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Repression against ecological campaign ‘Make Rojava Green Again’
‘Make Rojava Green Again’ Initiative condemned the repression against Danish activist Anne Dalum.
After the Danish secret service (PET) found out that Anne had planned to travel to Rojava (Northern Syria) to participate in the ecological projects of ‘Make Rojava Green Again’ her passport was taken away by Danish police. A court case to try and overturn this decision is now underway in Frederiksberg, Denmark.
In a statement about Anne Dalum’s case, the Initiative said the following;
“We see this action by the Danish state as part of a wider context of repression in general against activists supporting the democratic project in Rojava. In particular, international fighters of the self-defense forces YPG/YPJ returning to Europe are facing high repression. (i.e. in Italy, the UK, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Spain).. YPG/YPJ and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are the structures defending the people of Northern-Eastern Syria. They defeated the Islamic State and therefore saved not only the people of Rojava, but humanity as a whole. In this fight against fascism thousands of fighters, including internationalists, gave their lives.
Only because of this heroic resistance are we now able to work on the construction of an ecological-democratic society here in Northern Syria. In this way we see people coming to Rojava to participate in either the civil or military structures of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) not as criminals but as honorable people fighting against injustice.
Make Rojava Green Again’ has already been affected by repression through the shutdown of the Kurdish publishing house Mezopotamya by the German state and the confiscation of more than 10.000 books, including the self-titled book of our campaign It seems that the governments of many European states are afraid of people seeing the reality and talking about the Revolution in Northern Syria. We see the participation of international activists from all around the world as important and meaningful.
We call on everyone to continue supporting the people in Rojava and the whole of Northern-Eastern Syria. At the same time we demand that the governments change their hypocritical stance against AANES and finally stop their support of the authoritarian regime in Turkey, which is directly threatening this democratic project through its support of reactionary Islamist forces in the Middle East.”
BACKGROUND
Below is the translation of a Danish newspaper article about Anne Dalum’s case.
“Traveling to the Rojava region in northern Syria and participating in a reconstruction project is not a creditable purpose [anerkendelsesværdigt formål, literally ‘purpose worthy of recognition’], says the Copenhagen Police. This passport revocation is the first of its kind to be tested in court.
A Danish woman has had her passport revoked and gotten a travel ban for a year when she wanted to travel to the Rojava region in northern Syria to participate in the reconstruction project Make Rojava Green Again.
The woman, 33-year old Anne Dalum, had bought the ticket for January 7, but the day before departure Copenhagen Police knocked on the door to her residence and revoked her passport.
It happened by referring to the tightening of the Passport Law in 2015, which among other things were supposed to help prevent the recruitment of foreign fighters into armed conflicts.
Rebuilding the region
The revocation has shaken this woman.
“It was never my intention to go to Syria to go to war. I wanted to participate in the civic work to rebuild the Rojava region. Make Rojava Green Again is working with ecological restoration, wind use and reuse of water,” said Anne Dalum.
She has made no secret of her sympathy for the reconstruction efforts and has mentioned it on Facebook.
Rojava, which is also known as the Democratic Federation in Northern Syria, is an autonomous, stateless area run by the Democratic Union Party, PYD.
PYD has two military units, YPG and YPJ, both of which currently forms part of the international coalition in the fight against ISIS, and which are under the protection of US forces and aircraft in the area. Denmark is part of the coalition with YPG and YPJ, and various international forces stationed in Rojava.
The Syrian civil war has never spread to the area in question.
To be tested in court
The 33-year-old woman has taken the opportunity to get the passport revocation tried in court. The case was opened last Thursday at a preliminary hearing in the court in Frederiksberg.
It is the first time a case of passport revocation from someone declared not to be a foreign fighter to be tried in the court system.
It was revealed at the hearing that the police apparently does not suspect Anne Dalum to participate in an armed conflict. The prosecutor from the Copenhagen Police, Sabine Mosegaard Sørensen, declared that the very presence in the region and the very purpose of the project is not creditable.
Copenhagen Police brought a statement from the Danish intelligence services PET that a person traveling to Syria will pose a danger to national security and be a significant threat to public order unless the person has a creditable purpose.
Subsequently, the prosecutor did not want to comment further on the case.
Questions about the purpose of the law
Anne Dalum’s lawyer, Erbil Kaya, calls the case unusual. He does not believe that she should be subject to the passport law.
“The purpose of the law was to stop radicalization, so people subsequently do not become a problem. This is something else. She does not want go to fight. Neither are there any information indicating that.
She wants to travel for humanitarian reasons. She wants to go down there and help. Is the law intended to stop her if she wants that?”, he asks.
In the preliminary work to the passport law, which came into force in January 2015, the focus is specifically on the ISIS fighters, holy warriors and to stop people who go out to fight, and thus may pose a threat.
Justitia out with a warning
In a hearing in 2014, the legal think tank Justitia warned that the tightening of the passport law could lead to a situation like Anne Dalum’s.
According to Director Jacob Mchangama, he remarked back then that the scope of the law was vague and should be qualified.
“We problematized the required suspicion in the decisions and said that there should be clearer evidence of whether you pose a danger. And also that a travel ban should require weighty reasons. We warned that more or less loose utterances on social media could lead to a risk. That’s exactly what happened here,” he says.
Erbil Kaya has previously appeared for two other people, Joanna Palani and Martin from Esbjerg, which he’s called, as the surname is not public, both of which have previously been deprived of their passports.
In both cases they had openly declared that they would travel out to fight against the Islamic State. Joanna Palani is today serving imprisonment for violation of the travel ban.
The case at the court in Frederiksberg has not yet been scheduled, but is assumed to be completed before the summer.”
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27 March 2019
Mazloum Abdi points out, “After Daesh was overwhelmingly defeated in al-Baguz village, and after the evacuation of civilians and the surrender of hundreds of terrorists, SDF’s fighters, with the participation of the International Coalition to Fight Daesh, fought strongly in the battles to eradicate Deash, declaring to the entire world the destruction of the so-called Caliphate.”
Abdi asserts that the elimination of the region and strongholds of the terrorist organization was the result of great efforts and sacrifices made by the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Coalition.
“High-level coordination takes place between the two sides and their strong relations will soon put an end to the nightmare that has engulfed the entire world and transformed the region into a center of terrorist activity,” he said.
Mazloum Abdi notes that the joint decisions which were taken by SDF and the International Coalition Forces have made the liberation of a city after the other possible, while there was avoidance of leaving civilian casualties through the use of precise military tactics that were under full control.
Abdi believes that the US President Donald Trump’s decision to leave some US troops in Syria is crucial for the next stage of the battle against Daesh, which involves eradicating its intellectual and ideological roots and requires long-term sustained action.
Abdi points out that the US political and military leadership, as well as the members of the US Congress agree that the threat posed by IS’ terrorist organization is still far from the goal of eliminating it. By keeping the US forces in the region and rearranging the US strategy, the next phase of the war against terrorism will help SDF to maintain the gains that have been achieved so far.
“We want to emphasize the role of the US Department of Defense, especially the commander of the US Central Command, Joseph Votill, in winning the battlefield against Daesh, and ensuring security and stability in the liberated areas of darkness,” Abdi said.
“We recognize the important role of the former presidential envoy of the International Coalition Britt McGuck in this victory, and thank him for bringing together different countries under the banner of the International Coalition and building a bridge of cooperation between them and Syrian Democratic Forces.”
Abdi said, “We must pay attention to some of the main challenges before us: the sleeper cells planted by the terrorist organization, the danger of Daesh’s ability to reorganize itself by using and employing individual terrorists’ tactics (individual wolves) in terrorist acts such as bombings and assassinations.”
He stresses that there is also an increasing need to restore the community’s cohesion, reorganize people and return them to their societies. “The areas occupied by the terrorists have turned into rubble and must be revived. The rehabilitation requires ongoing support and rehabilitation at all levels so that the citizens can return to their normal lives.”
“In accordance with the UN resolutions, the continued cooperation between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the International Coalition to confront Daesh will contribute to ending the Syrian crisis,” the General Mazloum Abdi said.
ANHA
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SDF announce Daesh’s defeat, start of new phase to fight its sleeping cells
DEIR EZ-ZOR
The General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) issued on Saturday in al-Omer field in Deir ez-Zor countryside a statement to the public opinion, announcing the defeat of Daesh.
Before reading the statement, the attendees held a minute of silence which was accompanied by a military parade performed by the fighters of SDF, and listening to the Kurdish national anthem “Hey Reqib.”
Then, the general commander of SDF Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Women Protection Units (YPJ) Newroz Ahmed, and the US envoy to the International Coalition to fight Daesh William Rubak raised the curtains on the monument that symbolizes this historic day.
The statement was read by the general commander of SDF Mazloum Abdi in the presence of leaders of the International Coalition against Daesh, SDF commanders and fighters, officials in the Autonomous Administration (AA) of North and East Syria, representatives of the political parties, and the clans’ heads and notables in north and east Syria.
The statement included,
“On behalf of the General Command of SDF, all their fighters, and all our allies who fought with us in the same trench, we announce the destruction of what was called the organization of the Islamic State and the end of its field control on the last enclaves in al-Baguz region.
After our forces defeated al-Qaeda organization’s terrorists and their followers who used to receive support and facilities from regional forces and with our own modest potentials through the heroic resistance of 2012 and 2013, our regions were attacked by Daesh in early 2014, and the battle of Kobani was the symbol of the global resistance against terrorism and the beginning of Daesh’s defeat. Now, after five years of fighting, we stand here to declare the field defeat of Daesh.
We are proud of what we have achieved in the result of our battle against Daesh and al-Qaeda, and that is represented by rescuing nearly 5 million inhabitants of north and east Syria with all components from the clutches of terrorism, the liberation of 52 thousand km2 of the Syrian territories and the elimination of the terrorism that used to threaten humanity.
This victory was very expensive as more than 11,000 of our forces; commanders and fighters martyred, civilian victims were left, and more than 21,000 of our fighters injured. On this occasion, we cannot but commemorate those great heroes. We bow in tribute to the martyrs and wish the speedy recovery for our wounded as without their sacrifices, this victory would not have been achieved.
Likewise, we express our deepest thanks to all those who contributed and participated in this battle against terrorism, particularly the International Coalition against Daesh.
The main factor of SDF’s success in their battle against terrorism was their adoption of the democratic approach, the principles of the democratic nation and the freedom of women and the principles of co-existence and peoples’ fraternity which brought together the Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, Assyrian, Turkmen, Chechen and Circassian fighters and the international fighters under the flag SDF.
Just as SDF have helped the people of the liberated areas to establish their administrative and security institutions, they will also create the stability of the regions so that these areas would be able to rebuild their administrative and legislative councils through democratic elections.
In conclusion, we affirm that our battle against Daesh’s terrorism will continue until the full victory is achieved and its total existence is eliminated. At the same time, we call on the Coalition Forces to support us in the new stage to fight Daesh terrorists through the continuation of accurate military and security campaigns aiming at eliminating Daesh’s secret military presence completely.
ANHA
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Kurds Destroy Islamic State, Prepare For War Vs. Turkey
After announcing their complete victory over the Islamic State (IS) at the shattered town of Baghouz al-Fawqani in eastern Syria — ending the five year existence of the murderous IS caliphate — – fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) now have to contend with the real possibility of a war against Turkey supported by its patron, Russia.
The Kurds also face the possibility president Donald Trump will fulfill a vow made in December 2018 to abandon them with the defeat of IS.
The world is celebrating the historic victory of the Kurds along with their allied Arab, Assyrian/Syrian and Christian militias over IS was announced on March 23. Since the U.S.-backed SDF was founded in October 2015, the mission of the SDF is to establish a secular, democratic and federal Syria.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised the SDF’s announcement about the end of IS as a territorial entity.
