This interview
is with the Rojava Internationalist Commune and Plan C Kurdistan Cluster in the
UK, where indicated.
Tell me a little about how the Rojava
automatous region was formed?
Commune: “Rojava” in Kurmanci means West,
because it’s the West of Kurdistan, in the North of Syria. With the so-called
Arab Spring in 2012, that shook the existing power structures in many countries
in the Middle East, also in Syria people started to protest against the Assad
Regime. But even before that, the Kurdish population was organizing itself, on
the basis of the ideas of Abduallah Öcalan in the Region of Rojava. Since any
political activity of the Kurdish population was forbidden and many activists were
put in jail, these organizations were working illegally.
With the
uprising of the people in Syria, also Kurds stood up in 2012, pushing out the
regime troops and bureaucrats and starting the process of building structures
of self-defence and self-administration. That was the first step in the process
of forming the Democratic Autonomous
Administration of North-East Syria as we know it today, and that includes way
more than just the areas of Syria in which the Kurdish population is the
majority. In the resistance against the so-called Islamic State, the forces of
self-defence, liberated large parts of Syria so that today this Democratic
Federation includes cities like Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.
How is government carried out in Rojava?
Commune: The general system is based on the
idea of the self-administration of the people, on the social values and strong
participation of everyone. In this sense the political power comes from the
local level like neighbourhood and village councils. These councils are forming
bigger entities of coordination between each other, and committees for the
different aspects of social life, like healthcare, self-defence of the
neighbourhood, economy or ecology. In these committees the direct work is done,
fulfilling the needs of the people and solving problems of society.
It is important
not to see it just as a political structure, but also a mindset which this
self-administration is built on. Without a political and moral society, there
will be no way to build structures of self-administration. To be a political
society means the will to participate, to take an active role in shaping your
one reality. And to be a moral society means, that there are values in the
society and on that basis people make decisions and judge things as right or
wrong.
Can you give some examples of where
women’s representation in governance has made positive improvements for women?
Commune: Because of the representative function
of the governance of the Democratic Federation of North-East Syria, the
improvements for women are made in their daily lives, pushed by various women’s
organization under the umbrella of Kongreya Star (Star Congress, a confederation of women's organizations) rather than a top down
process.
It is fundamental to the women’s movement to build women’s
institutions in every area of life, so that women can free themselves
intellectually, economically, emotionally, and spiritually from the authority
and violence of patriarchal domination. In every institution of the society,
dual leadership – what is called “hevserok” – applies everywhere in Rojava,
from the local neighbourhood commune to the executive committee of the
federation.
And for all the
general institutions a gender quota applies, so that in every council,
commission, leadership position or court, women must make up at least 40 percent.
Today this quota has been far exceeded in many institutions. Important
achievements of the revolution include the establishment of women's
cooperatives through which women gain economic independence from their husbands
and families.
And in the Federation, marriages are only allowed from full age,
without force, and polygamous marriages are forbidden. But most important is
the change in the mentality of the society and the view of women and their growing self-confidence. Women play an active role in all areas of society and
also in the military defence of the revolution.
Commune: The “Make Rojava Green Again” campaign
was launched in early 2018 by the Internationalist Commune of Rojava, in
cooperation with Committees of self-administration in Rojava, with the aim
of supporting and developing a democratic-ecological society in north eastern
Syria. The campaign functions like a bridge between Rojava and ecological
movements, activists and scientists around the world in term of technical
knowledge, ideological discussions and protests on the streets.
In the framework of
the campaign, different practical works are done in Rojava, the building of a
tree nursery to planting of trees in the Internationalist Academy and in the
city of Derik, building a system for reprocessing and developing a project for wind energy. Besides these practical works, with the
published book “Make Rojava Green Again”, the campaign functions as a framework for
ideological discussion connecting the experiences and realities of different
struggles.
In the end we
can say, that the campaign is an invitation to participate in our work: to be
part of building an ecological society in Rojava and bringing international
solidarity to life.
I know that you take inspiration from
the writings of Murray Bookchin on Social Ecology. Have you heard of
Ecosocialism which is a very similar political philosophy?
Commune: Yes, we have heard of Ecosocialism and
we see it in the same line with our search to overcome the ecological crises of capitalist modernity in building a democratic, ecological society on the
basis of the liberation of women. It is true, that Öcalan’s writing and also our
ecological works take inspiration from the works of Murray Bookchin, who put
the ecological question at the centre of his analyses and revolutionary
perspective, not seeing it as a contradiction that will be automatically solved
by overcoming class society. Significant for us is the historical perspective
he empathizes on, analyzing the relationship and interdependence of humankind and nature, identifying the ecological crises as crises of society.
Central for our
approach is to overcome the orientalist view on the question of development and
progress, acknowledging the values of former societies as reference for our
future perspective of a society in balance with nature. And in this sense also
challenging the positivist mentality and logic of capitalist indefinite growth
and expansion.
Furthermore, ideas like those formulated in the framework of social
ecology or Ecosocialism, are creating for us a positive perspective of
humankind, without which any struggle seams meaningless. We believe that people
can make life better with their creative power, their understanding of justice,
and their will to change. And that in such times as these and in the face of
the crises of capitalist modernity, so much seems lost and irrevocable.
With ISIS now in retreat in Syria, will
you be able to concentrate your energy on projects other than military
operations?
Commune: Even though ISIS is militarily
defeated, still there are many cells of armed ISIS fighters, ready to
destabilize the region with attacks and assassinations. And against these cells
there is still the need for military operations and self-defence. And with the end
of ISIS, also the imperialist powers like the US, Russia and regional powers
like Turkey and Iran are increasing their attempts to control the area and the
revolutionary dynamic in Syria.
