Rojava Kurdistan, Murray Bookchin and regional Kurdish politics

[butchersapron]

Posted already on the islamic state thread, but here's some more details on the duhok agreement - there have been rumblings about PKK and plans for kurdification for years now (or maybe counter-kurdification would be a better term given the areas it concerns where syrianised/arabised as state policy first) - note the answer to the 2nd question:

- It will be something like a consultative assembly?

This government will be something like a consultative assembly. This official body is only for the Kurds. As you know within the autonomous administration there are Arabs, Assyrians, Chaldeans. This only applies to the Kurds.

 

[butchersapron]

Not read yet but thought would pass on - looks quite detailed:

SYRIAN CIVIL WAR: EMERGENCE OF A KURDISH AUTONOMY IN ROJAVA

This paper focuses on the Syrian Conflict while more specifically explain the conflict between Kurds and the Baath Regime in Syria. It also explains the process and anatomy of the Rojava Democratic Autonomous Regions being established by Kurds and other suppressed minorities in Syria and Rojava. It also discusses how these autonomies differ from already existing autonomous regions, how, as the Kurds propose, they can be a solution, what kind of problems it may have and whether it will follow the way towards a nation state as it happens now the Federal Kurdistan Government in Iraq.

 

[butchersapron]

Sunday in Hackney: "The Rojava Revolution: Kobane, resistance & radical democracy" with @memedaksoy @davidgraeber

facebook.com/events/479192858890060/

 

[Red Storm]

Kurdish Solidarity demo, All Saints Park, Manchester

https://www.facebook.com/events/887643057912916/

 

[FNG]

interview with kurdish speaker of KRG (iraq)parliament only fleetingly touches on the issue of the syrian canton but scathing about relations with Irag
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/10/state8625.htm?

f the conflicts between Baghdad and Erbil are not resolved, would you want to take steps toward the creation of an independent Kurdish state?

Mohammed: I believe that the citizens of Iraqi Kurdistan would be well within their rights to ask: why should we bother to stay with Iraq? After all, the Iraqi government is not helping to fund our military, it has not sent the region its share of the national budget and it has not helped in resolving the refugee crisis we currently face. So they’d be well within their rights to ask this question. They’d be well within their rights to think that the Iraqi government sees Iraqi Kurdistan as its enemy.

During the 36 years of my life I’ve seen nothing good come to us from the Iraqi government. If we asked the generation before us, they’d most likely say the same.

Iraq’s elected officials should realise that acts undertaken by successive Iraqi governments against the Iraqi Kurdish region have had an effect. But not necessarily the effect they wanted. For example, in 1991 the former Iraqi regime withdrew all army and civil servants from the area – but the Kurdish will was not weakened by this. On the contrary, a Kurdish government was formed and over time, revenues grew. We can only hope that the new Iraqi government will benefit from historical experiences and start to behave and think in a new way.

But would you call for an independent Kurdish state?

Mohammed: That’s something that should be discussed outside of the glare and excitement of media. We should be strengthening our economy so we can be more self sufficient. Our political disagreements shouldn’t prevent our unitywww.Ekurd.net and we shouldn’t be too dependent on other countries. We should stand on our own two feet. I think we’re close to that but we’re not there yet. I think the day we achieve a goal like this is not far away – but we must be well prepared for it.

 

[butchersapron]

There's been debate amongst different anarchist perspectives as well:

Rojava: An Anarcho-Syndicalist Perspective

Anarcho-syndicalists should should hold no illusions about the Rojava Revolution. Since the turn of the millenium there have been reports of a libertarian municipalist turn in the Kurdish national liberation struggle inspired by Murray Bookchin. This change in politics has been lead by jailed founder and ideological leader Abdullah Öcalan of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) who discovered Bookchin while in prison. The PKK a former Maoist/Stalinist organization had turned to ethnic nationalism after the fall of the Soviet Union and discreditation of “really existing socialism” and so such a turn has been welcomed by many on the revolutionary left. However such processes of political transformation do not automatically translate to full adoption within a populace nevermind their official representation in leading parties.

