Proposed Military Strike on Syria

[John Dolva]

Monday, February 22, 2016 11:00 AM
GENEVA - ANF - SERKAN DEMİREL

Syrian Democratic Council (MSD) Co-President İlham Ehmed emphasized that nobody could question where the SDF would make its advances.

Ehmed spoke to ANF on the latest military developments in Rojava, Turkey’s attacks on Rojava, and the status of the Geneva-3 talks. We hereby publish the first part of the interview.

‘TURKEY DOES NOT WANT SOLUTION IN ROJAVA’

What is your evaluation of Turkey’s recent escalated attacks on Rojava?

This is not the first time Turkey attacks Rojava, it has been attacking for a while now. Turkey has been hostile towards Rojava since the beginning of the revolution here. Turkey does not want the formation of a political will and the solution of the problems in Rojava. For these reasons, Turkey sometimes supports gangs targeting Rojava and other times shells Rojava itself. Turkey has increased its shelling of Rojava recently for multiple reasons.

AZAZ IS NOT THE REASON FOR THE SHELLING…

Turkey has claimed that its recent attacks aim to prevent the SDF’s military operations targeting Azaz, but this is not the case.

The actual reason for Turkey’s attacks is that Turkey is out of the political equation in Syria and attempts to become a player in the region by attacking Rojava.

The majority of the opposition forces in the region are loyal to Jabhat Al-Nusra, and all of these groups have been under the protection of Turkey. These groups are proxies with no political program, which is why they ran away after recent Russian bombardments. This situation enabled the recent advances of the Syrian regime.

What is the SDF policy on this issue?

The SDF has been trying to prevent the advance of regime forces by capturing the areas evacuated by jihadis. Turkey has been upset at this SDF stance and increased its attacks on Rojava. With its attacks, Turkey is trying to tell the international community that it is influential in this region and should be taken seriously.

‘TURKEY IS LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE TO INVADE ROJAVA’

Turkey blamed YPG for the attack the TAK carried out in Ankara, what was Turkey’s goal here?

By blaming the YPG for the attacks, Turkey wanted to portray the YPG as a terrorist organization and create the grounds for the attack it wants to carry out against Rojava. With this accusation, Turkey also wanted to stop the international support to and the military coordination with the SDF.

Turkey tried to link the attack to the YPG and argued that the attacker was from Amude, but this attempt failed. Turkish officials met with the representatives of international powers right after the attack but their claims were not bought. Turkey’s claims are false because YPG never targeted Turkey even during the attacks and bombardments targeting Kobanê. YPG is relatively more comfortable now, and does not have a strategy of attacking Turkey. YPG’S main strategy is defeating ISIS and realizing a democratic change in Syria. Turkey’s false accusations did not convince anyone.

TURKEY WANTS TO CONTROL THE AZAZ GATE

Why does Turkey attach this much importance to Azaz, or is the main thing really about Azaz?

Turkey wants to control the Azaz gate because it dispatches arms to the gangs through that border crossing. Turkey is disturbed over the closure of the road between Azaz and Aleppo because it was the area from which Turkey would spread its policy; through that border crossing and Aleppo to the entire Syrian territory. After the closure of this road, Turkey got stuck and therefore started to bring Azaz into question. Apart from this policy, Azaz means nothing to Turkey.

Yet, it must be known very well that Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will be fighting the ISIS terror everywhere it exists. The areas where SDF have made advances so far are those held by Al-Nusra which is listed among the terrorist organisations. Nobody can question our progress in this territory. Those not acting with Al-Nusra in these areas are joining the ranks of the SDF and defending themselves. Our goal is to unite the forces acting separately from Al-Nusra and wage a harsh struggle against both ISIS and Al-Nusra.

TURKISH BOMBARDMENTS MUST STOP

What will your response be in the event that Turkey continues its aggression on Rojava?

We do not believe Turkey can resume this policy because of the fact that Turkey is suffering heavy and unresolved problems within its own borders. As a matter of fact, Turkey makes such a noise in an effort to hide its internal situation from the world.