“Syrian democratic forces announced that the last bastion of Daesh had fallen. I pay tribute to our partners and the armies of the international coalition, of which France is a part. They fought the terrorists with determination, for our security,” tweeted Macron.
“We do not forget the victims of Daesh. The stage reached today is immense: a major danger for our country is eliminated. But the threat remains and the fight against terrorist groups must continue.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May also welcomed the news, and vowed to do “what is necessary” to protect British people and others from the threat of IS.
The SDF held a ceremony on the afternoon of March 23 to mark the victory over Daesh. The ceremony was attended by U.S. Ambassador William Roebuck and Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) co-chair Ilham Ahmed. Roebuck congratulated the SDF on its victory over the jihadists.
“This critical milestone in the fight against ISIS delivers a crushing, strategic blow and underscores the unwavering commitment of our local partners and the global coalition to defeat ISIS,” said Roebuck, reading a statement from Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“We could not have achieved any of this without the unwavering commitment and unity of our coalition and the tremendous sacrifice of our Syrian partners on the ground who have lost thousands of lives, taking back their homeland and helping to protect coalition homelands at the same time.”
“We honor the sacrifices and the valor of the Syrian Democratic Forces in achieving this victory and express condolences for the many lives lost in the campaign,” said Roebuck.
SDC co-chair Ahmed congratulated the Syrian people, but warned the fight to destroy ISIS sleeper cells and the group’s ideology must continue. There are anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 jihadists in these sleeper cells.
British Army General Sir Nicholas Carter, chief of the Defense Staff, offered his “deep and most sincere condolences to the families of the many who have fallen (from the SDF) in the important and noble endeavor. We also have great admiration for the humanity and care that your forces have shown during this difficult and final battle to try to avoid civilian casualties and to receive those fleeing Baghouz.”
Practically the entire SDF consists of Kurdish men and women fighters led by the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a mostly Kurdish militia declared a terrorist organization by Turkey and its dictator, Recip Tayyip Erdogan.
The horrific campaign to destroy IS cost the SDF 11,000 dead. Of this total, 8,000 were Kurds of the YPG, more than 1,800 were Kurdish Peshmerga fighters with the rest of the dead spread among the other SDF militias.
Analysts agree that without the superhuman sacrifice of the Kurds, IS would still exist today. Kurds now have to turn their attention towards defeating an offensive by the Turkish Army within the year.
In December 2018, Erdogan said he had postponed a military offensive in northeastern Syria against the Kurds, citing conversations with Trump and other American officials. He did make it clear Turkey will eventually follow through on plans for an assault on Kurdish forces in the area.
Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stand atop a roof next to their unfurled flag at a position in the village of Baghouz in Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor province near the Iraqi border on March 24, 2019, a day after the Islamic State (IS) group’s ‘caliphate’ was declared defeated by the US-backed Kurdish-led SDF. Photo: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images
“In the upcoming months, on the ground in Syria, we will follow a style of incursion that eliminates both PKK-YPD elements and remnants of Daesh,” said Erdogan.
This announcement came after Trump declared his intention to withdraw United States forces in Syria without consulting his military commanders, Arab allies in the region and NATO.
Trump’s decision to withdraw delighted Turkey, Russia and Iran, Syria’s main backers. It angered the Kurds and many American officials who saw it as a shameful abandonment of the Kurds. Israeli officials also said they felt abandoned by Trump, whose decision will strengthens Iran’s hold on Syria and create a strategic threat to Israel.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced his resignation the day after Trump’s order, making clear he opposed the Syria withdrawal, along with other presidential actions.
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Lorenzo Orsetti: a modern-day partisan
ROSA GILBERT salutes her comrade, the Italian revolutionary killed this week in the fight between Isis and Kurdish-led forces in Syria
Lorenzo Orsetti was part of an international anarchist group attached to the the armed units Turkish Communist Party/Marxist Leninist fighting Isis in northern Syria
ON MONDAY morning came the devastating news that an Italian YPG volunteer, Lorenzo “Orso” Orsetti, had been killed by an Isis ambush in Baghouz, the small town on the Deir Ezzor front where the remnants of the Isis caliphate are surrounded. Orsetti, also known by his nom-de-guerre Tekoser Piling, had been in northern Syria since September 2017 when he travelled from his hometown in Florence, Tuscany to defend the revolution in Rojava led by the Kurds in northern Syria, one he described as “the most beautiful revolution in the world,” “the closest thing I’ve ever found to my ideals and it is a pleasure and an honour to take part.”
Clarifying his motivation for taking up arms in Rojava, he said that it wasn’t because he liked war or wanted fame, that he didn’t have any mystifications or delusions, simply that “freedom cannot exist without taking risks.” According to countless stories, Orso (“bear” in Italian) was an incredibly brave and selfless fighter, and whilst he always impressed on friends and comrades the need to act in an altruistic manner in his dispatches from the front line, he never boasted or exalted his own activity.
He never even told people how, whilst fighting in the hills of Afrin against the Turkish/FSA invasion in spring 2018, with defeat in sight, he refused to be evacuated with the rest of his internationalist unit, insisting on staying with the civilians to defend them from the invasion at huge risk to himself until civilians themselves were evacuated. Fighting in the hills of Afrin in incredibly difficult conditions surrounded by jihadists and bombarded day and night by Turkey’s air force (equipped by both Britain and Italy), his dispatches from the front line sounded like epic tales of guerilla warfare from the partisan resistance, swapping the olive tree-filled mountains between Florence and Bologna for those of the north-west Syrian Kurdish enclave.
Orso came from a very ordinary family in Rifredi, a working-class neighbourhood in Florence filled with monuments and plaques to the anti-fascist partisans, many of whom hailed from the area in which he grew up. Bored by successive menial service jobs, mainly as a waiter and chef, he looked to Rojava as an escape from the drudgery and trappings of individualistic capitalist society. Not coming from any particular political faction, he was known more socially in Florence than as an activist or political raconteur, so although he had strong political ideals of an anarchist-libertarian disposition, above all he was not given to orthodoxy or dogmatism.
His anti-sectarianism was typical of his political and moral ethos of surpassing egoism and individualism, supporting solidarity events in the city from any and all political factions, fighting in an anarchist unit that was attached to TiKKO, the armed wing of the Turkish Communist Party/Marxist Leninist (TKP/ML) from which he took great inspiration.
It was perhaps his knowledge of the history of the Spanish Civil War and the anti-fascist liberation of Italy that gave him this anti-sectarian drive, but also perhaps his amenable personality and his very well-attuned balance between ideological rigour and pragmatism. Quietly well-read and intelligent, he would happily defend the need for strong ideology within a coherent, disciplined movement, revolutionary practices of self-criticism and rebut attacks on socialism as “dehumanising” or “impersonal” as liberal propaganda promoting individualism.
It was this anti-individualistic quality to life as a revolutionary that gave him a sense of profound belonging in Rojava, so far away from his hometown, his friends and family, his beloved dog and the high quality tinned tomatoes that he missed so dearly — despite the paltry ingredients, his unit were always delighted when it was his turn to cook.
Addressing a meeting in Florence by video last October, where two of his internationalist comrades were speaking, Orso spoke directly to his YPG comrades to a room packed with activists clinging onto every last word: “I love you guys so much, we went through so many crazy situations together, I love you like a family. In life, even amongst comrades there’s always this deep individualism that permeates everything, but here it’s different… care and attention for others, it’s beautiful.”
Having come very close to being killed in Afrin and numerous close calls on the Hajin and Deir Ezzor fronts, Orso was philosophical about death, writing in detail about fallen comrades and reflecting on conversations with locals as much as about the geopolitical machinations and his tales of war, which he recounted in an utterly level-headed way but threaded through with intimate minutiae. As he wrote in his final letter to be published in the event of his death (reproduced below), his dedication to the revolutionary cause in Rojava was such that, whilst wanting to live and continue the struggle, he was always ready to die, to sacrifice his life, for what he saw as a social and political revolution.
Today as I see Orso’s name and photo across every newsstand in Florence, on the front page of every major newspaper, I’m reminded of the words in his final letter encouraging us all to inspire each other and to have hope; already Orso has inspired so many, and the reaction to his death has provided hope — hope that there is still something worth fighting and dying for, where the victory is in sight, and hope in the Italian left which has reawakened, producing a deluge of tributes, banners, graffiti, just hours after his death was announced.
Last year during the Afrin invasion, his presence there and his regular dispatches from the front line were the guiding light for the huge mobilisation of solidarity in Florence, demonstrations, events, club nights, films, with the involvement of his musician friends collecting money for the Kurdish Red Crescent using the name “From Rifredi to Afrin.”
When his father stood up on the stage to proudly speak about Orso at the annual celebrations on April 25 — marking the anniversary of the anti-fascist liberation — we heard that the local ANPI section “Potente” (named after one of the Florentine partisans killed during the liberation of Florence in August 1944) was planning to grant him honorary partisan status in tribute to his bravery and continuance of the partisan cause.
It is a tragedy that this honour will now be posthumous. Unfortunately we don’t get to welcome Orso home, as in the partisan song “Fischia il vento” about the free, victorious partisan returning home. Instead, as in “Bella Ciao,” Orso will be buried under the shade of a beautiful flower where he fell in Rojava. But the story of the partisan bear (“orso”) who travelled from Rifredi to Rojava to fight fascism and defend a socialist, feminist revolution will serve as an inspiration for future generations in this city and across the world, just as the partisans, who have by now all but passed away, kept alive the cause of liberation, and the hope that one day we will win.
“Hello. If you are reading this message then it means that I am no longer of this world. Don’t be too sad, though, I’m OK with it; I don’t have any regrets and I died doing what I thought was right, defending the weak and staying true to my ideals of justice, equality and liberty.
So in spite of my premature departure, my life has been a success, and I’m almost certain that I went with a smile on my face. I couldn’t have asked for more.
I wish all of you all the best in the world and I hope that one day, you too will decide to give your life for others (if you haven’t already) because that is the only way to change the world.
Only by combatting the individualism and egoism in each of us can we make a difference. These are difficult times, I know, but don’t give in to despair, don’t ever abandon hope, never! Not even for a second.
Even when all seems lost, when the evils that plague the earth and humanity seem insurmountable, you must find strength, you must inspire strength in your comrades.
It is in the darkest moments that we have greatest need of your light.
And remember always that “every storm begins with a single raindrop.” You must be that raindrop.
I love you all, I hope you will treasure these words for time to come.
Serkeftin!
Orso, Tekoser, Lorenzo.”
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1 Turkish soldier and 2 gang members killed in Afrin
Afrin Liberation Forces carried out a sabotage action along the Tirinde road. 1 Turkish soldier and 2 gang members were killed in the action.
Afrin Liberation Forces issued a statement on the action and said:
“As part of actions our fighters carried out against the invading Turkish army and the terrorist groups under their control positioned in and around Afrin;
On March 7, our fighters carried out a sabotage action against the checkpoint where soldiers and Firqat al Hamzat terrorist units were positioned in along the Tirinde road in Afrin center. 1 soldier and 2 terrorists were killed in the action, while 2 terrorists were wounded. The checkpoint was also damaged heavily.”
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A Glimmer of Hope: The extraordinary story of a revolution within the Syrian civil war
For the past few years, most people would have come across news stories of how Kurdish fighters in Syria, especially women, have been crucial in battling the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Very few, however, would be aware that in the north and eastern parts of Syria these same Kurdish fighters are part of a revolution as progressive, profound and potentially as far-reaching as any in history.
In the north and eastern parts of Syria, an attempt to create an alternative system to hierarchical states, capitalism and patriarchy is underway and should it fully succeed it holds the potential to inspire the struggle for a better, more egalitarian Middle East, Africa, South Africa and indeed world. As in any revolution it has had its successes and shortcomings, but it is already an experiment worth reflecting on as it shows a far different world could be built to the extremely unequal and increasingly right-wing and authoritarian one that exists today.