For years the
fascist regime of AKP-MHP, the two main Turkish political parties, (under the leadership of Erdogan) has openly stated
that they do not accept the revolution in Syria, and threaten further invasion
with the help of Islamist gangs like former ISIS fighters, as happened last
year in the canton of Afrin. As long as different political and military powers
are trying destroy this revolution, there is the need for a strong self-defence.
And we have seen, that a war that is started by Turkey, will be an even bigger war
than against ISIS. So if we are honest, the bigger war is standing in front of
us.
But of course
also the civil projects are growing massively in the Democratic Federation of
North East Syria. Just to look to the rebuilding processes in cities like Raqqa
and Deir Ezzor, the massive reforestation efforts made by local municipalities
and the investments and energy put into social institutions and projects.
Plan C Kurdistan Cluster: Like our comrades at the
Internationalist Commune say, in many ways it’s now that the struggle really
begins: the peace may prove far more difficult to win than the war. Of course
the fight against ISIS, the so-called Islamic State or Daesh, was long, hard
and by no means certain, but the type of enemy meant that some aspects were
relatively secure, and the hegemonic powers more or less onside (even if they didn’t
and will never support the revolution in any meaningful sense).
We saw some of
the dangers of this moment even before the war against Daesh was finished, with
the Turkish state and AKP-MHP regime’s fascist and imperialist invasion of
Efrin – and, most importantly, the near total silence of global powers then
still relying on the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) and YPG/YPJ (People's Protection Units - Women's Protection Units), as well as the absence of so many
“friends” who mobilised during the Kobani resistance. Compared to those
demonstrations in 2015/16 the Efrin mobilisation was tiny.
So from our
perspective it’s not so much that the end of open military operations (though
not the threat, as the Daesh insurgency has begun properly now with attacks and
field burnings) provides an opportunity for different projects, but that this is
the crucial moment to strengthen our efforts to build widespread practical
solidarity.
And this is
where internationalist support becomes absolutely essential. There’s a long and
rich tradition of revolutionary internationalism, and the Rojava Revolution has
produced beautiful examples like the International Freedom Battalion, as well
as martyrs like Anna Campbell, the match of any other moment in revolutionary
history. But the scale is far, far smaller, for clear material reasons, but
this is something that must be recognised and addressed.
Revolutionaries,
and especially dedicated revolutionary organisations, must do the necessary
work of raising awareness, providing political education, and building
practical solidarity campaigns – by which we mean not merely doing a post on
social media, but really working hand in hand to provide forms of material
support.
You have an international campaign also,
called ‘RiseUp4Rojava – Smash Turkish fascism’, what is happening with this
around the world and especially in the UK?
Commune: For a long time now we’ve been
discussing with different organizations and initiatives in different countries
about the possibilities and the necessity to form a global network, uniting in
a campaign against the Turkish fascism and in the defence of the Revolution in
Rojava. And from these discussions the campaign “RiseUp4Rojava” was built,
following the aim to build an international front against Turkish fascism. Of
course, this includes exposing and answering the hypocritical policies of the
imperialist countries.
Plan C Kurdistan Cluster: RiseUp4Rojava is both an exciting
development and an absolutely necessary one. Lacking the mass internationalist
movements and organizations of the past, we need to build our own from the
bottom up – which is long work, but also provides the opportunity to address
some of the mistakes of the past. So it’s really exciting to be building
concrete connections across borders, and making plans to not only defend, but
to rise up for the revolution – this is the real meaning of solidarity, not
when you simply do something for ‘them over there’, but when you really, deeply
see them as you and you as them.
In a UK context
the campaign gives the opportunity to build this solidarity in the relatively
strong anti-arms trade movement that exists here. Of course, this movement is
nowhere near as strong as it needs to be, especially since the UK is one of the
largest war profiteers in the world, not least selling to the Turkish state, as
well as Saudi Arabia.
Similarly, the anti-war movement is quite liberal, many
dedicated campaigners don’t question capitalism or the nation state, some
involved don’t even include non-lethal weaponry and technology in their
analysis – it’s often simply about not selling to the “bad guys”.
So
RiseUp4Rojava provides not only the opportunity to build solidarity with Rojava
and the Kurdish Freedom Movement in the UK anti-arms trade movement, but also
the opportunity to bring the revolution’s politics to that movement, and help
it overcome its current limitations.
To this end we and other comrades,
particularly the local groups federated in the Kurdistan Solidarity Network,
will participate in the mobilisation against the DSEI arms fair that happens in
London every year, not only in the demonstrations and actions themselves, but
also providing literature and workshops about the movement’s theory and
practice.
How do you see the future of Rojava in
the medium to long term?
Commune: Rojava is the
uprising of the people against the system of nation-states, Islamic
fundamentalism, and imperialism, on the basis of the ideas of a radical
democratic self-government of the people. In this sense the Rojava revolution
is the revolution of the 21st century. It would be wrong to hope or to
prognosticate the stabilization of this revolution, without general changes of
powers structures in the Middle East, first of all in Turkey.
This revolution
has to grow, to expand in ideological terms, lighting the fire of resistance
and revolution in all the people from Syria, the Middle East, until Europe. If
this does not happen, if the ideas of the revolution, their fight for rights
and dignity is cut down, curbed in military crackdowns, then the revolution in
Rojava has a difficult future. Even if many things have been achieved, it is
still a daily fight for a socialist line in the revolution itself.
The biggest
threat to this revolution is Turkish fascism. Its imperialist policy, the
attempts of cultural genocides against the Kurdish population and other
minorities in the Middle East and its geographical expansion in Rojava but also
in Iraqi Kurdistan, will only be stopped by a change in the system in Turkey itself.
Links
https://twitter.com/CommuneInt
https://www.weareplanc.org/