The Turkish state is committing a massacre against the civilian people in Amed, Sur, Nusaybin, Cizre, Silopi and many other areas, and this state of affairs is already on the world agenda. Turkey is receiving criticism in this regard, because of which it wants to catch the attention on Rojava in order to hide its own failures.

Turkey has to stop its attacks and abandon this approach towards Rojava. It has no right to bomb Efrîn or Til Rifat where there are civilians. These acts do not serve Turkey's interests anyway. Turkey must be convinced that it cannot bomb its neighbors whenever it wants. This is a different region, a different border and a different land with credit. Turkey must respect the international rules. The United Nations has called upon Turkey to obey these rules. In this regard, our policy is not focused on scaling up this issue. We are acting otherwise.

We have not declared a war against Turkey so far, nor will we adopt such a stand but Turkey must stop its bombardments. Our patience has limits.

[John Dolva]

There are reports that Erdogan is mentally ill and in fact a very dangerous person.

Dr M. Papadopoulos believes the following : "In my opinion and in the opinion of many foreign diplomats in London, with whom I spoke, in fact, President Erdogan is mentally ill. And I say this in all seriousness, this is not some figure of speech. Erdogan suffers from megalomania and believes in his Messianic destiny. As head of state he represents for the region an extreme danger,"

"Recep Tayyip Erdogan must be ... removed from power, which he's too dangerous to have in the region."


To me. first look Turkish Dictator Erdogan appears as a precious persona. I suspect, underlying this is a deep seated self loathing. While theoretically aware of the gross evil of his actions, a desperation to complete, or climax, emerging as a justified savior of a personal fantasy world is a fundamental formative delusion of this type, to wit his hero Hitler, another unstable misogynist.

Unfortunately this fragile, severely compromised personality is in charge of many weapons capable of killing people.

The debate is about how to remove such people from any positions of power and preventing them from ever getting into such.

(When I think of it, the above could be said about Trump (or any other prominent bigot for that matter). The above description is encapsuled in the derogatory aussie slang "tosser", which obviously made me think of Trump.)

edit typos

Edited February 22, 2016 by John Dolva

[Evan Burton]

[John Dolva]

Wednesday, February 24, 2016 2:45 PM
NEWS DESK - ANF

Lawyers launched an international petition campaign against the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, emphasizing that the isolation threatened peace, had torturous aspects, and should end immediately.

The international petition campaign, demanding an end to the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and addressing the European Council (EC) General Secretariat and the Committee on the Prevention of Torture (CPT), began in Greece. Öcalan’s lawyers met with bar association and lawyers’ organization representatives in Greece regarding the petition campaign.

Öcalan’s lawyers visited the Bar Association of Piraeus and asked for support to and participation in the petition campaign. The Bar Association board discussed the topic and made a statement signed by the The President George Stamatogiannis and the Ηοnorary Secretary Panagiotis Petropoulos.

'DISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT AGAINST ÖCALAN A DIRECT VIOLATION'

The Bar Association of Piraeus expressed its strong opposition to the violation of the rights of Abdullah Öcalan, who is detained in Turkey since 1999 under circumstances of complete isolation and, indeed, in the last few years without the possibility of personal, or even telephonic or other communication even with his relatives and lawyers.

The statement pointed out that the discriminatory treatment against Abdullah Öcalan in comparison with other detainees and his total and continuous isolation constitute a direct violation of the above International Treaties, as well as of the fundamental rights of detainees.

The Bar Association of Piraeus called upon the Turkish Government to comply with its international obligations concerning the protection of human rights and the prevention of torture and any harsh and degrading conduct. The Bar asked that Turkey stops forthwith such inhuman and degrading treatment of Abdulah Ocalan, lifts the state of his isolation and restores the normal and unimpeded communication, by mail, telephone and in person, between him and his family and lawyers.

Below is the text of the petition launched by lawyers:

"İmralı Island is a law-free zone. Abdullah Öcalan has been imprisoned in İmralı Island since his arrival in Turkey on February 15, 1999. İmralı prison has been designed for Öcalan’s imprisonment, and the 5 miles around the island have been declared as military zone and airspace.

