A conference was organized on 4th July in Istanbul few days before the NATO summit of Ankara. The WPC took part in the anti-NATO summit with its Executive Secretary Iraklis Tsavdaridis. The conference was organized by the Peace Committee of Turkey and the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) with the participation of parties, movements and associations from NATO member states.
Participants called for a common struggle against imperialist war policies, the arms race, and NATO military bases. In the meeting, organized under the slogans "Humanity Does Not Deserve Humiliation and Death" and "NATO and Imperialism Will Be Defeated," participants called for a common struggle against imperialist war policies, the arms race, and NATO military bases.
On the 5th July a significantly massive protest rally and march took place in the center of Istanbul ( at Taksim Square) in which many hundreds of people took part despite the atmosphere of banned rallies and authoritarian measures by the government and police.
A similar anti-NATO rally and march was held also in Ankara by the TKP which faced the brutal repression and police attack against the demonstrators. The WPC denounces the actions of the police and demands the immediate and unconditional release of the more than 120 persons which have been arrested. The anti-NATO voices cannot be silenced when the warmongers are meeting in their NATO summit.