The start of Rojava
In the aftermath of the Arab Spring in Syria, most of the country descended into a hellish nightmare as a vicious civil war erupted between the brutal Assad regime and equally reactionary groups claiming to be inspired by Islamic fundamentalism. Compounding this was the intervention of imperialist powers such as the US and Russia, and regional powers such as Turkey, Israel and Iran. One area where there was a difference was the mainly Kurdish enclave in the north of Syria known as Rojava.
There, on 19 July 2012, popular protests erupted against the Assad regime. Government buildings were occupied and taken over by the people. Many of the people involved in this had been building a popular movement for almost a decade that had the vision of implementing a radical concept — Democratic Confederalism.
The vision of Democratic Confederalism
Democratic Confederalism was first outlined by Abdullah Ocalan, who began his political life as an adherent of Stalinism and was the head of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PPK) that had been engaged in a guerrilla war for the national liberation of the Kurdish people in Turkey.
In 1999, Ocalan was captured in Kenya — in an incident involving intelligence agencies from Turkey, the US and Greece — and tried for treason by the Turkish state. He was initially sentenced to death, but that was commuted to a life sentence as, at that point, the Turkish state had aspirations of joining the EU.
Since then, he has been held on the prison island of Imrali, often as the only prisoner, and now in total isolation since April 2015 — indeed the right-wing Erdogan regime has even denied visitation by his family members and lawyers (presently hundreds of people across the world are on hunger strike demanding an end to his isolation).
In the early 2000s, Ocalan nonetheless began a process of reflecting on what went wrong with past revolutionary struggles, most notably the Russian Revolution and the communist party’s rise to power as head of the Chinese state. During these revolutions, the energy of millions of people was released, a hope of a better future grew, only to flounder on the rise of the totalitarian states that emerged.
At the same time, Ocalan also began reading the works of libertarian socialist and social ecologist Murray Bookchin, as well as studying the experiences of the anarchist-syndicalist inspired Spanish Revolution of 1936 (which was one of the most radical revolutions in terms of worker democracy and control; although it too is not well known).
Ocalan came to the conclusion that the main reason past revolutions had failed is that they did not put an end to the structure of the state. Rather, communist parties entered the state and through that process, the leaders of these parties became rulers and a new elite within those societies.
In these states figures such as Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Mao and those loyal to them held real power; not the majority of people. Ocalan, therefore, argued that all states, whether claiming to be revolutionary or not, were hierarchical and subjugated, oppressed and exploited the majority of people.
He also argued states were inherently patriarchal and first arose in societies where a minority became an elite ruling class, but also importantly, in ones in which men began oppressing women and exploiting their labour. He concluded, due to their very structures — which centralised power — states could not escape or be altered to fundamentally shift away from their original purpose: Enabling an elite to hold power and rule over society.
Ocalan maintained that if a revolution was to be achieved, women’s liberation would have to be a central component. He also reasoned that capitalism needed to be replaced, but so too did the state. To replace these he argued for a communal economy that was based on the socialisation of the means of production and production for need, not profit.
He also argued such an economy needed to be ecologically sustainable and democratic. To replace the state, he maintained federated assemblies and councils should be created and they should function on the basis of direct democracy.
This, he felt, would prevent the emergence of an elite as within direct democracy there could be no hierarchy as delegates were always subject to the will of assemblies at the base of society. Monopolisation could not take place in a socialised and democratic economy.
By the mid-2000s most people involved in the Kurdish national liberation struggle in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran had come to adopt Democratic Confederalism. With this, they began to attempt to forge a new world in the shell of the old by building a mass movement of community-based councils and assemblies across southern Turkey, northeastern Syria, northern Iraq and northwestern Iran.
In this, direct democracy, feminism and participatory praxis replaced undemocratic notions of hierarchy and vanguardism as defining features of the Kurdish national liberation struggle.
Implementing Democratic Confederalism
Since 2012, when the Syrian state left the north and eastern parts of the country, people in this area known as Rojava — Kurds, Turks and Arabs — expanded these structures of direct democracy. As part of this, they set up thousands of communes — made up of 60 to 100 households — right across Rojava to run the society from the grassroots on the basis of a radical democracy without a state.
People themselves, through participation in the communes, decide through direct democracy on policies, plans, and how to meet needs in their own communities. They democratically deal with issues such as crime at a local level and use restorative justice as opposed to punitive justice in order to constructively heal communities.
This includes dealing with issues such as gender-based violence. Due to having a history of being involved in a movement based on direct democratic organisations, people were already familiar with such politics and putting such a system fully into practice was not alien.
The communes, in fact, have full autonomy and are where true power resides. Through mass meetings, they are the sole decision-making bodies regarding the economy, services, development, education and defence in the areas they cover. No structure or institution has any right or ability to override decisions made by the communes.
The communes, while being autonomous, are federated into neighbourhood assemblies — in this, the communes send mandated and recallable delegates to neighbourhood assemblies to share their ideas, views and plans to ensure co-ordination from below. Recallable delegates from the neighbourhood assemblies are then sent to City Assemblies. These are all linked through delegates that are sent to a structure that covers the entire region, named the Syrian Democratic Council.
By 2016, a form of representative democracy had also been introduced in the Syrian Democratic Council. Other parties and formations — who were not mandated delegates from the communes and assemblies — also began to participate in the Syrian Democratic Council through an election.
This has proven to be a controversial issue. Some argue that the introduction of a form of representative democracy in the Syrian Democratic Council undermines the direct democracy envisioned in Democratic Confederalism. They contend it introduces practices similar to those of a state. Others argue that it was a necessary step to ensure unity of the people of Rojava in the face of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attacks and some form of international recognition.
Linked to this argument, its proponents contend that as a minority of parties and organisations had refused to participate in the communes and neighbourhood assemblies some form of representative democracy in the Syrian Democratic Council was necessary to also give such people a say. Those defending this move also point out that the communes remain the real holders of power and the Syrian Democratic Council cannot override their decisions nor impose any policy, practice or law on them.
Ultimately it does seem to be the case that the communes do hold real power, although introducing elements of representative democracy in the Syrian Democratic Council holds the real danger of introducing new hierarchies. An important development, though, is that women play a central role in this system of Democratic Confederalism. Each assembly or council — including the Syrian Democratic Council — have to ensure gender parity among delegates. To have a quorum in commune meetings at least 40% of the participants have to be women.
In the process of the revolution, real strides have been made to create a genuinely democratic form of people’s power with women playing a central role. As the fighters from Rojava have rolled back ISIS, new areas have joined the system of self-governance based on Democratic Confederalism. Presently 4.6 million people live and participate in this system, now known as the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.
On the economic front, there has been an attempt to replace capitalism with a communal economy. At the heart of this experiment are worker self-managed co-operatives that produce not for profits, but to meet peoples’ needs. Besides being based on workers’ democracy, these co-operatives are also accountable to everyone involved in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria through being answerable to the federated communes.
Large industries, of which oil is the only real one, and ex-state-owned commercial farms have also been socialised — that is, ownership is by all. By some estimates, 70% of economic activity is conducted through co-operatives. Small-sized businesses still do exist, but these are required to be based on meeting peoples’ needs and are reportedly accountable to the communes — to temper profit motives and price gouging.
Threats from many sides
Over the course of almost seven years, the people of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria — mainly through democratic militia — have fought off the many dangers that have been posed to the revolution, which have included the forces of the Syrian state, ISIS and the Turkish state.
In the process a tactical military alliance was formed in 2015 with the US — it only arose because the Kurdish forces proved the most capable in combating ISIS. The US, as always, has only adhered to the tactical military alliance for its own purposes and has categorically refused to politically recognise the existence of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria. It recently mooted that its troops would pull out of Syria in a move that will give the Turkish state a free hand to militarily intervene against the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.
In January 2019, the Turkish state in fact began to make plans for the invasion of northern Syria to end the revolution. The Turkish state fears the revolution will spread into Turkey itself and it does not want an experiment in direct democracy, feminism, ecology, anti-statism, and anti-capitalism to succeed.
Already in 2018, the Turkish state invaded part of Rojava, Afrin, and is now unleashing plans to invade the rest of north and eastern Syria. These plans have been condemned by the peoples of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria. They have called for a genuine international peacekeeping force to be deployed to prevent the invasion. Indeed, if such an invasion occurs there will be a massive escalation of the war in Syria, which will at the very least lead to thousands more deaths and hundreds of thousands of new refugees.
Showing us the potential for a better way
Despite some weaknesses and the threats the revolution faces, it is a beacon of hope. For South Africans, the revolution in northern and eastern Syria holds real lessons and potential hope.
When the liberation movement in South Africa gained state power, it promised to use this to improve people’s lives, end racism, address sexism and bring about equality. This has flatly failed to happen.
Ocalan’s analysis that once in state power, former liberation movements become a new elite and new rulers that develop self-serving interests precisely due to their new power and privileged positions they occupy, has proven to be correct. It is exactly why we sit with corruption throughout the state in South Africa as officials abuse the hierarchical power they have to enrich themselves.
Democratic Confederalism, as is shown in Syria, offers another way to run society. Its direct democracy can temper corruption and create greater equality as power cannot be centralised in such a system and wealth cannot be accumulated individually.
Developments in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria also demonstrate how a non-racial society can be built through a radical democracy and that gender relations can be changed through a participatory revolutionary process. This is something that is desperately needed in South Africa where gender-based violence, sexism and racism are everyday occurrences.
In South Africa, we are saddled with one of the most corrupt private sectors in the world. Practices such as price gouging, collusion, transfer pricing and tax evasion/avoidance are prevalent in the private sector.
Working conditions, especially in the agricultural sector, are often harsh and even brutal. Pay is often low, which is one of the reasons we are one of the most unequal societies in the world. Unemployment, too, is rife and precarious work a growing phenomenon.
Past revolutions have shown, however, that nationalisation is often not the answer. Developments in Syria to create a socialised communal economy that is democratic shows another path could be followed.
In order to create a more democratic and egalitarian path (which Democratic Confederalism shows can be done), a new mass movement with a new vision, clear ethics, sound principles and truly democratic practices in South Africa is needed.
Without such a movement we will remain mired in a society defined by exploitation and corruption. To build such a movement will be no easy task, but it is what is needed: What the revolution in northern Syria shows is that it can be done. DM
Shawn Hattingh is a Research & Education Officer with the International Labour, Research & Information Group.
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Syrian Kurds welcome UN report documenting war crimes in Afrin
Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters enter the center of Afrin on March 18, 2018, and destroy the Kurdish Kawa statue. (Photo: Social Media)
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A representative of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) in the United States has welcomed the latest report the United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria released on Thursday that described the practices by Turkish-backed groups in Afrin as war crimes.
Sinam Mohamad, an SDC representative in the US, said the UN report is “a good sign and start” to shed light on the violations in Afrin, but emphasized that more had to be done.
According to Mohamad, the Turkish occupation in Afrin must end, and the Turkish-backed groups need to leave. Turkey and its armed groups occupiedthe former Kurdish-held region on March 18, 2018.
“Nobody mentioned anything about the violation of human rights, the kidnapping of women, the taking of lands of people, the selling of Afrin’s olive oil by Turkey to Europe, and the demographic change, which is the most dangerous,” she stated.
In its report, the UN said that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that armed group members in Afrin committed the war crimes of hostage-taking, cruel treatment, torture, and pillage.”
“Due to the glaring absence of the rule of law, it similarly remains unclear whether Turkish forces were capable of exercising overall control over any armed groups present in the district,” it added.
Related Article: UN report suggests Turkish-backed groups commit war crimes in Afrin
Several civilians from Afrin who were displaced to the Kurdish city of Kobani confirmed to Kurdistan 24 that many human rights violations had taken place, including torture, kidnapping, and the pillaging of Afrin’s olives.