Mr. Öcalan was the only prisoner of İmralı prison between February 16, 1999 and November 17, 2009. 5 prisoners were transferred to the island afterwards, but Öcalan could see these prisoners only 5 hours a week. In a way, the arrival of 5 prisoners did not end Öcalan’s isolation and meant the isolation of 5 more prisoners.

As stated in European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and CPT reports, Öcalan never had access to a phone and his right to send and receive letters was limited. Many of the letters Öcalan wrote and hoped to receive were censored or seized without any explanation. Although Öcalan has the legal right to see family members twice a month, state officials often arbitrarily limited or violated this right. Öcalan’s right to meet with his lawyers was also arbitrarily violated with excuses such as ‘broken ferries’ or ‘weather conditions.’ Öcalan’s meetings with his lawyers have been prevented since July 27, 2011. Öcalan has also not been able to meet with family members since October 6, 2014 and with political committee representatives since April 5, 2015.

'ISOLATION IS TORTURE'

CPT had described Öcalan’s situation as “unarguably isolation since February 16, 1999” (http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/tur/2008-13-inf-eng.pdf, p.31). ECHR had described the situation between February 6, 1999 and November 17, 2009 as “torture and maltreatment, as described in the 3rd article of the convention.”

'ISOLATION THREATENS INTERNAL PEACE'

Isolation of Öcalan threatens internal peace and inflicts a critical blow to the peaceful solution of problems through negotiation. Periods in which the isolation is intensified are also the periods when violence against civilians reaches its peak. This pattern has been prevalent since the beginning of Öcalan’s imprisonment, and peace was only given a chance when Öcalan became more accessible.

Objecting to isolation is also objecting to war and standing up for peace. Objecting to the heavy cruelty against Abdullah Öcalan, whose freedom is demanded by 10 million and 328 thousand people living in a diverse geography, is also standing up for the co-existence of people from different linguistic, cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds.”

[John Dolva]

Thursday, February 25, 2016 2:30 PM
NEWS DESK - ANF

KCK Executive Council Co-President Cemil Bayık described the Turkish state’s attacks as illegitimate and inhumane, and noted that Kurdish people would not acknowledge the government and the state as long as the state does not acknowledge Kurdish people’s self-administration and Turkey does not democratize.

In his article published in Yeni Özgür Politika and Azadiya Welat newspapers, which has been translated from Kurdish by ANF English service, Cemil Bayık wrote the following:

Whatever AKP officials and suck-ups may say, the AKP government is hostile towards Kurdish people. The AKP government expressed it hostility when Erdoğan said “Kobanê is about to fall” and this hostility is at its peak in the form of enmity towards the PYD. The state shows its hostility through its destruction of civilian areas in North Kurdistan, massacres, and attacks on the HDP. We can say that no political power has been as anti-Kurdish as the AKP government. Such enmity has not existed in Iraq, Iran or Syria. The attacks of the AKP are beyond human comprehension.

For the AKP, Kurds have no value. Speaking of the Kurds is an objection to the strategy of the Turkish state that aims to destroy all Kurds. For these policy makers, Kurds should either suck up to the state or face brutality and torture. If a Kurd defends her identity and wants a free and democratic life, she will receive the worst insults and treatment for her act.

The Turkish state views Kurds as its property, a cadaver that can be treated in any way. This is why Kurds may be treated brutally. This mentality and policy is at the root of the Kurdish issue. This approach will not change as long as Kurds’ free and democratic life is not accepted. Of course, Kurds do not accept the Turkish state’s insult. The western world speaks of democracy and the values of humanity, but does not object to the Turkish state’s policies towards Kurds. Turkey, an ally of the west, is normalizing the policies of insulting and brutalizing Kurds!

