Founded on 29 October 1923, the Republic of Turkey has now existed for a hundred years, and unfortunately, the new century is beginning under the fascist-genocidal government of Tayyip Erdoğan and his People's Alliance. The last elections on 14 and 28 May were an important opportunity to change this situation. But this chance could not be used sufficiently, or, Erdoğan-Bahçeli fascism prevented it. Now it is necessary to do with the anti-fascist revolutionary struggle what was not possible with elections and to open the way for democratisation in Turkey by overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.

As 29 October approached, imposed on society for a century as "Republic Day", the Erdoğan government's efforts to declare itself a state increased. Tayyip Erdoğan wanted to proclaim his absolute power, his position as the "second Atatürk" on this centenary. He prepared intensively for this. On this basis, he wanted to organise enthusiastic celebrations that would last for days and perhaps weeks. He had prepared everything accordingly, including the elections in May.

But the calculation did not work out. Tayyip Erdoğan's lie "I have finished off the PKK" was clearly denied by the sacrificial action that hit the Interior Ministry on 1 October. The developments that followed further exposed the Erdoğan government and showed everyone that it is weak and finished. Therefore, his bayonet has fallen, so to speak. No doubt, he is trying to make everyone feel his power by organising extravagant celebrations again. But it will not go beyond the appearance of a plucked chicken.

Within this framework, false speeches will continue to be made and racist-chauvinist nationalism will escalate as much as possible. The sycophants will continue to praise Tayyip Erdoğan and say that he is the "second Atatürk". Turkey's society is being suffocated by this demagogy and prevented from taking a correct and proper reckoning of the last century. For this reason, the socialist and democratic forces must be vigilant and work to prevent this chauvinist propaganda from poisoning society too much. The consciousness of society must be raised through a real and correct reckoning with the past century.

But what is the basic framework for a correct reckoning? To find an answer to this question, it is first necessary to take a brief look at the events and struggles in the period before the proclamation of the republic. On the one hand, the Kurdish people fought against the British and French occupation, and it was mainly the Kurds who defended the country. The army that fought against the Greek occupation was again the Ottoman army under the command of Kâzım Karabekir, which survived in Kurdistan. In Anatolia, many individuals and groups, including Ethem the Circassian, were at the forefront of resisting the occupation. In short, this multi-layered struggle prepared the ground for the establishment of the Republic.

The parliament that proclaimed the republic was founded on the basis of the congresses of Sivas and Erzurum, in which Kurds actively participated. Until the proclamation of the republic, the Kurds participated very actively in the work of the parliament. The borders of the Misak-ı Milli [National Pact] were defined as "the land where Turks and Kurds live". Mustafa Kemal himself announced that the Kurds would be given autonomy in the new statehood. The 1921 constitution explicitly contained this provision. The Kurds were thus a fundamental force and an essential constituent element in the preparation of the republic.

However, after the proclamation of the republic and the establishment of state power, the policy of the founding period was reversed, and a different policy was pursued. Essentially, all those who had contributed to the establishment of the republic were liquidated one by one. This process began with the liquidation of Ethem the Circassian and continued with the liquidation of Kâzım Karabekir and other founding pashas. Many organisations and communities that had participated in the liberation struggle were banned. The autonomy system for the Kurds was removed from the constitution and a new understanding and strategy emerged with the unified concept of a "Turkish nation" that ignored the Kurds and envisaged their annihilation.

In short, the state of the Republic of Turkey was founded on the understanding of ignoring and destroying the Kurds. It has been hostile to the Kurds for a century and has shaped all its other policies accordingly. This genocidal attack has continued in a planned and organised manner throughout the last century. Governments have changed, there have been military coups, but this main ideology and strategy of the Turkish state has not changed. The governments have handed each other the programme for the Kurdish genocide. Legend has it that Adnan Menderes [Turkey's first prime minister to emerge from free elections. He ruled from 1950, was overthrown by the military in 1960 and executed on the prison island of Imrali in 1961], when he was taken to the execution site after being overthrown in a coup, was asked by the officers accompanying him as a rehearsal: "What is Turkey's most important problem?". Adnan Menderes, who reportedly could no longer stand because he had taken too much medication, is said to have answered without hesitation: "The Kurdish question."

Of course, a mentality and a policy that imposes genocide on the Kurds as an important part of the population in Turkey can never be democratic. The flip side of the genocide against the Kurds is the fascist oppression, exploitation and persecution in Turkey. All the country's resources are being used for genocide, which is why Turkey has fallen behind in every respect. As a result, Turkey, which had all kinds of wealth, has been made a third-class country in the world.

Now that the centenary is over and a new century is beginning, Turkey's situation with its state and society is obvious. Monist nation-state fascism is being rigorously implemented. Under such a regime, Mesopotamia and Anatolia, which were called paradise in history, have become hell. Society is in crisis and the state is on the verge of collapse. By continuing the genocide against the Kurds, the state has been based on a system of endless war for a century. The words of Mustafa Kemal, "peace at home, peace in the world", are today implemented by the government of Tayyip Erdoğan as "war at home, war in the world". On 17 October, the foreign mandate that occupied other parts of Kurdistan [in Syria and Iraq] was extended for two more years.

The mentality and policies based on the genocide of the Kurds have poisoned the last century for Turkey's society. The phrase "When it comes to the motherland, the rest is secondary" represents the hostility towards the Kurds. A century of this hostility has led to a lack of confidence among the Kurds. Despite this, they have always fought for the unity of the peoples. However, the Turkish state's insistence on genocide has made them highly insecure. If today they are still trying to live together as a "nation of Turkey", the only power that makes this possible is Abdullah Öcalan. If Barzani had enough power, he would not leave a single Turk.

Entering the second century of the Republic of Turkey, the current fascist AKP/MHP dictatorship is betting on deepening and continuing its anti-Kurdish and genocidal mentality and policies. But we should also know the following: The Unity and Progress Committee [Ittihad ve Terraki, a Turkish nationalist organisation that was active between 1889 and 1926 and organised the genocide of Armenians in 1915], which relied on a hostile and genocidal mentality and policy towards Armenians, brought about the collapse of the 700-year-old Ottoman Empire by planting a fig tree at its root. Now AKP/MHP fascism, which has the same mentality and politics, will collapse the century-old Turkish state. Because there is no other result that this mentality and politics can lead to. Of course, the whole burden of collapse and destruction will also be carried on the backs of the peoples. Therefore, it is necessary to smash AKP/MHP fascism and save the peoples from such a catastrophe without destroying the country and society. The reckoning with the last century is to envisage a radical change in the genocidal mentality and politics as we enter the new century and to wage an organised and holistic democratic-revolutionary struggle for this.