According to one civilian, Turkish-backed rebel groups arrested him on several occasions.
“I was arrested. They tied my leg with a rope, hanged it on the roof, and beat me with cables,” the civilian, who identified as the pseudonym Ali, recounted.
One Turkish-backed group detained Ali for two months before eventually releasing him.
After this, he attempted to flee from Afrin by going to Idlib and tried to cross the border to Turkey. However, groups in control of the border arrested Ali and brought him back to Afrin.
He eventually paid $1,100 to a Kurdish member of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to bring him to Ain Dadat, close to Manbij. From there, Ali was able to reach areas the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) control and now lives in Kobani.
Mohamad underlined that the return of Afrin civilians to their original homes, and the departure of Turkish-backed groups is of paramount significance.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Turkish attack on Afrin resulted in the collapse of the local health system and displaced 167,000 people. Local Kurdish officials say the number is even higher.
“We need a solution,” the SDC official said. “The war crimes are ongoing there, and they have not stopped.”
Furthermore, Turkey has settled thousands of families and fighters from areas like Eastern Ghouta, Douma, Homs, Idlib, and Deir al-Zor to replace the local population.
Mohamad called on the Turkish army to leave Afrin and end its violations, so “the people in the camps can go back to their city and villages.”
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
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JACOBIN MAGAZINE
Rojava Is Under Existential Threat
Donald Trump’s announced withdrawal from Syria would actually entrench US imperialism in the region — and open up the Kurds’ revolution in Rojava to extermination and colonization.
Local residents speak with a Kurdish soldier while an oil well burns in the distance on November 10, 2015 near the town of Hole in the autonomous region of Rojava, Syria. John Moore / Getty
A Colonial Handover
How would the US relate to the Syrian Kurds and Turkey under Trump’s withdrawal?
In a 2017 report, James F. Jeffrey, the Trump-appointed special representative for Syria engagement, prescribed a change of course.
“Turkey, a NATO member, sits on prime real estate . . . of central importance for U.S. policy in southern Europe and the Middle East,” Jeffrey observed. However, Washington’s “mishandling of the Syrian civil war, along with its tilt toward the PYD in the fight against IS in eastern Syria, risks forcing Turkey ever more into the Russian camp.” To remedy this risk, Jeffrey promoted a “transactional reordering” of relations with Turkey and the wider Middle East, hoping to appease Erdoğan’s drive for “Ataturk-like power.” For example, “the United States can quietly guarantee Turkey that the Armenian Genocide resolution in Congress will not pass,” or adopt a bilateral “model like the US-Israel arms sales relationship to ensure” smooth sales of the costly “F-35” program. If Washington reaches “an agreement with Turkey on its northern Syrian safe zone that would support the Turks and their Syrian opposition allies with advisory teams and airpower . . . and refuse to recognize PYD autonomy, much of the rancor in the current relationship would dissipate.”
That’s one plan. Then there is National Security Advisor John Bolton’s alternative five-point plan, which proposes what amounts to another “safe zone,” this one manned by the Kurdish National Council’s (ENKS) Rôj Peshmerga militia, the Syrian wing of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq (which has strong ties to Erdoğan’s party). Bolton’s plan is favored by the establishment in Washington because it would shift political decision-making in Rojava to the safe neoliberal center. Air support from a potential KSA-UAE-Egypt alliance would then mollify the worries of some Arab states, as well as the Israeli military, about further extension of Iran, Qatar, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s reach in Syria. Here, the United States would save face by not “abandoning the Kurds” and slow down ongoing talks between the PYD and Assad, while retaining de facto control over North and North Eastern Syria.
Either way, the US withdrawal hides a grand strategy to further entrench US imperialism in the region. Americans are not leaving Syria. They’re simply transferring their interests to NATO members and allies. And since the TAF is not even prepared to replace the US Army for such a mission — given the purges the TAF’s personnel has experienced since the attempted coup in Turkey in 2016 — the United States would have to offer “substantial military support, including airstrikes, transport and logistics.” In other words, deeper US military involvement.
Unfortunately, this basic fact has escaped some on the Left, who have taken the purported US pullout at face value and, at times, been willing to believe alternative truths about the revolution in Rojava or dismiss its participants as pawn on the imperialist chessboard. Take, for instance, the infamous 2015 Amnesty International report about alleged human rights abuses by the SDF, which the UN has since debunked. Amid the cacophony raised by this charade, Erdoğan’s expansionist project disguises itself as “anti-imperialist” to silence the real leftist program — the one in Rojava.
More fundamentally, the ready celebration of what is in fact a colonial handover suffers from a lack of awareness about the histories and specificities of oppressed peoples’ struggles in the Middle East against the region’s neoliberal and imperialist states.
Kurdistan, a Colony
Adopting Frantz Fanon’s words, we can say that for the Kurd there is only one destiny: to become a non–Kurd. Assimilation or disappearance has been the colonial reality of the so-called “Kurdish Question” in the Middle East since the beginnings of the modern nation-state, particularly in Turkey and Syria.
The plans for a “safe zone” controlled by Turkey would involve resettling millions of Arab Syrian refugees, currently in Turkey, in Rojava’s Kurdish areas near the Turkish border. The Erdoğan regime, known for pushing neoliberal policies driven by the twin profit motors of construction and energy, have put housing projects for the settlers on the colonial agenda to boost the Turkish economy. The scale of it would be staggering.
In fact, such a colonial-settler project surpasses, in both size and scope, Syrian president Hafez al-Assad’s 1973 completion of the original “Arab Belt” project, which deported 140,000 Kurds from 332 villages in Rojava over ten years to Syria’s southern desert regions, replacing them with twenty-five thousand Arab families in forty-one “model villages.” Demographic engineering lies at the heart of colonial Turkification and Arabization policies that have dominated the region’s political and social realities, from Syria to Turkey and then to Iraq and Iran, against Kurds and Armenians among others.
In the case of Turkey, the state has always attempted to integrate and homogenize the dissident Kurdish regions in its territory into a common cultural stream, first by invading their traditional home places and then by razing them to create spaces of control and discipline. For example, after the 1938 Dersim massacre, which saw tens of thousands killed following a Kurdish uprising against state repression, the Turkish state redistributed the remaining Kurdish population of the area to various majority-Turkish cities. The Turkish state employed the same approach again in the 1990s, when the military burned down more than four thousand Kurdish villages, displacing the entire rural population of the majority-Kurdish Southeast. In both cases, the Turkish state’s primary aim was to domesticate those resisting its aggressive Turkification policies.
Scholars like Ismail Beşikçi, a sociologist of Turkish origin, have shown that the Turkish state’s institutionalized policies against its Kurdish population exhibit a “genocidal character.” Beşikçi also argues that despite the political appearances and differences between Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, the four nation-states share the cooperative goal of denying their Kurds the right to dignified existence, forging the Kurdish Question in the process — or in his words, the “international colony of Kurdistan.”
The colonial reality of the Kurdish Question, however, is not limited by its territorial determinations and histories either; it is not reducible to the division and allocation of predominantly Kurdish lands in the early twentieth century to the newly born states of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq by imperialist powers. The international colonization of Kurdistan must be understood as a continuum that appears in how citizenship is defined and distributed by state powers across the Middle East.
In Turkey, the state traditionally considered Kurds “pseudo-citizens” who stood outside the boundaries of the Turkish nation, only granted citizenship rights (and an assimilated Kurd identity card) if they relinquished their mother tongue, history, and identity. Beşikçi recalls an ironic scene from the martial law court of Diyarbakır, Turkey, in 1971, where “persons who spoke Kurdish and not even one word of Turkish were said to be Turks, despite the fact that the courts were forced to hire interpreters to communicate with the accused.”
Historically, Kurdistan has therefore been a sort of hybrid colony — assaulted by the various colonial practices of four nation-states, intertwined with the geopolitics of imperialist powers.
“Playing One’s Own Game”
The Kurdish liberation movement is marked by the contradiction that, as Gramsci put it, “whatever one does one is always playing somebody’s game.” He added: “The important thing is to seek in every way to play one’s own game with success.”
Statelessness is one such hurdle. In Syria, a special census, decree No. 93, ordered in 1963 by President Nazim al-Qudsi, stripped 120,000 Kurds of citizenship. By the onset of the Syrian revolution, the descendants of this group numbered more than three hundred thousand, divided into the two extra-legal categories of ajanib, or foreigners, and maktumin, literally undocumented migrants in their own country.
Kurds have tried to make the best of this situation, orienting their strategy and theory toward overcoming it. Abdullah Öcalan, the Kurdish liberation theorist, developed his theory of Democratic Confederalism as one rooted in statelessness, which Syrian Kurds took up as a framework for grassroots organization in the decade preceding the Syrian revolution.
Öcalan’s writings on women’s liberation in the Middle East are no less Machiavellian in both strategic foresight and liberatory aptitude. He regards women’s emancipation “as a tool to destroy the structures of feudal Kurdish society,” where “women were at the bottom of a tribal hierarchy.” He recognizes that “feudal family and tribal structures presented an obstacle to [political] recruitment” and so “breaking down the established patriarchal social order would allow for the emergence of a new society in which women would take part equally.” (The destruction of the patriarchal family structure is doubly important, since the TAF arms and co-opts conservative Kurdish tribes in its war against the PKK.)
The implicit and explicit contradictions of this agenda only underscore the agency and remarkable accomplishments of the Kurdish women’s revolutions in Turkey and Syria. A gender distribution ratio in government, local feminist courts, a social contract that women have played a central role in writing and executing, indigenous and autonomous communalism — all are part of the feminist program in Rojava.
The danger in this Gramscian game, however, is that one might become too prone to playing another’s game. For example, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has maintained military bases and airports in Rojava throughout the civil war, since it handed control of Rojava over to the PYD at the outset of the Syrian revolution. (So sure was Bashar al-Assad of continued Kurdish subservience that he even left some guns behind, so the Kurds may fend for themselves.)
One might call this development inevitable, given the PYD’s mistrust of the Turkish-backed opposition umbrella organization, the Syrian National Council (SNC). But it was a position that only alienated the Syrian opposition, who then refused all PYD overtures to join opposition talks on Syria’s future — and who, save for the too-late and even-then-ambiguous Kurdish Issue Charter, had refused to recognize Kurdish demands for federalism. In fact, it is another one of the flaws of some parts of the international left that it continues to condemn the Kurds for refusing to embrace the Sunni and Arab vision of the Spring in Syria.
The PYD’s brief spring of autonomy came to a near end in 2014, when a well-armed ISIS found its way well into the gates of the city of Kobane. Here, the United States entered the Kurdish picture, seeing that its support for a failing Free Syrian Army (FSA) only amounted to a handover to ISIS of the military equipment it supplied to the FSA via Saudi intermediation – weaponry lost to ISIS in battle after battle. US airstrikes against ISIS positions in Kobane then enabled Rojava’s People’s and Women’s Protection Units (YPG and YPJ) to mount a resistance that has since become known as the Stalingrad monument of the war against ISIS.
Of course, the US deployed the narrative of a “war on terror” only as a pretext to attach itself to the PYD/YPG, and as a means to preserve its many interests in the Middle East, one of which is to obstruct the Iranian Shiite Corridor — a path laden with missile depots and stretching from Iraq to Western Syria to the Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon, ending right at Israel’s doorstep. In return, the YPG sought to wipe out ISIS by taking over oil fields in central Syria that funded the group’s reign of terror. In the process, the logistical necessities of driving ISIS out of Rojava also rendered the YPG/J dependent on the US’s might and tact. Add to such military exigencies the severe psychological impact of the atrocities committed by ISIS in Kurdish-majority areas, and it becomes evident that in the formation of the SDF in 2015, under US supervision, we are dealing with a situation in which Rojava’s revolution — built on confederalism and radical democracy — has been pushed toward an anti-ISIS and pro-security and territorial insurrectionary discourse.
