FREEDOM FOR MÜSLÜM ELMA - make November 15, 2019 a worldwide day of action!

The ICOR demands the immediate release of Müslüm Elma from German prison!

The communist Müslüm Elma from Turkey was arrested in Germany on April 15, 2015 together with other persons. Before his arrest he had lived for years as a recognized political refugee in Germany. On 17 June 2016, one of the largest state protection trials of recent decades began in Germany. In addition to Müslüm Elma, nine other communists are accused of having formed the so-called Foreign Committee of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist and thus of having acted as a member or - in the case of Müslüm Elma - as ringleader of a "foreign terrorist organization" according to Section 129b of the German Penal Code.

The Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist is an organization banned only in Turkey. It is not subject to a ban either in Germany or in other European states and is not on any of the national or international terror lists. Neither Müslüm Elma nor one of the other nine communists are accused of any act of violence or any other punishable action except membership.

The German Federal Government and the German judiciary make themselves the henchmen of the fascist Erdogan regime in these proceedings.

Of the original ten imprisoned revolutionaries, only Müslüm Elma is still in prison. But the trial against all of them continues. The Confederation of Workers from Turkey in Europe (ATIK) is conducting a campaign "Freedom for Müslüm Elma" from 4.11.2019 to 2.12.2019. The ICOR supports this campaign and urgently asks all member organizations to take part in international protest actions on 15 November. The ATIK writes: “prepare a rally [in your countries] in front of German consulates or embassies on 15 November 2019 (...) We expect these actions in both Germany and other countries, in order to have a profound impact on the Ministry of Justice and the court. Therefore, the mass demonstration organized by you will contribute to our campaign.

Please send us the call and the report of the action that you will carry out so that we can spread it". The desired reports can be sent as text, as video, as photo - in any form whatsoever, but please send them as soon as possible.

Müslüm Elma has been politically active since his youth in Diyarbakır and was imprisoned in Turkey for more than 20 years and subjected to severe torture. He writes: "Nor were we born as 'terrorists', as you … often accuse us of. Meaning, we were born just like all the other children. Later, we were all students who had a goal: education. ... Therefore, if you are looking for the real culprits, you are with us at the wrong address. The real culprits are the imperialists and their collaborators. And what makes us socialists is their greedy policies that drive millions into poverty and misery and their unwarranted wars and their destructive policies."

He goes on to report on imprisonment and torture: “From the moment they put me in the police vehicle, they hit me and asked me questions at the same time...

On the other hand, I was neither in a hurry nor felt obliged to answer the questions asked. Because it was appropriate to remain silent. … That evening, they practiced all the basic methods that existed at the torture centers. The resounding laughter that they had in my arrest was replaced by anger and helplessness. … Yes, torture is a crime on humanity. On the other hand, to claim the right to silence is the defense of human dignity."

On the ICOR website there is a detailed dossier about Müslüm Elma and the campaign as well as a poster available for download.

Freedom for Müslüm Elma!

Freedom for all imprisoned revolutionaries!

Signatories (as of 06. November 2019, up-to-date list of signatories on www.icor.info):

1. RCP Revolutionary Communist Party of Egypt

2. UPC-Manidem Union des Populations du Cameroun - Manifeste National pour l’Instauration de la Démocratie (Union of Populations of Cameroon - National Manifesto for the Establishment of Democracy), Cameroon

3. CPK Communist Party of Kenya, Kenya

4. CPSA (ML) Communist Party of South Africa (Marxist-Leninist)

5. PPDS Parti Patriotique Démocratique Socialiste (Patriotic Democratic Socialist Party), Tunisia

6. MLOA Marxist-Leninist Organization of Afghanistan

7. CPB Communist Party of Bangladesh

8. CPI (ML) Red Star Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Red Star

9. Ranjbaran Hezb-e Ranjbaran-e Iran (Proletarian Party of Iran)

10. NDMLP New-Democratic Marxist-Leninist Party, Sri Lanka

11. БКП Българска Комунистическа Партия (Bulgarian Communist Party)

12. PR-ByH Partija Rada - ByH (Party of Labor - Bosnia and Herzegovina), Bosnia and Herzegovina

13. MLPD Marxistisch-Leninistische Partei Deutschlands (Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany)

14. UCLyon Unité Communiste Lyon (Communist United Lyon), France

15. UPML Union Prolétarienne Marxiste-Léniniste (Marxist-Leninist Proletarian Union), France

16. BP (NK-T) Bolşevik Parti (Kuzey Kürdistan-Türkiye) (Bolshevik Party (North Kurdistan-Turkey))

17. KOL Kommunistische Organisation Luxemburg (Communist Organization of Luxemburg)

18. MIKSZ Magyar Ifjúság Közösségi Szervezete (Organisation of Hungarian Youth Community), Hungary

19. RM Rode Morgen (Red Dawn), Netherlands

20. MLGS Marxistisch-Leninistische Gruppe Schweiz (Marxist-Leninist Group of Switzerland)

21. VZDOR VZDOR - strana práce (Resistance - labour party), Slovakia

22. TIKB Türkiye İhtilalci Komünistler Birliği (Union of Revolutionary Communists of Turkey)

23. MLKP Marksist Leninist Komünist Parti Türkiye / Kürdistan (Marxist Leninist Communist Party Turkey / Kurdistan)

24. KSRD Koordinazionnyj Sowjet Rabotschewo Dvizhenija (Coordination Council of the Workers Class Movement), Ukraine

25. PCC-M Partido Comunista de Colombia – Maoista (Communist Party of Colombia - Maoist)

26. PCP (independiente) Partido Comunista Paraguayo (independiente) (Paraguayan Communist Party (independent))

27. PC (ML) Partido Comunista (Marxista Leninista) (Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist)), Dominican Republic

28. PCR-U Partido Comunista Revolucionario del Uruguay (Revolutionary Communist Party of Uruguay)PC

Signed after the release date:

RMP   Российская маоистская партия (Rossijskaya maoistskaya partiya) (Russian Maoist Party)

TKP-ML Türkiye Komünist Partisi/Marksist-Leninist (Communist Party of Turkey – Marxist-Leninist)

BDP Bloque Democratico Popular (Popular Democratic Bloc), Peru

PS-GdT Plataforma Socialista - Golpe de Timón (Socialist Platform – Change of Course), Venezuela

ROL Revolutionary Organization of Labor, USA

 Additional Signatories (Non-ICOR):

Trotz alledem! (Deutschland)