Turkey now directs its policy of insulting and crushing Kurdish people to the parliamentarians of the party that these people voted for. Turkey thinks that these parliamentarians are not people’s representatives but paid civil servants of the state! Turkish politicians and AKP officials say that ‘these parliamentarians are paid by the state, so they should implement the state’s policies and accept whatever the state dictates.’ Turkey should know that HDP parliamentarians are not paid civil servants; they are the representatives of Kurdish people. The salaries they mention come from the taxes that Kurdish people are forced to pay. If they say that HDP parliamentarians should betray Kurdish people because of their salaries, why should Kurdish people pay taxes? Why should the people acknowledge the courts, when the courts are institutions of brutality? Why should the people acknowledge governors, when governors give massacre orders targeting the people? Why should the people acknowledge the state, when the state arrests the mayors elected by the people? Nothing can be as legitimate as the Kurdish people’s decision to declare self-administration in the face of state policies. The Turkish state’s attacks are illegitimate and inhumane. Kurdish people will not acknowledge the government and the state as long as the state does not acknowledge Kurdish people’s self-administration and Turkey does not democratize. This is the right of Kurdish people and nobody can question why the Kurds do not acknowledge the state. Nobody can legitimize the policies, discourse and applications of the Turkish state.

The Turkish state now disrespects the pain and attacks the condolence tents of Kurdish mothers and fathers. All political actors including the President and the Prime Minister go to the funerals of soldiers and police officers that massacre hundreds of Kurdish people, but other people are not supposed to go to the condolence tent of the young person who carried out the event in Ankara. If people can go to the funeral of soldiers and police officers that destroy Kurdish towns and kill civilians including babies and old people, everyone can go to the funeral of a Kurdish youth. Whether it is a soldier-police officer or a Kurdish youth that dies, even if one does not like their ideologies, one cannot attack a funeral. Parents mourn the death of their children, but the state prohibits Kurdish mothers and fathers from mourning. They even arrest Kurdish parents for mourning. Their goal is to make parents curse their deceased child, just like the state does.

The AKP government has gone mad, it does not have any humane, moral or conscientious values. AKP does not respect the traditions and values of Kurdish people. The most basic cultural values of parents who mourn the death of their children are ignored. Is it up to the state to decide which families can mourn the death of its children? This is the tyrant state that Kurds resist. This is a state that does not tolerate the will and culture of a society. This is the mentality at the root of the Kurdish issue.

It is not surprising for those that rip apart and desecrate dead bodies for revenge to attack parents that are mourning the death of their children. It is a duty of neighbors to visit the funeral of a neighbor, and it is shameful if neighbors fail to fulfill this duty. Someone from HDP can visit the family of a person that voted for the HDP, and nobody can prevent this visit. It is not up to the state to decide who can go to a funeral and who can mourn for their deceased relatives.

In fact, the pressures on HDP parliamentarian Tuğba Hezer have nothing to do with her visit to a funeral. The AKP state wants to silence everyone on the dirty war it is waging against Kurdish people. The pressures on the HDP aim to silence the only opposition in the country.

[John Dolva]

[John Dolva]

People's Defense Units YPG

11 hrs ·

From Turkey, Raqqa; ISIS Launches Fierce Attacks On Tal Abyad

ROJAVA, Syria (February 27, 2016) – After an effective military campaign in the town of Shadadi enabled the Syrian Democratic Forces (S.D.F.) to inflict significant blows to the Daesh (ISIS), elements of that terrorist group last night, February 26, launched a series of coordinated attacks in and around the city of Tal Abyad (Gire Spi).

The massive assault – targeting south and east of Tal Abyad from two axis – was simultaneously carried out at 11 pm from Turkey and the occupied city of Raqqa.

From Turkey side, numerous terrorist units stormed the city center of Tal Abyad and the villages Nastal, Khiwera, Qanatra located at zero point of the borderlines to the east of Tal Abyad region. Leading a charge from Raqqa, the terrorists at the same time targeted the line of Gantari-Shergirat villages in east of town Ain Issa, and southern Siluk.

The People’s/Women’s Defense Units (YPG/YPJ) immediately responded to the attacks, and confronted the assailants in 15 different locations. Up to the time, those battles continue with all intensity. Detailed information on this fight and the results will soon be provided, but we insure our people and the public opinion these attacks will be defeated, and the terrorists will lose once again.

