Turkey must withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and end the presence of all foreign military bases in the country immediately, demanded the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), in a statement on Wednesday, July 2.
Withdrawal from NATO is “essential to ensure the security of our people and the full exercise of sovereignty of our country,” the TKP said, claiming that NATO drags Turkey and its people into unnecessary wars around the globe.
Prior to the statement, the TKP and several other left organizations in Turkey launched a massive mass movement against their country’s membership of NATO. They organized a large protest in Istanbul for the same on Sunday, June 29.
NATO Türkiye’den Çıksın!
NATO’yu sorgulamanın, NATO’dan çıkılması için gerçek hamleler yapmanın zamanı geldi. NATO’nun da Türkiye’den çıkmasının zamanı geldi.
NATO’dan çıkılması için NATO’dan zarar gören halkımız inisiyatif almalıdır. NATO darbecidir, NATO işgalcidir, NATO… pic.twitter.com/gAMT8TflfC
— TKP – İstanbul (@istanbul_tkp) June 29, 2025
On Thursday, the party also launched a social media campaign explaining how NATO has been a threat to global peace for decades now.
In its statement, the TKP claimed that NATO has been making Turkish people “party to all its crimes” around the world without their consent. Turkish people have no interest in wars waged by NATO as they are mainly to save the interest of “international capital” and “multinational corporations.”
NATO has been using Turkey in its pursuit to establish the military dominance of the leading imperialist powers over the rest of the world ever since it joined the military collective in 1952, the party said.
NATO was formed in 1949 as a collective security organization of countries mostly in Western Europe and North America. It was aimed primarily against the Soviet Union and Turkey’s inclusion was linked to the fact that it shared physical borders with it. NATO has remained in existence and ever expanded its membership despite the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and strong opposition from certain countries. People opposed to NATO question its relevance today. Some countries have called it a major challenge to global peace and security.
Read more: NATO becoming an even greater threat to humanity and global peace, says China
NATO – which has been responsible for the US “occupation of Korea, the dismemberment of Yugoslavia and the destruction of Syria” among so many other wars and conflicts around the world, the TKP argued – is an instrument of imperialism.
By using Turkish soil for its military campaigns in different countries, to provide military support to Israel and for installing a nuclear arsenal, NATO has made Turkey a legitimate target of attacks and put millions of Turkish people at risk, the TKP claimed.
The presence of NATO also favors authoritarian and anti-people regimes all over the world. “In line with the interests of imperialism and international capital, NATO has developed a habit of interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries”, and helps suppress all kinds of dissent to ensure the longevity of the oppressive regimes in power, the party noted.
End of all foreign military bases
There are around 30 NATO and US military bases in Turkey and the government in Turkey has virtually no control over them. This, apart from compromising the country’s sovereignty, also makes it vulnerable in so many ways.
The TKP accuses its so-called NATO allies of being indifferent to Turkey’s own interests and time and again forcing the country to compromise itself.
NATO acts as a “fifth column” particularly within the country’s armed forces and other state institutions and plays a key role in blocking popular assertions and mobilizations for a sovereign and free Turkey through “coups, political assassinations, plots and sabotage,” the TKP claimed.
There are over 2,000 US military personnel in the country in all its bases. Several of its bases, such as one in İncirlik, have been used by the US to launch attacks on Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria in the past. During the Cold War the same base was used to launch surveillance and reconnaissance missions against the Soviet Union.
Another one at Kürecik is a radar base in Malatya. It played a significant role in providing early warnings to Israel about missiles launched from Iran during the recent war. Its AN/TPY-2 radar installed in 2012 “plays a critical role in US military interventions in our region,” the TKP pointed out.
NATO bases are used to defend Israel and provide support to its military operations. NATO’s base in Konya for example is used to train Israeli pilots. Çiğli Air Base in İzmir, the TKP argues, has missiles targeted and intended for Turkish and Greek people.
Despite the bases’ locations inside the country, Turkey has no control over them and most of the activities against other countries happen without the knowledge of its government, the TKP claimed.
“Our country constantly faces the risk of being dragged into wars and conflicts beyond our control. Turkey must withdraw from these illegitimate agreements and must immediately terminate all foreign military presence on our soil,” the TKP demanded.