Now, with the end of the war against ISIS and with US positions firmly anchored in Syria, the restoration of the status quo in Syria returns the Gramscian Rojava to the status of the odd one out, once again. And having put aspects of its internationalist project on hold, in favor of an understandable drive for security, Rojava finds itself dispensable and replaceable by any bully with a bigger gun — such as Turkey, who can lay claim to securing the remaining pockets of ISIS in Syria. Perhaps, then, the political lesson here is that if a revolutionary force engages in a “war of maneuver” with the aid of a hegemon, it should not lose sight of how that hegemon might be engaged in a careful, atrocious “war of position.”
The SDF’s alternatives to the US’s plans are less clear cut. Damascus’s Russian-dictated reaction to the list of ten reconciliation demands put forward by the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the SDF’s political wing, has been lukewarm. Assad is likely weighing the perils of making peace with an armed and organized Rojava in a postwar scene where he will already have his hands full with the reconstruction capital pouring in from Arab states. But after the bloodbath and the chemical bombs, he must also be wary of another resurgence from Syria’s repressed Sunni majority, who kickstarted the revolution and who live between the Damascus strongholds and Rojava. Maintaining Turkey’s Kurdish problem might deter Turkey from sponsoring future revolts, while keeping a leash on Rojava.
As for Trump, his administration will likely seek a deal between the PYD and Turkey that aims to pacify Turkish fears by driving a wedge between the YPG/J and their PKK forbears in Turkey.
What the International Left Should Do
The people of Rojava have fought for their revolution, and their victories have been significant given the challenges. Without an amenable leftist state or party to aid them, their options were simple: die, or die. They have refused that result, fighting instead for a new state of life and politics.
What can the international left do to aid them now, at this crucial juncture? We should support shutting down arms sales to the Turkish state, including from Germany, England, and, of course, the United States. We should staunchly oppose the economic blockade Turkey has imposed on Rojava: items entering from Rojava’s border with Iraq are restricted to no more than the bare necessities of sustenance. Here, the international left could raise the costs of the Turkish embargo on Rojava by highlighting its counter-revolutionary character — an old imperialist measure also imposed on other revolutionary enclaves, such as Cuba — or circumvent state actors altogether by organizing direct international aid to Rojava’s people via leftist parties and sympathizers.
Unfortunately, the news from Rojava rarely makes it to the mainstream media, buried instead in a swamp of propaganda and fake news produced by Erdoğan’s cyber army. The news of the ethnic cleansing in Afrin has not been given center stage in the media, anywhere, for more than a year. So the international left must become a louder voice against the perpetuation of humanitarian disasters.
Both the United States and Russia should get out of Syria, and the international left should pressure the Assad regime to settle for a democratic program of the country’s transition to confederalism. It is crucial that a neutral and international peacekeeping force guarantees the peacefulness of such a transition for all inhabitants of Syria by barring the expansion of interventionist states already present in Syria, such as Turkey and Iran. Returning control of the province of Idlib, occupied at the moment by al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, to a local civilian administration, is integral to such a transition plan. Finally, the international left should support the HDP’s peace process in Turkey, so that Erdoğan’s war machine is deprived of preemptive pretexts once and for all.
Rojava, the site of a remarkable peoples’ revolution, is on the brink of colonization and extermination. The international left must stand against it.
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SDF says will focus on liberation of Afrin, sleeper cells after ISIS defeat
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The General Military Council of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Sunday said they would focus on the liberation of Afrin, which Turkey occupied in March last year, and combat Islamic State sleeper cells after the extremist group’s military defeat.
Among the SDF’s priorities after the Islamic State’s defeat isthe return of Afrin’s original inhabitants to their homes and an end to the demographic change in the region, the local Hawar News Agency (ANHA) reported.
The SDF leadership underlined in a statement that after the militant group is defeated, the Kurdish-led forces would focus on the elimination of sleeper cells through precise “military and security campaigns” with support from the US-led coalition.
It emphasized that the Islamic State is trapped in a small area in the Baghuz village and that the battle would end after they liberate prisoners and civilians from the extremist group.
The SDF also highlighted the importance of drying up the Islamic State’s “ideological and economic ground,” which the terrorists depend on.
Mustafa Bali, the head of the SDF media center, previously warned that the Islamic State as an ideology is not defeated yet.
“We, as the SDF, think that dealing with and finishing off the Islamic State militarily was the easy step, but now comes the more challenging phase,” he told Kurdistan 24.
In a meeting on Sunday, the SDF’s General Military Council discussed the future of northeastern Syria after the Islamic State’s defeat and the upcoming US withdrawal. Senior SDF leaders, such as Mazlum Kobani, the commander of the SDF, took part in the meeting.
In its statement, the General Military Council denied they are a danger to the Turkish state, underlining that Turkey is occupying Syrian territory, such as the town of Afrin, Al-Bab, Jarabulus, and Idlib.
Despite the occupation of Afrin and other cities, the SDF said they are ready “to solve problems with the Turkish state through dialogue and mutual respect,” noting they are ready to protect their areas “in any case of aggression.”
Regarding the establishment of a safe-zone or buffer zone under international supervision, the SDF said they would welcome it “to establish security and peace on our northern border.”
Senior US lawmakers and military officials are pressing America’s allies in Europe to commit hundreds of troops to create a buffer zone along Syria’s border with Turkey, Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin reported on Friday.
On relations with the Syrian government, the SDF military council said they are ready for dialogue in the framework of a united Syria, as long as it recognizes the special status of the SDF and constitutional recognition of the Democratic Autonomous Administration (DAA) of North and East of Syria.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
The Most Feminist Revolution the World Has Ever Witnessed
In Rojava, a Kurdish anarchist collective led by women is at the heart of the fight with ISIS, and behind a political upheaval putting equality front and centre.
Something extraordinary has happened in a corner of north-east Syria. It is a little-known story that defies the usual narratives about Syria or Assad, civil war or ISIS. It is nothing less than a political revolution, which bears important lessons for the rest of the world. In this revolution, women are in the vanguard, both politically and militarily, often leading the fight on the frontline and sacrificing their lives against the most atavistic and anti-woman enemy there is: the so-called Islamic State – or Daesh, as it is more derogatorily known.
This place is called Rojava, the Kurdish name for western Kurdistan, located in north-eastern Syria. After the collapse of the Assad regime in 2012, Kurdish parties began an extraordinary project of self-government and equality for all races, religions and women and men. I visited Rojava, in a personal capacity, in the summer of 2015 to try to understand what’s going on there for a documentary film about anarchism, which you can watch on iPlayer.
Few journalists visit this swath of land along the Turkish border, which is about half the size of Belgium. It’s difficult to reach and thus expensive, requiring a long journey from northern Iraq and a crossing of the Tigris by small boat onto Syrian soil. The Kurdish Regional Government of northern Iraq (KRG) is not sympathetic to the Kurds of Rojava, and makes access very difficult and sometimes impossible.
The few journalists who make it there tend to focus on the fight with ISIS, assuming that this is what most concerns western audiences. Rojava is safer than the main combat zones of Syria, but still suffers horrific suicide bombings, and western visitors would of course make a fine catch for Daesh kidnappers.
As a result, very little has been reported about the remarkable political experiment of Rojava.
What little commentary appears is often secondhand. It therefore frequently repeats earlier misconceptions or hostile propaganda put about, above all, by Turkey, which opposes the leading political party of the Rojava Kurds – the PYD – and the armed forces of Rojava, the People’s Self-Defence Units, which comprise the mostly male YPG and all-female YPJ. Nor does the political character of the Rojava revolution fit familiar pigeonholes; it is neither a nationalist Kurdish project for an independent state, nor is it Marxist or communist, nor driven by religious or ethnic motives.
Perhaps most remarkably – and, sadly, uniquely – this is perhaps the most explicitly feminist revolution the world has witnessed, at least in recent history. Previously, this area was home to traditional peasant norms, including child marriage and keeping women at home. These traditions have been overturned: child marriage, for instance, is now illegal. There are parallel women’s organisations in every field, ranging from the separate women’s militia, the YPJ, to parallel women’s communes and cooperatives. Self-defence is a principle of the Rojava revolution, which is why women are so active in the armed struggle – but the concept extends towards the right of self-defence against all anti-woman practices and ideas, including those of traditional society, not just the extreme violence of Daesh.
“From what I saw, this political transformation enjoyed widespread support from all: Kurds, Arabs, women and men, young and old. Why wouldn’t it? The whole point is to give everyone a say in their own government.”
In addition to ensuring complete equal rights for women, the feminist politics of Rojava aims to break down domination and hierarchy in every aspect of life, recasting social relations between all people regardless of age, ethnicity or gender, with the aim of achieving an ecologically and socially harmonious society. In terms of historical comparison, this project resembles most closely the short period of anarchism witnessed by George Orwell in Republican Spain during the Spanish civil war in the late 1930s. But the representatives of Rojava also reject the label of anarchism, even if much of the inspiration for this revolution came originally from an anarchist thinker from New York City, Murray Bookchin.
The political heart of the Rojava project is in the local communal assemblies, in which local people take decisions for themselves about everything that concerns them: healthcare, jobs, pollution… boys riding their bikes too fast around the village, as one woman complained about at an assembly I visited. Women and men are scrupulously given an equal voice. Women co-chair every meeting and every assembly. Non-Kurdish minorities, mostly Arabs but also Syriacs, Turkmen and Assyrians, are also given priority on the speaking list; at meetings I witnessed, interpreters were provided. This is self-government, where decisions for the village are taken by the village or region. If decisions cannot be made solely at the local level, representatives attend town or regional assemblies, but these representatives remain accountable to the communal level and may only offer views that are approved locally. It is a very deliberate attempt to keep decision-making as local as possible – a rejection of the top-down authority of the state.
Ironically, however, the inspiration for the revolution was very much top-down. Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the PKK (the Kurdish guerrilla movement in Turkey), read Murray Bookchin’s works while in a Turkish jail on an island in the Sea of Marmara (where he remains). Once a Marxist-Leninist and a ruthless military leader, Öcalan became convinced that self-government without the state was the way forward for the Kurdish people. He moulded Bookchin’s philosophy for the Kurdish context, calling it “democratic confederalism”. The Syrian Kurdish PYD is closely associated with the PKK. Following Öcalan, its cadres adopted democratic confederalism and implemented it in Syria.
Some have accused the PYD of domineering tactics, particularly at the start of this democratic revolution. Such conduct has given room for critics unreasonably to dismiss the whole project. From what I saw, this political transformation enjoyed widespread support from all: Kurds, Arabs, women and men, young and old. Why wouldn’t it? The whole point is to give everyone a say in their own government – a radical innovation anywhere, let alone in Syria, a country long accustomed to dictatorship and repression. I spoke to many people at random. They were uniformly positive, and many argued that the Rojava model, of highly decentralised government, should be adopted in the whole of Syria and indeed beyond. But it’s also a work in progress. In some of the assemblies I attended, women and men sat separately, a mark of the journey from traditional practice that this revolution is still navigating.
The revolution has suffered considerable assault. Turkey opposes Rojava and has prevented all supplies, trade and humanitarian aid from crossing its border into the region. Today, Turkish forces are attacking the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which subsumes the YPG/YPJ and Arab militias into a common anti-ISIS front. The SDF has been the most effective force in fighting ISIS and has driven it back across hundreds of miles of territory, at the cost of thousands of lives. Now, the SDF – led by a woman commander, Rojda Felat – has started the attack on ISIS’s “capital”, Raqqa. The SDF currently enjoys US and allied military support, primarily from the air but also from American and allied special forces on the ground.