People’s Defense Units (YPG) | Press Office, February 2016

Women's Defense Units YPJ | People's Defense Units YPG

Edited February 27, 2016 by John Dolva

[John Dolva]

ANF: Girê Spî cleansed of ISIS gangs after 16 hours of clashes

The town of Girê Spî in Rojava, West Kurdistan, has been cleansed of ISIS gangs that started an expansive aggression with Turkish state support last night.

Gang groups got positioned in the region of Mentiqet-ul Îskan after infiltrating into the area from Turkish border. They launched an aggression on the areas of Îskan, Eyn Arûs, Watanî Hospital and Hemam Tirkman village at around 01:15 last night.

YPG/YPJ and asayish (public security) forces immediately responded to the attack and managed to encircle them a while later amid fierce clashes that lasted 16 hours.

Dozens of gang members were killed during the fighting, in the wake of which the town was entirely cleansed of the gang groups at 4 pm today afternoon.

Clashes between YPG/YPJ and ISIS gangs are ongoing in the area between Hemam Tirkman village and Ayn îsa town.

Earlier today, Press Office of People’s Defense Units (YPG) stated that ISIS gangs had carried out attacks aimed at the southern and eastern parts of Girê Spî from the directions of Turkey and Raqqa last night.

The gangs attacking from Turkey side had targeted the Girê Spî (Til Ebyad) town centre, and the villages of Nestel, Xwêra and Qenetra. Those attacking from the southern Raqqa side, on the other hand, had hit the villages of Genterî and ?ergirat to the east of Ayn îsa and south of Silûk town.

_____________________________________________

11th day in basement: Blockade must be lifted

14:36

February 27 / 2016

JINHA

AMED - After intense attack began in the morning, 10 mayor explosions occurred in the Sur district of Diyarbakır. The women of the district said that bombs were raining down on them and that the blockade needed to be lifted.

As siege and onslaught have entered the 87th day in the Sur district of Diyarbakır, 10 mayor explosions occured at 10 a.m. According to reports, the basements where civilians have been trapped for 11 days, were bombed. Intense helicopter activity have continued over the district since morning. Remziye Tosun, one of the 200 civilians, said, "The bombs don't just strike the area where we're trapped, they strike the basement we're trapped in. That's oppression, savagery. We don't have any place to go. The tanks fire at random. Then, they say 'there is a corridor.' You tell me how we can get out."

'The blockade has to be lifted right now'

Reyhan Kavak Özbek, former co-chair of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) of Bağlar contacted our agency and said, "The situation is getting worse here. There are several building in front us. They are demolishing them step by step. They are coming toward us. The children are depressed due to shelling. The children say, 'We will die, they will kill us. The bomb is coming, we have to go somewhere else.' This blockade must be lifted right now or they will kill all of us."

(be/gc/gd)

Edited February 28, 2016 by John Dolva

[John Dolva]

Turkish police forces have staged a crackdown on thousands in the main Kurdish city Amed who started a march from Koşuyolu Park to the central Sur district to break the siege ongoing for 88 days.

Police attacked the mass with water cannons and tear gas, in response to which demonstrators mounted resistance.

As the crackdown continues, police shot a youth by the name of Abdullah Yılmaz in the head in Mevlana Halit neighborhood of Bağlar district.

The youth whom people around rushed to hospital is reported to have suffered a heavy injury and in critical condition at the moment.

Dozens of people have been reported detained by police.

Edited February 28, 2016 by John Dolva

[John Dolva]

A Russian TV crew has managed to obtain video proof of Turkey’s increased military presence on the Syrian border, as it filmed fortifications and tanks on the frontier.

The lodgments are heavily fortified by tanks and self-propelled guns, REN-TV crew reported from the scene.

Shells and other ammunition are being delivered to the Turkish positions, which are shelling Kurdish forces in Syrian territory, according to the report.

“The barrels of the tanks and self-propelled guns are pointed in the direction of the mainly Kurdish Syrian city of Kobane,” the journalist said.

There were at least six or seven tanks in the area and the Turkish forces on the border can be deployed in Syria “in an instant,” according to REN-TV.

Reports of Syrian town attacked by militants coming from Turkey – Russian military

Meanwhile, the area appeared to be very active, as Turkey continued to transport various supplies to the border.

