Doğan-Erdoğan Conflict: Bourgeoisie’s Fight Within Itself

Writer Sungur Savran, a member of the Revolutionary Worker Party Initiative (DİP-G), told bianet, in the evaluation he made about the conflict between the Prime Minister and the Doğan Media Group, that “Bourgeoisie’s dirty relations should be exposed as soon as they are in the open.” 

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had reacted out of proportion to the news of the trial of Deniz Feneri (Light House) in the newspapers of the Doğan Media Group. Deniz Feneri is on trial in Germany for the charge of fraud for collecting donations from the Turks living in Germany for various disasters. It is accused of having used these donations in other areas and activities that have no connection with the advertised intentions.

Erdoğan's reply to the news was that the Doğan Group had produced these allegations when its business demands were not met. Head of the Doğan Group Aydın Doğan has been accusing the Prime Minister of blackmailing.  

“It is not only the Deniz Feneri” 

Savran says that this time we are facing the Ergenekon of the bourgeoisie. He says that these allegations are being used firstly to attack the ruling party, to damage its credibility, in the fight within the bourgeoisie.  

On the other hand, he would also like to remind the Doğan Group, which has been complaining about ruling party's attack on their freedom of expression, the 2002 - 2007 period during which they were very quiet at the increased attacks of all sorts against the opposition press, against the Kurdish press. 

Secular opposition 

Seeing a direct connection between this conflict and secular bourgeoisie’s opposition to the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Savran says the following: 

“Doğan buys a big piece of land and tries to make hefty profit from it by trying to increase its price with a new zone plan and asks Prime Minister’s permission for a new refinery. Erdoğan says Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi and Russian President Putin are involved in the whole thing. The bourgeoisie is making huge profits in these dirty relations and we learn about them when the holding boss and the prime minister get into an argument.” 

“Privatization mentality” 

Savran also points out to the struggle that the transfer of the public resources to the capitalists brought. 

“If TÜPRAŞ (Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation, Turkey’s Largest Industrial Enterprise) would have continued to be a public enterprise, this would have not happened. When Doğan goes to the Prime Minister and asks for the said land, he tells him that “Our body Çalık is going to do that”. How can a prime minister talk like this? This discussion shows clearly the plunder over the public resources. These are the largest groups of the Turkish bourgeoisie.” 

Savran claims that a third front is possible in this conflict: 

“Workers should form their own policy about classes, independent of these two camps of the bourgeoisie and together with the Kurds. They have no interest in choosing one of the sides in this conflict.” (OA/EÜ)