Therefore, US and indeed western governments are involved in a grotesque contradiction in which they permit NATO “partner” Turkey to attack the SDF – their most important ally in the fight against ISIS – while also proclaiming unyielding commitment to defeating ISIS. Thanks to an almost total absence of press coverage, this absurdity attracts no controversy in western capitals. Kurds worry, with reason, that once Raqqa falls the US will abandon the Kurds to Turkish aggression. Indeed, with Turkish attacks against the SDF intensifying in northern Syria in a canton called Afrin, some argue that this betrayal has already begun.
The hypocrisies of international geopolitical manoeuvring, however, should not obscure the importance of the Rojava democratic revolution. Thanks to its horrific tactics, ISIS attracts the attention, but in fact it is Rojava that carries the more important message for those who care about democracy. Rojava offers an alternative and practical example where the people are in charge, and it works. Rather than replicate the disastrous centralised governments of Iraq and Assad’s Syria, Rojava’s self-governing institutions have proposed their model for the whole of Syria once the Assad dictatorship comes to an end – and indeed, Rojava has renamed itself the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria in order to emphasise its multi-ethnic character and its acceptance of Syria’s existing borders, another divergence from the lazy western presumption that “the Kurds” want their own separate state.
But thanks to Turkish hostility, representatives of the Democratic Federation are excluded from the UN talks about the future of Syria – an injustice in which the US, UK and others acquiesce. The UN continues to pretend that “the Kurds” are represented by a party that is in fact a proxy of the KRG in Iraq. It is telling that international officials – mostly men who have never visited the area – still prefer outdated ethnic stereotypes to the more accurate cosmopolitan and feminist character of this project.
Meanwhile, the Rojava model is no less relevant in the west, where few can claim that democracy is in good health, with disillusionment and right-wing reactionary extremism – and, indeed, overt hostility to women (expressed not only by Donald Trump) – both ascendant. There are scores of westerners who, like the International Brigade of the Republican forces in Spain, have gone to join YPG and YPJ ranks. Several have lost their lives, including in recent days a former Occupy Wall Street activist from New York City. Some of these brave men and women have been prosecuted on their return home, punished for their commitment to democracy and equality. All suffer from the misrepresentation of their struggle in much of the international press. In reporting the death of the young Occupy activist, the Washington Post described the Rojava revolution as “pseudo-Marxist”, when it is the very opposite. In this democracy, there is no place for the state, at all. The people govern, the antithesis of state communism.
Thousands of YPG and YPJ fighters have died for this cause. During my visit, I met Viyan, a young woman YPJ soldier, on the front line – a huge gravel berm that stretched from horizon to horizon across a barren plain in southern Syria. ISIS positions were a few hundred metres away. A rifle over her shoulder, she told me that never before in her country, or the region, had women been equal to men. Without equality for women, there could be no justice in society. She was prepared to die to defend this dispensation. Tragically, Viyan was killed several months after our interview, fighting ISIS in the town of Al-Shaddadi.
Our film about the search for a better democracy is dedicated to her.
Carne Ross’s documentary film, Accidental Anarchist, is available to watch on iPlayer. This article represents his personal views only.
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Do not abandon us now, Kurdish leader tells the West as Isil battle draws to a close
Children of foreign Isil members risk becoming the next generation of jihadists if they are left in Syria, a senior Kurdish official has warned.
Unrepentant parents, such as Shamima Begum, could radicalise their children in sprawling Syrian desert camps, where security forces could lose track of them.
Ilham Ahmed, co chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said Britain must repatriate citizens who traveled to Syria or be prepared to commit “significant” resources to trying and detaining them in Syria.
“Them remaining in our area is a huge liability,” she told the Telegraph.
“We have fulfilled our duties. We have captured them and we have held them. We are now making sure they don’t escape,” said Ms Ahmed.
“Here in the West you have all the opportunities to try them. You have courts, you have the laws, you have prisons. All the means to give these people a trial and convict them… on behalf of these governments that these people are citizens of, ” said Ms Ahmed.
About 4,000 women and children from Isil families are currently being held in camps by the SDF, including Ms Begum, the 19-year-old from Bethnal Green who has said she has no regrets about joining the terror group.
Ms Ahmad said Ms Begum’s attitude was typical of many detainees.
“The majority of them say that – that they don’t have any regrets. And you can see that in the way they raise their children: they raise them in the ideology of Isil, and they still think that ideology is correct,” she said in an interview in London.
“That’s why it is not just enough to take these people back. They also need to be treated. The children, they need special care. So do the mothers.”
“The alternative would be that we receive a lot of support and assistance in trying these people in our region, in terms of courts, in turns of legal procedures and so on.”
Donald Trump, the US president, last week called on European governments to repatriate an estimated 800 foreign members of Isil who have been taken prisoner in Syria.
But Theresa May’s spokesman rebuffed the American suggestion on Monday, saying the fighters should be put on trial in places where they committed their crimes.
“Foreign fighters should be brought to justice in accordance with due legal process in the most appropriate jurisdiction,” Downing Street said. “Where possible, this should be in the region where the crimes had been committed.”
France and Germany have also rejected the idea, citing the difficulty of securing sufficient evidence and witness testimony to guarantee prosecutions.
Isil’s last redoubt in the eastern Syrian village of Baguz is expected to fall to the SDF and coalition forces imminently. Ms Ahmed is one of a number of senior Kurdish leaders taking part in a diplomatic blitz to convince Western governments not to abandon the SDF when it does.
They fear Mr Trump’s announcement in December that he will withdraw US forces from Syria will open space for a resurgence of Isil sleeper cells and allow Turkey to launch an attack on Kurdish forces.
“We do not even want to talk about the prospect of withdrawal without security guarantees,” she said. “We want aerial protection so there are no airstrikes. And we’d like to see observation on the border. We are concerned about a Turkish military attack.”
“We are now experiencing the last days before the announcement of the end of the operation. But after that we expect to begin a new process of getting rid of these sleeper cells and getting rid of other elements of Isil, and for that we will continue to need support,” she went on.
“In Raqqa there are daily explosions, kidnappings, and violence. Likewise in Deir Ezzor. So these things are still happening.”
Turkey considers the YPG, the Kurdish armed group that forms the core of the SDF, a terrorist organisation.
In December, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, threatened to launch a military operation to “wipe out terror groups east of the Euphrates.”
Ms Ahmed said Mr Trump had been supportive about the idea of a security zone when she met him in January, but that he had not mentioned any details. Kurdish leaders have rejected a proposal for a Turkish-controlled 30 kilometre “security area” inside Syria.
Turkey is a key Nato member and regional power, putting the United States and other coalition members, including Britain, in the uncomfortable position of choosing between two allies.
Ms Ahmed said the SDF could seek accommodation with Bashar al-Assad’s government and his Russian allies if Western coalition partners fail to guarantee security against potential Turkish attack.
“One solution could be regional protection forces in the north could become part of a new Syrian army – and note that I said ‘new’ Syrian army. It could not be under the current status quo, but if there is a new structure within the framework of a political solution.
“In the light of sudden announcements of withdrawals, without guarantees, without leaving us any kind of means to do things another way, this could be a solution,” she said.
Such an arrangement could be part of a proposed post-war constitutional settlement that Kurdish groups have drawn up as the fighting in Syria draws to a close.
Under the plan, powers would be devolved to the regions, and local parliaments would have representatives in Damascus. The rights of minorities and gender equality would be written into the constitution and Assad’s fate would be decided by an election.
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Syrian Kurdish leader: border force needed to protect us from Turkey
Ilham Ahmed says Kurds want allies from anti-Isis coalition on border to ensure Turkey does not attack
The leader of the Syrian Kurds has called for a small international observer force to be stationed on the Turkey-Syria border to protect Kurds from what she says is the threat of crimes against humanity committed by Turkish forces.
Ilham Ahmed is co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council – the political arm of the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which have been responsible for liberating much of north-eastern Syria from Islamic State.
Described as one of the most powerful women in Syria, Ahmed is leading a Kurdish delegation touring Washington, Paris and London to persuade western countries not to betray the Kurds by leaving them exposed to the threat of a Turkish attack.
Ahmed said a final SDF assault on the last Isis redoubt would finish within days. Plans requiring “time and patience” were being drawn up to eradicate sleeper cells, she said.
She was speaking in the wake of the shock announcement by Donald Trump that 2,000 US troops will leave north-west Syria on the basis that Isis had been defeated.
Ankara views the Kurdish forces in Syria as a terrorist threat and an extension of the Kurdish separatist movement within Turkey’s own borders.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has repeatedly warned America that a Turkish military operation against the US-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Manbij is near. “Our patience is not limitless, he said over the weekend. “If the terrorists are not removed from Manbij within a few weeks, our waiting period will end.”
Ahmed said: “After all that has happened, if there is an attack, we will regard those that remain silent in the face of those threats as guilty of crimes against humanity.
“It is not just there will no longer be any trust in the coalition forces who we have fought alongside, and that their credibility will have been lost forever. It will mean the emergence of very big wars in this area.
“Any attempt by the Turkish state to establish a safe zone in the north of Syria will be an occupation, and no matter that the Turkish state wants to convince others that it will be a force for calm in the region, this is not what will happen.
“We saw this in Afrin last year as they tried to erase our culture and remove people from their homes. Huge massacres have been committed by the Turks. A further attack will only bring more war, displacement, occupation and an attempt to destroy our culture.”
An international protection force would provide aerial defence, she said, but “we would like to see an international power on the border as observers to ensure that Turkey does not attack”.
The force would be composed of “states that have actively participated in the war against IS, and the UN should also play a role”, she said. She added discussions were continuing now on the size and composition of the force, but it could be a symbolic number.
She also said Kurds were willing to put foreign fighters on trial in Kurdish Syria if they were given major international support on the legal procedures. “It would be better if they were tried in their own countries,” she added.
She said 800 to 900 Isis foreign fighters were currently held in prison by the Kurds and about 4,000 wives and children in refugee camps. She said: “We have not said we will let the fighters go, but if the Turks attack then it is true we will be fighting for our own existence and it is possible we may not be able to keep them under control and they may return to Europe. That is also at stake when we talk about an attack by the Turkish state.”
Ahmed denied the Kurds were actively discussing forming a security alliance of convenience with the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, if the West decided it could not protect the Kurds from a Turkish assault.
“The regime has shown no signs of interest in a meaningful dialogue with us about Syria’s future,” she said.
Any such dialogue would require a change by the regime, including agreement to a political solution about the future of a federated and unified Syria.
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America’s Kurdish allies risk being wiped out – by Nato
Turkey is seen as the Kurds’ mortal enemy but it uses German tanks and British helicopters: this is an international outrage
Remember those plucky Kurdish forces who so heroically defended the Syrian city of Kobane from Isis? They risk being wiped out by Nato.
The autonomous Kurdish region of Rojava in Northeast Syria, which includes Kobane, faces invasion. A Nato army is amassing on the border, marshaling all the overwhelming firepower and high-tech equipment that only the most advanced military forces can deploy. The commander in chief of those forces says he wants to return Rojava to its “rightful owners” who, he believes, are Arabs, not Kurds.
Last spring, this leader made similar declarations about the westernmost Syrian Kurdish district of Afrin. Following that, the very same Nato army, using German tanks and British helicopter gunships, and backed by thousands of hardcore Islamist auxiliaries, overran the district. According to Kurdish news agencies, the invasion led to over a 100,000 Kurdish civilians being driven out of Afrin entirely. They reportedly employed rape, torture and murder as systematic means of terror. That reign of terror continues to this day. And the commander and chief of this Nato army has suggested that he intends to do to the rest of North Syria what he did to Afrin.
I am speaking, of course, of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is, increasingly, Turkey’s effective dictator. But it’s crucial to emphasize that these are Nato forces. This not only means they are supplied with state-of-the-art weaponry; it also means those weapons are being maintained by other Nato members.