The REN-TV journalists spoke to the mostly Kurdish locals, who openly accused Turkey of being “friends” with the Islamic State fighters that had earlier raided nearby houses. The extremist fighters took the most expensive things from the homes, including “money and jewelry,” they said.

The residents also provided evidence proving that various military crimes had taken place and described how Turkey and Islamic State forces had opened fire on locals trying to flee the area – and then stolen their cars.

“There were 30 cars moving towards the border when Turkish military and Daesh fighters opened fire on the vehicles, a lot of them caught fire. Terrorists ended up taking the vehicles that could still drive,” resident Beker Ramadon told REN-TV.

Moreover, in the city of Jarabulus, which is located in the north of Syria near the Turkish border, residents told the journalists that local houses are being destroyed by Turkish tanks.

“Turkish tanks fired at and destroyed a house five days ago,” a Kurdish fighter said, pointing to the rubble.

The REN-TV reporters tried to determine where the fire had come from and noticed a couple of hidden tanks in the pictures they had taken from the crime scene.

During the first night of the Syrian ceasefire, more than 200 Islamic State fighters crossed the Turkish border into Syria and another 100 came up from the Syrian city of Raqqa before joining forces near Kurdistan, the Russian center for reconciliation said in a report.

[John Dolva]

12:40
February 29 / 2016

JINHA

COLEMÊRG - Gever YPS-JIN promised that they will raise the resistance of women and this year's March 8, International Women's Day will be the year of resistance. YPS-JIN said, "The revenge of mourdered women whose bodies were exhibited, burned and thrown in the middle of streets will be taken."

Women founded Women's Civil Defense Forces (YPS-JIN) by not leaving their lands against state forces's siege which has continued for months. The women have continued to resist with YPS-JIN. Zana Gever, a member of YPS-JIN, said that they dedicated March 8, International Women's Day in loving memory of murdered women whose bodies were exhibited despite martial law in Kurdistan.

"Male mentality which burned women tens years ago, still continues to burn and kill women. We, as YPS-JIN, will be a response to this massacre by going out to the streets. Today is the day to come together by rising up against the system and masculine mindset. Today is the women's organization day. Women mustn't stay at home. We, as women, will stop this massacre. We will continue to say Women, life and freedom." said Zana.

Meanwhile, Arin Gever, another member of YPS-JIN, pointed out that March 8, International Women's Day must be celebrated more glorious im memory of murdered women. She called women by saying, " We, as YPS-JIN, are leading the struggle which has been carried out now. We wish a happy March 8, International Women's Day, to all the revolutionary and laboring women We will rise up our resistance further on behalf of the memory of every murdered woman. All women must take to the streets without exception of Kurds and Turks. Women will break the chains of fascism."

"This year's March 8, International Women's Day will be all women's resistance year. We give our word to all Kurdish women that we will resist in the cities like in Rojava. We have to resist for a beter future. We call all women to join YPS-JIN. Long live the struggle of March 8." said Nujin Alezer.

(ga-ho/va/dk)

JINHA

AMED - Hatayi Demir, a member of the Mesopotamia Ecology Assembly, stated that with a war launched in Kurdistan, the destruction of the habitat of all living beings is a result of a lack of consciousness regarding ecology under war conditions. The ecology movement will shed light on and develop a perspective on the ongoing chaos and the war.

The right to life of people, nature and all creatures are being violated and their habitats are being destroyed by the undeclared war started after the June 7 election. Fires broke out in some areas of the Lice, Silvan and Kulp districts of Diyarbakır and the Karakoçan and Aliboğazı districts of Dersim. These fires reveals how an environment of conflict causes the destruction of nature and the living environment. Hatayi Demir, a member of the Mesopotamia Ecology Assembly, pointed out that these destruction can be prevent with ecological consciousness. " Social ecology is self-government itself. There is a barrier to develop an ecological consciousness in society. This is because, if there is an ecological consciousness in society, the destruction will be less.

"Ecology means; people-nature. It advocates the equality of all living beings. And it is a continuity in the form of circulation. Social ecology is self-government itself."

