are not resolved on the basis of consensus, if a social ground in which everyone feels equal and free is not created, if the society is not purified from racism, if class contradictions are not eliminated, if the state will turn into a social state, there will be always such gangs. The right-wing political governments that use these gangs for their own future will continue to feed on them. Political structures that constantly produce enemies within and want to engage society with their own policies through external enemies will want to continue their existence by producing these gangs. This is a social and a political issue. Gangs are of course a very important issue. But this country also has other serious social problems. A process awaits us in which everyone must be very sensitive and where more efforts will be made to create a new political ground where everyone living in the country can feel happy." 

 

MA / Tolga Güney