Fighter jets, helicopter gunships, even Turkey’s German-supplied Panzer forces – they all degrade extremely quickly under combat conditions. The people who continually inspect, maintain, repair, replace, and provide them with spare parts tend to be contractors working for American, British, German or Italian firms. Their presence is critical because the Turkish military advantage over Northern Syria’s “People’s Defense Forces” (YPG) and “Women’s Defense Forces” (YPJ), those defenders of Kobane that Turkey has pledged to destroy, is entirely dependent on them.
That’s because, aside from its technological advantage, the Turkish army is a mess. Most of its best officers and even pilots have been in prison since the failed coup attempt in 2016, and it’s now being run by commanders chosen by political loyalty instead of competence. Rojava’s defenders, in contrast, are seasoned veterans. In a fair fight, they would have no more problem fending off a Turkish incursion than they had driving back Turkish-backed Jihadis in the past.
A “fair fight” in this case would mean having access to anti-tank and anti-air weapons. But this is precisely what the Trump administration promised Turkey it would not let the Kurds have. Even those forces directly working with the US and British troops to defeat Islamic State were never to receive the defensive weapons needed to fend off the Turkish air and armored assault that would inevitably follow – which, if Afrin is anything to go by, may be backed by napalm and cluster bombs.
The moment those forces are withdrawn, however, their former allies will be sitting ducks, unable to defend themselves against the advanced weaponry that Britain and the US themselves help provide to Turkey and maintain.
Typically, the western media treats Turkey as some kind of peculiar rogue state whose periodic outbursts of violence directed at Kurdish civilians – the bombing and destruction of its own south-eastern cities in 2015, the reported ethnic cleansing of Afrin, and the ongoing attacks on villages in Iraq – must be tolerated lest it aligns with enemies like Iran or Russia. Similarly, pundits and politicians seem to whistle and look the other way as Erdoğan arrests or jails tens of thousands of people, including teachers, journalists and elected parliamentarians for saying things he doesn’t like – or even when or even when he publicly declares that “no European in any part of the world can walk safely on the streets” if they defy him.
But Turkey is not a rogue state. Turkey is Nato. Its army guards Europe’s eastern flank. Its police and security forces are charged with halting the flow of refugees from Middle Eastern wars to Europe – which increasingly involves opening fire with machine guns on refugees at the border – a service for which it is paid millions of euros in direct compensation.
It is only because Turkey is a member of Nato that its government managed to have the Kurdish guerrillas of the PKK (the Kurdish Worker’s Party), the guerrilla insurgents that have been fighting for autonomy in south-east Turkey since the 1990s, placed on the “international terror list” in 2004, at precisely the moment the PKK renounced demands for a separate state and offensive operations and attempted to enter into peace negotiations. It should be noted that this “terror” designation applies almost exclusively among Nato countries; the PKK is certainly not listed as a “terror” organization by the United Nations, India, China or even Switzerland.
It is because Turkey is Nato that the western press has to take seriously its bizarre claims that the experiment in feminist democracy underway in Rojava is itself a form of “terrorism”.
It is because Turkey is Nato, and guards Europe’s borders, that the US and European powers looked the other way or even expressed support when its army descended on the hitherto peaceful enclave of Afrin, in violation of all international law. As the Turkish army did so, it suggested it would not just to ethnically cleanse the Kurdish population and put an end to their own experiment with feminist democracy, but also to use the district to resettle the families of the most avid Islamist rebels who might otherwise have migrated to Europe.
It is because Turkey is Nato that the western press feels obliged to play along with the charade that it is an enemy of Isis, despite endless evidence of active Turkish collaboration with Isis, and the fact, known to everyone in the region, that Turkish “offensives” against Isis in Syria have largely consisted of bribing Isis commanders to switch sides.
As a result, we are left with the bizarre spectacle of “former” al-Qaida and Isis Jihadis working with Erdogan to fight the YPG as part of a 100,000-strong mercenary force. In addition, men like Seyf Ebu Bekir, who was an Isis commander when it was carrying out its notorious Paris nightclub massacres, are now commanders in the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army. For his part, Ebu Bekir has warned France not to interfere with Turkish plans to unleash Nato forces to destroy Isis’s old Kurdish arch-enemies.
If all this is difficult to comprehend, it’s partly because so many of us – including many who fancy themselves “anti-imperialists” – seem to have forgotten how empires actually work. The British empire didn’t send British troops into combat very often either. Nato powers are arming and maintaining the security forces of their official ally, Turkey, to fly its Nato planes and drive its Nato tanks and shoot at refugees, in the same way Turkey is reportedly employing al-Qaida and Isis legions to do its dirty work of human wave attacks and ethnic cleansing. We have defanged the terrorists by, effectively, putting them on retainer, in much the same way Rome once employed Alaric the Goth, or the US, Osama bin Laden. And we know how well that worked out.
There are alternatives. International powers could lift the de facto Nato embargo that prevents the forces that defeated Isis from defending themselves. There are calls for an international no-fly zone, preferably on the authority of the UN security council, enforced by a country other than America – possibly France, or even Russia. This too would allow the YPG/J to fight on equal terms. Rojava’s defenders are perfectly capable of fending off the Turkish army if that army’s high tech advantage is neutralized.
In the long run, the Turkish government needs to stop reacting to those who have a different vision of how life could be lived by trying to murder them, and return to the peace table. The same could be said for Syria, where Rojava’s decentralized model could be key to resolving the conflict.
But for now, we need an urgent response to the risk faced by Kurds in Rojava. The situation is growing more dire by the day – and it is quite possible that Nato will soon conduct one of the worst genocidal massacres of the 21st century.
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US-backed forces ready to form international safe zone to protect all ethnic groups
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The US-backed, Syrian Kurdish-led forces say they are ready to help form an international-backed safe zone in northern Syria as long as there is no “foreign intervention,” in reference to a possible Turkish incursion.
In a statement on Wednesday, the General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said they would “offer all the support and necessary aid to form the safe zone that is being circulated regarding the north and east of Syria.”
The statement said the safe zone would “ensure the protection of all ethnic groups and [protect] them from dangers of extermination through an international guarantee.”
It added that the safe zone would prevent foreign intervention by Turkey through “the protection of the components of the region and… factors of security and stability.”
According to the SDF, it has never posted “an external threat factor against any of the neighboring countries, especially Turkey, with which we hope to reach mutual understandings and solutions which would ensure the continued stability and security in the border regions (with it).”
The SDF statement added that since its establishment they had exerted all efforts to combat terrorism, including against the Islamic State and other radical organizations.
“We have achieved great successes in these difficult and painstaking missions, through work and coordination with our partners in the international coalition led by the United States.”
Different ethnic groups such as Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Assyrians inhabit Syria’s northeast. Moreover, there are also Muslims, Christians, Yezidi’s, and other religious minorities living in the area.
According to the SDF, their primary task is to protect all ethnic components in northeast Syria. “We could almost say that our region is the only region in which all components of Syria coexist,” it stated.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump suggested in a tweet that a 20-mile “safe zone” would be created in northeastern Syria. A day later, his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Ankara would set up a security zone some 30-kilometers (18 miles) deep into northeastern Syria in coordination with Washington.
However, top Syrian Kurdish official Aldar Xelil told ANHA news agency that the Kurdish self-administration would not accept a Turkish-controlled safe zone.
“We would not accept that. We can accept a security area under the auspices of the UN,” but not Ankara, Xelil emphasized.
On Jan. 2, the chair of the German Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee argued that the UN should create a buffer zone to protect Syria’s Kurdish population.
Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, told German media outlet Deutschlandfunk in an interview that France and Germany could propose this idea in a UN Security Council meeting.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Murad, the representative of the self-administration of North and East Syria in Germany, told Kurdistan 24 in early January that the international community should establish a no-fly zone.
“We hope the international states like the US, France, Germany, and the UK will prevent [a Turkish attack] and create a no-fly zone area for the people,” Murad said. “This would help us eradicate ISIS and find a solution to the Syrian conflict.”
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
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Turkey rejects Trump adviser John Bolton’s Syria plan, insisting it will fight Kurdish militia
‘John Bolton made a serious mistake on this issue. Whoever thinks like that is making a mistake,’ says Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Hardline White House national security adviser John Bolton’s last-ditch attempt to secure his faction’s goals for a planned US withdrawal from Syria appeared to go down in flames on Tuesday as Turkey’s president rejected any protection for the Washington-allied Kurdish militia, and even refused to meet with the firebrand conservative.
Instead, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took to the floor of parliament in Ankara, announcing that Turkish armed forces had “mostly completed our preparations for a military offensive against” Isis elements in Syria as per an agreement with US president Donald Trump forged last month.
“Likewise, we are determined to take our steps against terror organisations such as the PYD/YPG [Kurdish People’s Democratic Union and its allied militia and political organisation in Syria] along with Daesh [Isis],” he said. “We will act to neutralise those terror organisations in Syria very soon.”
Mr Bolton, a Washington fixture known for his hawkish foreign policy positions, arrived in Ankara with his own travelling press in an apparent attempt to convince Turkey to avoid attacking Syrian Kurds. He has also demanded that any US withdrawal be conditioned on Iranian-backed forces leaving Syria, and steps put in place for the political change in Damascus.
Instead, Mr Bolton left Ankara without even meeting Mr Erdogan, who was cited by the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper as insisting “his busy schedule prevented him from meeting” Mr Bolton, whose public positions have contradicted those of his boss and US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who is also visiting the Middle East.
Mr Bolton and anti-Isis envoy Jim Jeffrey, arriving after a visit to Israel, met privately with Mr Erdogan’s senior adviser Ibrahim Kalin, who helped organise a 14 December phone call in which Mr Trump agreed to withdraw 2,000 or more US troops from Syria and hand control of anti-Isis efforts to Turkey.
Meanwhile, Mr Erdogan publicly hammered Mr Bolton.
“It is not possible for us to accept and swallow the message that Bolton gave from Israel,” he told lawmakers. Turkey, along with most independent analysts and US intelligence agencies, considers the YPG inseparable from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, an outlawed separatist organisation deemed a terrorist group by Ankara, the US and Europe.
“If the US evaluates them as ‘Kurdish brothers’ then they are in a serious delusion,” Mr Erdogan said, in a televised speech interrupted by chants of “allahu akbar”, or God is great, by supporters. “John Bolton made a serious mistake on this issue. Whoever thinks like that is making a mistake.”
Many have voiced doubt over Turkey’s ability to fight Isis in Syria without continuing US air and intelligence support. But in a New York Times opinion piece published on Monday, Mr Erdogan spelt out Turkey’s plans for Isis-controlled Syria, noting that Turkish troops and allied local fighters left northern Syrian towns they liberated from extremists in far better shape than the US aerial bombardments that destroyed Raqqa and Mosul in their efforts to dislodge the jihadi group in 2017 and 2018.
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YPG: 2422 Turkish soldiers and mercenaries killed in 2018
YPG Press Office announced that 2422 members of the occupant Turkish army and allied mercenaries were killed during 2018 while 544 YPG fighters were martyred.
The Press Office of People’s Defense Units (YPG) released the balance sheet of resistance for 2018.
Full text of the YPG statement is as follows;
“People of Kurdistan, who have been fighting the good fight to protect basic values of humanity and particularly of the peoples of middle east, have again spearheaded the fight against evil in form of ISIS recently. Our people and fighters have fought have been fighting against ISIS barbarism and Turkish invasion and putting up a legendary resistance.