(de-be/dk/gd)



15:08
February 29 / 2016

JINHA

BURSA - Gizem Yerik, a student at Faculty of Fine Arts in Uludağ University, was taken into custody for allegedly "insulting" the President while she was in class. After the prosecution process, Gizem was sent to jail for "spreading terrorist propaganda"

Gizem Yerik is a student at Faculty of Fine Arts in Uludağ University in Bursa. Gizem was taken into custody for allegedly "insulting" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by Turkist state forces while she was in the class. Gizem was taken into custody for her posts on twitter. She was taken to Mudanya Police station. After taking her testimony, Gizem was sent to jail by the court for "spreading terrorist propaganda" and "insulting" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

(ödk/ck/dk/gd)

[John Dolva]

To help understand, a pause to contemplate some why's:


26 February 2016

by Joris Leverink, originally published on Telesurtv.net

The project of radical democracy, the creation of autonomous zones and its harsh critiques of both imperialism and capitalism hasn't left the Kurds of northern Syria with many friends.

During the four months Kobane was under siege from ISIS, few media paid attention to the real struggle of the people of northern Syria in which they're fighting for real democracy, women's rights and ecological sustainability.

On January 26, after 134 days of resistance the Kurdish defense forces announced they had successfully pushed the forces of the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS) out of the Kobane. Over the course of the four and a half months the town in northern Syrian was under attack from ISIS it became a symbol of resistance against the seemingly 'unbeatable' jihadist forces and a bulwark of freedom in the midst of the chaos and destruction of the Syrian civil war.

Since Kobane's liberation, the Kurdish defense forces of the YPG and the YPJ (People's and Women's Defense Units) have continued their advance against ISIS and in the past weeks they have managed to liberate almost two-thirds of the roughly 350 villages that together comprise the Kobane canton. The victory in Kobane is not only a sound military defeat for ISIS, but more importantly, maybe, is the symbolic meaning of this event. ISIS' image of invincibility has been dealt a lethal blow while the Kurds have shown themselves as indispensable allies in the battle against extremists in the region.

While the battle for Kobane has received a lot of attention in the international media – not the least the 'exotic' female fighters of YPJ – few outlets have covered the true battle of the Kurds. Since the summer of 2012 when the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) declared the autonomy of three cantons in northern Syria, collectively known as Rojava, the local people have been involved in a bottom-up revolutionary struggle pursuing horizontal democracy, gender equality and environmental sustainability.

The Rojava revolution – as it has since become known – is outspokenly anti-statist and anti-capitalist, and this might in fact be one of the reasons why it has received so little attention from the mainstream media. Despite its absence from the global headlines, one could argue that the Rojava revolution is in fact on of the most important political projects being pursued in the world today.

From second-rate citizens to first-class revolutionaries

When in March 2011 the Syrian people, inspired by the popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, took to the streets en masse to demand the fall of the Assad regime, few could have predicted that this peaceful revolution would quickly descent into chaos, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands civilians and leaving the country in ruins. The Syrian Kurds, mainly living in the country's three northernmost regions Afrîn, Kobane and Cezîre, had as much reason as anyone – and probably more – to demand the fall of the regime.

For many years the country's Kurdish population had been treated as second-rate citizens, with their homelands left deliberately underdeveloped by the central government that treated Rojava as an internal colony. While being rich in oil and agricultural lands no refineries and less than a handful factories could be found in the region. Moreover, due to an institutional ban on the Kurdish language schools only provided education in Arabic, and for education beyond middle school students were forced to relocate to urban centers like Aleppo and Damascus.

In 2004, Kurds across the country rose up after a clash between Kurdish and Arab soccer fans during a match in the town of Qamishli, the regional capital of the Cezîre canton, got out of hand. The disproportionate violence used by the security forces to crack down exclusively on the Kurdish fans sparked a week-long uprising that quickly spread from the towns and villages in the north to the capital and other predominantly Arab cities. After several days of unrest at least thirty people were killed. However, more important for the future of Rojava was the realization that the Syrian Kurds couldn't count on their Arab neighbors in their opposition against the regime.