In conclusion, the development of the social democratic representative democracy, the patriarchal and ethnic nationalist past of the PKK (PYD Saleh Muslim leader has hinted at needing a war to expel Arabs down the line[5]), the PYD’s cooperation with and truce with the FSA and Islamists[6], the draft since July[7], the different elements seeking US/international community support are reason enough to be hesitant to put too much emphasis on the official leadership. The bright spots where they exist are with the resistance and self-activity of the masses and the women’s movement. Social processes of transformation are complicated and often rife with internal conflicts and dynamics. The political program put forward might be decentralist with strong potentialities towards social democracy rather than anti-statist and social revolutionary. There is also still much research to be done about industrial and agricultural economy and organization. That shouldn’t hold anarcho-syndicalists back from defending the self defense of the everyday masses and their own organizations of struggle in Rojava against ISIS, local states and western imperialism, but we should be careful not to jump to cheerleading for the official representation of the Kurdish movement through it’s traditionally statist parties like PKK and PYD.

An Anarchist Communist Reply to ‘Rojava: An Anarcho-Syndicalist Perspective’

We will summarise the concrete applications of this approach to the specific case of Rojava in the conclusion, but for now, briefly: in the fight against the Islamic State/ ISIS, and against the national oppression of the Kurds, the Anarkismo.net network aligns itself with fighters against these forces. Secondly, the PKK’s partial embrace of anarchism lends additional grounds for support: for all its limitations, the PKK project is one that in some respects aligns with anarchist ideals. It is far from a top-down authoritarian regime in the making, in the mould of, for example, Mao’s Red Army. In this respect, critical support for the PKK is similar to the critical support many anarchists have for the Zapatistas (EZLN) in Mexico. The issue is not whether the PKK is 100% anarchist – it is certainly not – but rather, whether the PKK is fighting on the right side, and secondly, whether there are elements of the PKK programme that anarchists can gladly support.

In short, this approach to support and solidarity – and even alliances – does not proceed from the position that anarchists can only ever engage with forces that are purely, unambiguously anarchist. Rather, the logic is that anarchists stand with the oppressed against the oppressors – without renouncing their differences with other currents. And the logic is also that anarchists should engage with movements that are, if not completely anarchist, at least in some ways closer to our goals.

 

[Patteran]

Here's something from last year i meant to post before but forgot:

Statement by the Kurdish Youth Movement (TCK) about the latest events in the city of Amouda



Note the 'latest'.

Some of the incidents mentioned by the TCK appear in this (George Soros funded) HRW report on Rojava. The YPD appear to have responded with investigations of their own, and punished/jailed their own members for abuses of power. Teething troubles of a new revolution taking place under difficult circumstances/displays of authoritarian things to come - I guess time will tell.

 

[butchersapron]

Yep, that's about the size of it without our own research teams on the ground. Maybe the links that i expect were made at the event that one of out posters helped set up in london yesterday will help.

Lots of articles springing up now though - here's another one (that institutionalising in the title sends a shiver down my spine i have to say, but the possibility of iran based news is welcome - not had time to read yet, will tonight):

The No State Solution: Institutionalizing Libertarian Socialism in Kurdistan

In what many outside of the territory are referring to as the Rojava Revolution, a major shift in political philosophy and political programmatics has taken place in Kurdistan. Yet, this shift is not limited to the region of Rojava, or what many call Syrian or Western Kurdistan – a region where the Democratic Union Party (PYD) has taken an active part in this change. In “Turkish,” or rather Northern Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been the foremost leader. In Eastern Kurdistan (lying within Iranian borders) the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) has taken to the change in ideological orientation as well. It is an expanding movement towards what is internally being described as a “democratic, ecological, gender-liberated society” – a collection of ideas, institutions, and practices that compose the political, economic and social outlook of Democratic Autonomy and Democratic Confederalism.

btw, if anyone does want to read Occlan's democratic confederalism it's here.

 

[Patteran]

Has this been posted? Details of Rojava's Peace & Consensus Committees justice system - a ground-up reconstruction of crime & punishment into justice & rehabilitation through democratic consensus. It's partisan, but makes no bold claims ('the number of crimes has declined slowly, although reliable figures are still hard to determine'), and isn't scared to mention explicitly the existence of 'honour killings' in Kurdistan.