Our struggle today has turned into a legendary resistance which includes hundreds of internationalist fighters from all over the world and is ensuring co-existence of peoples in North Syria and Rojava Kurdistan. 2018 has become a year in which our struggle made a great progress and came to a prominence in region. At a time ISIS is on the brink of collapse, our people had to fight against invasion attempts by Turkey. The outcome of the battles and resistance by our fighters throughout the year is s follows;
1- Outcome of the resistance of Afrin which began on July 20 and ended in March 18
Airstrikes: 1098
Heavy weapons attacks: between 3577 and 4000
Engagement: 900
Operations with unclear results: 176
Destroyed military vehicles and aircrafts: 2 combat helicopters, 2 unmanned aerial vehicles, 122 military vehicles, 2 car bombs, 1 motorcycle
Damaged military vehicles: 32 (tanks, APCs, armoured vehicles)
Civilians killed: 224 (51 children, 42 women)
Civilians injured: 650 (87 children, 93 women)
Killed Turkish soldiers and mercenaries: 2422
544 fighters were martyred during the resistance as result of intense airstrikes and engagements with the occupying forces.
2- Outcome of the second phase of resistance of Afrin, which began on March 18, is as follows
Our units in Afrin have carried out 147 operations against Turkish invasion army and its jihadist proxies. As result of assassination, raid, ambush and bombing actions;
– 350 terrorists have been killed (65 Turkish soldiers and 258 mercenaries)
– 18 AK-47, 1 MG-3 machine gun, 2 pistols along with a large amount of ammunition have been captured
– The results of 5 operations couldn’t be clarified
– 36 military vehicles, 1 APC, 1 pick-up, 3 motorcycles, 1 HQ and T55 tank were destroyed; 4 military vehicles have been damaged
– Turkish invasion army has carried out large scale combing operations with the participation of hundreds of its mercenaries and under protection of air cover in Afrin 13 times. All of the operations have been retreated without achieving any results.
– Since March 18, 56 fighters, including 16 fighters of YPJ, were martyred in airstrikes. 1 of our fighters was injured and another fighter was captured in a state of being heavily injured.
3- During 2018, occupying Turkish army attacked the bases and positions of our fighters and civilian settlements, violating the borders.
– Turkish invasion army has attacked positions of our fighters and civilian settlements 53 times
– 13 civilians (3 children) were injured, 2 civilians (1 child) were killed in the attacks.
– 2 Sanadid forces fighters, 2 Self Defense forces fighters and 2 journalists were injured.
– An UAV of Turkish army was captured by our fighters in Kobani.
– Our forces retaliated to all the attacks according to engagement rules and legitimate self defense. 2 soldiers were killed in operations by our forces.
4- During 2018, counter-terrorism units (YAT) have carried out 45 operations against ISIS and other sleeper cells across Rojava and northern Syria. Special Operation Teams have also conducted 590 operations.
– 107 ISIS terrorists including 5 foreigners were captured in the operations
– 204 ISIS members, including 2 leaders and 31 terrorists of other sleeper cells that were preparing for attacks were killed.
– 161 ISIS members were injured
– 55 attacks were foiled
– 6 Yazidi women and a child were rescued from ISIS
– 25 vehicles and a motorcycle were destroyed, 8 vehicles were damaged
– Our units have confiscated a large amount of explosive, 1345 mines, 2 car bombs, 35 missiles, 3 tank shells, 11 mortars and their shells, 126 SPG-9 shells, 575 AK-47, 3 LAV weapons and 2 rockets, 3 12.7mm DShK machine guns, 6 14.5mm ZPU machine guns, M2 Browning ammunition, 6 A4, 40 BKC, 12 Dragunov sbiper rifles, 15 G3 rifles, 17 M16 rifles, 27 RPG and 267 warheads, 1004 grenades, 121 suicide vests, 7 binoculars, 11 pistols and their ammunition, 4 radio devices, 19 cell phones.
5- 2018 has been a long year with resistance and fierce battles across Rojava and northern Syria. 894 fighters were martyred during 2018; 600 in Afrin, 201 during operation Jazeera Storm, 61 as result of traffic and other accidents, 20 as result of illness, 7 during mine clearing operations in Raqqa and due to attacks by Turkish invasion army on borders 5 of our comrades were martyred.”
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“Stand Together Outside the State”: Int. Commune of Rojava Interview
The Rojavan Revolution has inspired us over the years; from the fierce resistance to ISIS and Turkish fascism, to its rejection of patriarchy and statism. But with the US saying that it will soon be pulling out of the region, many are left wondering what the future holds for the autonomous territories. Wanting to know more, we spoke with someone from Internationalist Commune, the authors of the Resistance is Life column here on IGD, to learn more.
IGD: What are your thoughts on the US withdrawing from Syria?
IC: When the news of Trump’s decision broke, many of us internationalists in Rojava were frantically checking the news, scrambling to prepare new work, calling one another up and discussing what this would mean for the millions of civilians here, for the future of the revolution – for our lives.
I noticed that our Kurdish comrades reacted differently. They felt angry and betrayed, of course. But to them it was also something expected. The Kurdish freedom movement has 40 years’ experience of armed struggle against a ruthlessly self-serving capitalist state under the NATO banner, and the Kurdish people have known nothing but betrayal for centuries.
They never relied on anything but the strength and resilience of the Kurdish movement. This decision which shocked the world was met with a new surge of pride in what has been won here at such enormous cost. This is the attitude we must take forward into the coming struggle.
IGD: Is the US actively working with the Turkish State?
IC: A lot of media effort has been expended on which imperial powers are the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in the situation here though it changes every day, what the ‘Kurds’ ridiculously taken as a homogenous mass stand to gain, above all what Putin stands to gain from it all.
Some such analyses – like this from Lower Class Magazine – give an excellent picture of how the Kurdish movement has exploited the faultlines opened by the global power struggle between imperial powers, and how it now faces a severe test of its strength as these interests realign against the democratic-confederalist project.
But I have no special insight into what has been said behind closed doors in the last days and years between the various imperialist forces vying to suck the life out of this land. The Americans did what they did. Now our task is clear: to resist the massacre Turkey is threatening by any means necessary.
IGD: Many people are afraid that ISIS will join with Turkish forces and attack Rojavan territories, as it did in the invasion of Afrin. How has the YPG/YPJ responded to this reality?
A couple of days ago, false news was once again released by world news agencies, spreading the propaganda statements of imperialist forces as though they were objective fact – this time, that the Syrian state army had entered into the center of the city of Manbij. When this news arrived in Manbij, the response of the local population was not to panic or flee but to flood en mass into the city center, singing the songs of the Kurdish resistance.
This is the crucial point. Not only the Kurdish-led YPG and YPJ, but also Arab, Turkmen and Assyrian Christian militias united with YPG/J under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces are ready to fight Turkey every inch of the way. Turkey talks of making a so-called “security belt” which would obliterate all of the major cities in Rojava, where millions of people have been making a free and democratic life together under constant threat of Turkey’s cowardly carpet-bombing war. YPG/J is a people’s army and the people will never accept the destruction of their homes, their communes, all that has been created here.
If the Turkish state really does launch a full-scale assault, it will take nothing short of genocide to drive the people from these lands. But as we have seen time and again, the Turkish state is quite capable of such atrocities. Tens of thousands of martyrs have given their lives for this revolution. Whether tens of thousands more must also die remains to be seen.
IGD: Many people in the US and beyond have wondered what to do in light of the current situation. Should we be calling on the US not to leave or should we be finding material ways to support?
IC: It is right that the American people, in particular, rise up against this cowardly decision by their leader. But as internationalists we must stand together outside these lines of state force, with the tireless conviction of our Kurdish comrades.
To be precise: we need serious anti-fascist mobilization against entities linked to Turkish power and interests at home in the West. We need that 3.5 billion dollar Patriot missile sale to Turkey, made in the days before Trump told Erdogan he was pulling out, to be taken down as a message to the Turkish state. We need comrades and journalists to travel here and put their lives on the line.
This revolution’s survival will not be ensured by begging western governments for favors. But the burden on the shoulders of the Kurdish liberation movement will be lightened when Turkey is made accountable for its atrocities, when it is made impossible for other capitalist states to make their dirty deals with this war-criminal state.
IGD: What things are Internationalist Commune working on in the midst of this reality?
IC: Our main focus now is on spreading the news of what is happening and may happen here, seizing back the narrative from our enemies. So much of what is written and said about here, even by our supporters, is framed as though Rojava is a black box about whose people and material reality nothing can be known, just another pawn on the chessboard middle-east.
“we are working together with Kurdish and other local comrades in the media structures here to counter Turkish propaganda and spread the truth of the revolution as best we can.”
As the internationalist commune, we feel a responsibility to combat this, and to make what is happening here and how it will affect millions of real, struggling people if Turkey does invade. We want to bring their voices and the message of the Kurdish liberation movement into the west.
The Turkish state employs a cyber-army of 6,000 social media trolls disseminating their propaganda, and spends millions on lobbying foreign governments each year. Sometimes it can feel like all we have to counter this is a handful of comrades with limited media experience and a few busted-up laptops. But we are working together with Kurdish and other local comrades in the media structures here to counter Turkish propaganda and spread the truth of the revolution as best we can.
IGD: What are some key news sources/website people can follow to get news on the unfolding situation?
IC: We will share as much as we can from our facebook at Internationalist Commune, twitter @communeint and website internationalistcommune.com.
For in-depth analyses in touch with the thought of the Kurdish movement, the Komun Academy website is great. The Region is another site whose reports are generally in touch with what’s going on here and can put them in a larger political perspective.
If you follow the Kurdish academic Dilar Derik (DilAr on Facebook), you will see a lot of well-selected articles and analyses. Dr. Hawzhin Azeez on Twitter here is another example of this.
If you’re looking for a journalist external for the movement who has up-to-date and accurate information and understands what’s going on here better than most, Wladimir Van Wilgenburg (@vvanwilgenburg) is a prolific and useful source.
A few other accounts on the ground in Rojava who are in touch with what’s going on here: @zana_med (especially good and will debunk incorrect information when it’s spread), @HosengHesen, @riseupforafrin, @starcongress.
IGD: Anything else you’d like to add or touch on?
IC: We think it is vital that Turkey’s coming assault is not understood as ‘just another part of the Syrian Civil War’, as it is currently being discussed in our voyeuristic yet ultimately weary and disinterested mainstream press. The death of any civilian anywhere in Syria is a tragedy, of course. But what is happening here is far larger than that.
“The choice between socialism and barbarism was never more stark than here and now.”
Total war against Rojava would not just be the crushing of the revolution here, but of forty years’ ceaseless toil under circumstances of brutal repression across all four parts of Kurdistan. This is a war against the woman, against the right of all peoples to self-determination, against one of the world’s only flames of resistance against state-capitalist might. The choice between socialism and barbarism was never more stark than here and now.
Comrades, with pride in our own strength and knowledge that we are stronger still together, knowing that our enemies are strong but knowing too that they can never grasp the strength and beauty of solidarity forged in resistance, we ask for your support.
Syria: Turkey must stop serious violations by allied groups and its own forces in Afrin
By Davide Grasso
A woman holds a picture of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan during a rally in Afrin (Reuters) 
YPG and US soldiers have fought side by side against IS in Syria. But the US says it has no interests in Afrin (AFP) 
Turkish tanks are transported to the border with Afrin (Reuters) 
Comrade Fîraz came to the conclusion that the freedom and hope of a free life were under the philosophy of the Freedom Movement and Leader Apo. He was in search of the free life and found it in Leader Apo’s ideas. Although Fîraz grew up in England, one of the centres of the capital system, nothing but revolutionary life could satisfy him. So, on his way to the source of free ideas, he came to his country. Comrade Fîraz, who could not accept for himself a life in the midst of Modern Slavery, headed to Rojava in order to record the Kurdistan Revolution into history with a pen and camera.
by Zaher Baher
UK
those years—a free society that administers itself.’ Most astoundingly, ‘in Rojava I came across many of my onetime fellow fighters again. As young women they had left Rojava to join the PKK, and now they’ve returned to defend the revolution.’
