[Joint Statement]
The Erdoğan fascist regime of Türkiye must immediately release the international delegation of the World Anti-Imperialist Youth Platform, including youth members of the People’s Democracy Party, and the Turkish youth activists!
At around 3:00 a.m. on July 1, the fascist police of Türkiye illegally and violently detained more than twenty anti-imperialist and progressive youth activists from around the world and, four days later, have still not released them. Having already turned Türkiye into a lawless zone by imposing a total ban on all external activities throughout Ankara and around NATO military bases, the Turkish authorities went even further by raiding a peaceful and lawful internal event and subjecting the activists to fascist repression. The campsite where the youth activists were staying was located more than ten hours away from Ankara. In a cunning and despicable manner, the Turkish authorities carried out their raid in the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, and indiscriminately detained dozens of people. In the course of these arrests, serious human rights violations were committed, including the use of excessively coercive measures such as rear-handcuffing, a practice strictly prohibited under international law. The detained youth activists are currently being completely denied their right to legal counsel and their right to defense, and are resisting resolutely through silence and hunger strikes.
The fascist Erdoğan is following NATO, the command center of World War 3, and is unleashing a wave of fascist terror against its own people in a display of political intimidation. He is ignoring the freedom of expression and thought guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, one of the core human rights treaties of the United Nations and ratified by Türkiye, and is even carrying out mass arrests of foreign nationals under the pretext of so-called “counter-terrorism laws.” Under the pretext of “preventive detention,” as many as 500 people have been arrested as part of so-called counter-terror operations, and, in addition, anti-imperialist youth activists have been violently detained on fabricated charges of an alleged “terror plot” in an escalation of fascist repression. Behind these atrocities lies Erdoğan’s fascist authoritarian conspiracy. Erdoğan is facing a continued decline in approval ratings ahead of the 2028 constitutional amendment aimed at prolonging his power, while the Turkish economy is deepening its crisis. In this context, he is desperately maneuvering to defuse this crisis through the summit’s diplomatic spectacles, while simultaneously weaving a “national security framework” to suppress progressive forces and the people.
Lee Jae-myung, the president of the ‘Republic of Korea (the ‘ROK’)’ is set to attend the NATO Summit, which is being held amidst vicious fascist repression. Wi Sung-lac, the Director of National Security, made a reckless remark, stating, “Taking this summit as an opportunity, our military and corporations will participate in NATO’s networks in innovative fields such as drones and space, thereby establishing a foundation to acquire core technologies for future warfare and promote joint development.” During this summit period, a defense industry forum aimed at unifying the European weapon supply chain will be held simultaneously. In this forum, military-industrial complexes are going to extensively market and sell weapons, boasting the combat capabilities of aggressive weaponry that has been deployed in the massacre of civilians on battlefields. In particular, NATO is citing Türkiye as a core supplier of drones, artillery shells, guided missiles, and armored vehicles, and the ‘ROK’ as a supplier of tanks, self-propelled howitzers (K9), and light combat aircraft. Lee Jae-myung’s attendance at the summit is a warmongering act of serving NATO—the war machine and war headquarters pushing for the direct supply of the ‘ROK’ weapons to Ukraine—and a pro-fascist move that diplomatically supports the Erdoğan regime, thereby legitimizing its fascist atrocities.
The fascist Erdoğan regime must immediately release all detained anti-imperialist progressive youth activists! We emphasize once again that the events of the World Anti-imperialist Youth Platform were conducted strictly in a lawful and peaceful manner. The entire world is enraged by this heinous atrocity, which not only tramples on the dignity of the people of Türkiye but even turns the spearhead of fascism toward foreign nationals. Above all, this incident has made it even more blatantly clear that the NATO and aggressive imperialist forces stand behind the fascist Erdoğan clique. Meanwhile, the more the ‘ROK’ serves NATO—the war headquarters—the more precarious the fate of the ‘ROK’ and East Asia becomes. Erdoğan’s fascist and warmongering atrocities, alongside Lee Jae-myung’s pro-NATO and pro-fascist maneuvers, demonstrate that the overthrow of imperialism and the dissolution of NATO are the ultimate priorities and the most urgent tasks of struggle for the people of the world. The people of the world, including the people of the ‘ROK,’ will overthrow imperialism and fascism through the anti-imperialist and anti-fascist struggle, disband NATO, and hasten a new world of global independence, peace, and democracy.
July 4, 2026
In front of the Embassy of Türkiye in Seoul (the ‘ROK’)
Anti-US Struggle Headquarters, The 21st Century Che Guevara, People’s Democracy Party
[Following are the pictures of the PDP members conducting all-night one person demonstration, political rally, in front of Turkish Embassy in the ‘ROK’]