 

[ManchesterBeth]

There's been debate amongst different anarchist perspectives as well:

Rojava: An Anarcho-Syndicalist Perspective






An Anarchist Communist Reply to ‘Rojava: An Anarcho-Syndicalist Perspective’

I'm no syndicalist but I am a Turkish-Kurd and I can tell you that the first article is pretty correct. If you talk to people affiliated with the PKK they'll talk about how great Stalin and Mao were (as well as identify themselves as Leninists) or talk about a social democratic form of ethnonationalism. Of the Trotskyist/left/worker-communist groups in the area, Marksist Tutum, Worker-Communist Party of Iran and Worker-Communist Party of Iraq/Kurdistan see the libertarian turn of the PKK as an official opportunist manoeuvre to ditch revolutionary politics and focus on kowtowing to the Kemalist bourgeois left in social democratic form (which they have done to an extent with the HDP) or appealing as a sort of left pressure group for Kurdish rights under the islamically leaning AKP, which would pretty much destroy the Kurdish left in Turkey. It's no surprise that people speak of pseudo-entryist tactics for regional meetings of the PKK pursuant to the AKP. It's all a bit confusing and what we're getting is mixed signals and a lack of sober investigation from anarchists which doesn't surprise me in the least

One thing to consider is that Apo is seen as more of a mummified Lenin by these organisations. He has very little say in, well, anything...

I'm not sure where I'm going with this anymore but if the PKK/PYD have really turned to anarcho-politics good on them, but I need to see some actual evidence rather than the quoting of constitutions to be convinced.

 

[durruti02]

Dialectician. So much wrong in your response from where I am, working with leftist Kurds in London.
For starters I see no evidence of Mao or Stalin support from PKK sympathisers, and decreasingly from the other two main groups, Gik Der/MLKP and Day Mer/EMEP.
I see genuine support for a process, that far from coming from a mummified Apo, came from the base, who rejected nationalism, war and male supremacy. It is possibily a major consequence of opening the creation PKK womens units in the 1980.
there is a ton of actual evidence about this shift.
Check the many videos and interviews on here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kurdish-Revolution-Info-Page/367557846728510

 

[ManchesterBeth]

Well in London perhaps. I'm just not convinced in Turkey from the time I've spent there and from comrades I still keep in touch with.

 

[butchersapron]

Saturday and sunday 9.30 on BBC news channel in the Our World program:

Rojava: Syria's Secret Revolution

Is the Middle East's newest country a territory called Rojava? Out of the chaos of Syria's civil war, mainly Kurdish leftists have forged a radical, egalitarian, multi-ethnic mini-state run on communal lines. But with ISIS Jihadists attacking them at every opportunity - especially around the beleaguered city of Kobane, how long can this idealistic social experiment last? Our World has gained exclusive access to Rojava, from the frontlines, to the politicians and refugee camps.

 

[CNT36]

Saturday and sunday 9.30 on BBC news channel in the Our World program:

Rojava: Syria's Secret Revolution

Just came here to post this. Our World can be one of the better programmes on BBC news.

 

[Patteran]

The film's available to view now here

There's some vague 'critics say' & 'some people think', and a worrying line from the head of security about Rojava being 'a new market' for the US, but there's also plenty of PYD & their associates speaking for themselves, & it does a good job of demonstrating the non-sectarian, bottom-up reorganisation being attempted in Rojava.

 

[butchersapron]

Another report from some from Haringey Solidarity Group and Kurdistan Anarchists Forum who went out week before last:

The social revolution will sweep Turkey Kurdistan sooner or later

Below is the outcome of my visit to Northern Kurdistan in Turkey between 02/11/14 to 08/11/14 as one of a delegation from United Kingdom, organised by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign (PIK), People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and Democratic Society Congress (DTK).

Throughout the visit we had a chance to meet many organisations, including political parties, local and regional Trade Unions, co-Mayor of Diyarbakir and Suruc, the Coordination of humanitarian aid to the refugees, Refugees Camps, Villages at the border of Kobane, representatives of Democratic Free Movement of Women, Human Rights Association, representatives of democratic Region’s Party, the Bar Association of Diyarbakir and finally meeting with the Federation of the Families of Detainees.

 

[phildwyer]

If you talk to people affiliated with the PKK they'll talk about how great Stalin and Mao were (as well as identify themselves as Leninists)

Che Guevara is the one that I used to hear. But yes, they're down-the-line Leninists ime. I'll believe rumors of an anarchist tendency when they get rid of Apo, not before.

 

[ManchesterBeth]

Che Guevara is the one that I used to hear. But yes, they're down-the-line Leninists ime. I'll believe rumors of an anarchist tendency when they get rid of Apo, not before.

Well I'm perhaps (*less*) rejectionist of Leninism (Trotskyism and that) than some others on this forum (new here, IDK) but their Marxism–Leninism used to be extremely doctrinaire and Stalinist/Maoist, propagated by petit-bourgeois Kurdish intellectuals with a peasant base to obtain support from Moscow.

 

[phildwyer]

Well I'm perhaps (*less*) rejectionist of Leninism (Trotskyism and that) than some others on this forum (new here, IDK) but their Marxism–Leninism used to be extremely doctrinaire and Stalinist/Maoist, propagated by petit-bourgeois Kurdish intellectuals with a peasant base to obtain support from Moscow.

That was certainly always my impression: a Stalinist organization using Maoist tactics.

They also had the Guevarist idea that any tiny vanguard can just up and start a revolution under any circumstances.

 

[ManchesterBeth]

That was certainly always my impression: a Stalinist organization using Maoist tactics.

They also had the Guevarist idea that any tiny vanguard can just up and start a revolution under any circumstances.

Pretty much. They were adventurist as fuck and their annihilation of the class enemy-esque strategy in villages in the 80s and 90s probably resulted in more Kurdish deaths, and it was not like they were getting rid of businessmen, more like teachers.

 

[ManchesterBeth]

When I have time I'll translate some turkish Trotskyist/leftcom/anarchist documents for historical info on all of this.

 

[phildwyer]

Pretty much. They were adventurist as fuck and their annihilation of the class enemy-esque strategy in villages in the 80s and 90s probably resulted in more Kurdish deaths, and it was not like they were getting rid of businessmen, more like teachers.

Absolutely. And, legitimate greivances notwithstanding, there was never any justification for launching an armed struggle against a conscript army.

 

[ManchesterBeth]

Yes one of the absolutely lamentable policies of our fucking Turkish Republic... Luckily enough I don't have to go...

 

[phildwyer]

Yes one of the absolutely lamentable policies of our fucking Turkish Republic... Luckily enough I don't have to go...

Unfortunately I do have to go, at least sometimes. And one day, my son will be drafted into the Turkish army.

It's a tragic and heroic history, the story of the Turkish Left. They came pretty close to power in the 70s, by all accounts.

 

[butchersapron]

Some italian comrades who went to have a look.

 

[butchersapron]

**

edit: messed that post up, will come back later.

 

[Brainaddict]

Did anyone post the Plan C event on Rojava? https://www.facebook.com/events/317637865110593/?ref=22

Plan C London seem to be expending energy on international solidarity before they're organised here in London, but that's by the by, and perhaps the main goal is learning from Rojava Kurdistan in order to inform their actions here.

 

[butchersapron]

Did anyone post the Plan C event on Rojava? https://www.facebook.com/events/317637865110593/?ref=22

Plan C London seem to be expending energy on international solidarity before they're organised here in London, but that's by the by, and perhaps the main goal is learning from Rojava Kurdistan in order to inform their actions here.

They should decide if they - who are they - want to be a rojava solidarity group or something here. You'll win fuck all in this country by talking about rojava. Apart from the they know all about ** thousands of miles away but nothing of ** one mile away one

 

[ManchesterBeth]

I'll just dump these here:

Anarchist Federation statement on Rojava

Interview with Day-mer (Kurdish community org in london

Has worked with SP and supported TUSC candidates so greater alignment with the trade unions and Trotskyist organisations.

 

[Patteran]

25 minute reportage piece from Rojava, filmed in July by a freelance journalist (with a light touch). Includes footage/interviews from Kobani before the siege, when it was still a place of refuge & optimism.