The events of 2004 were one of the reasons why the Kurds were hesitant to join the uprising against Assad in 2011. Sure, peaceful demonstrations took place in the Kurdish regions as well as in many other places, but after the popular uprising had morphed into a vicious and violent civil war Kurdish militias and political parties hesitated to align themselves with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and its political wing the Syrian National Council (SNC). Failure to obtain a guarantee from the opposition forces that the Kurds would not suffer marginalization and exclusion under a future post-Assad, SNC-controlled government led the Kurdish parties to choose a so-called 'Third Way' in which they aligned themselves neither with the regime, nor with the rebels.

The bottom-up revolution

This Third Way-approach proved successful when on July 19, 2012 Kurdish parties took control over many government institutions in the region and Assad started to withdraw his forces, leaving a power vacuum that was quickly filled-up by the PYD. A new body, the Democratic Society Movement (known by its Kurdish acronym TEV-DEM) was set up to oversee and facilitate the implementation of the new, direct democratic governance structures. The TEV-DEM set out to organize society in different working groups, committees and people's assemblies, each focusing on specific fields such as women's issues, the economy, environment, defense, civil society and education, and more.

The TEV-DEM can be singled out as one of the main reasons why the revolution in Rojava didn't succumb to the destructive internal conflicts that haunted so many other opposition groups that have sprung up in the context of the Arab Spring. The TEV-DEM didn't function as a catalyst of the Rojava revolution, but rather it canalized the already existing revolutionary spirit, directing the energy of the people towards the construction of a new society, rather than the destruction of the old. The four principles of the TEV-DEM go a long way in explaining its appeal to the oppressed and marginalized people of Rojava. These are: the revolution must be bottom up; it has to be a social, cultural, educational as well as a political revolution; it should be directed against the state, power and authority and finally it must be the people who have the final say in all decision making processes.

While the rest of Syria descended into chaos the people of Rojava were gathering in neighborhood assemblies and local committees, organizing themselves for the benefit of society. While ISIS entered the Syrian civil war in the first half of 2013 the women of Rojava formed the backbone of the revolution, representing themselves at all different levels of organization and actively taking part in the shaping of a non-patriarchal, anti-capitalist movement. And while the eyes of the world were focused on the carnage and destruction of the Syrian civil war and its spillover into Iraq, the three cantons of Rojava quietly declared their autonomy from the central government.

Autonomy, not independence

An important detail which is often overlooked is that the people of Rojava did not separate themselves from Syria; they declared their autonomy and not their independence. Article 12 of the 'Charter of the Social Contract' – the constitution of Rojava, announced an implemented in January 2014 – states clearly that “The Autonomous Regions form an integral part of Syria. It is a model for a future decentralized system of federal governance in Syria.” The pursuit of autonomy rather than independence is significant. It shows that their project is not exclusively Kurdish and that, despite not being actively involved in the uprising aimed at overthrowing Assad, the people of Rojava dofeel engaged with the future of their country.

The declaration of regional autonomy is moreover indicative of the links between the movement in Rojava and the Kurdish Freedom Movement in North Kurdistan (southeast Turkey). The close relations between the PYD and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have never been a secret. The PYD was founded as the Syrian sister organization of the outlawed PKK in 2003, and thousands of Syrian Kurds have fought among the ranks of the PKK inside Turkey. Both organizations view Abdullah Öcalan as its spiritual leader, and his concept of Democratic Confederalism is the guiding ideology for both the Rojava revolution and the numerous local projects in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern regions of Turkey.

Öcalan's ideological reorientation from a Marxist-Leninist perspective in which an independent, socialist state was the ultimate goal for the Kurds to a political belief that sees a federation of autonomous communities, regardless of their ethnic and/or religious backgrounds, as the ideal form of social and political organization was strongly influenced by the works of the American anarchist thinker Murray Bookchin. In his studies, Bookchin looked at the origins of social hierarchy and concluded that human domination over nature has its roots in human domination over human. In order to create a society that not only abolishes hierarchical relations between humans, but also is in harmony with its ecological environment, Bookchin proposed the idea of 'libertarian municipalism'.

Bookchin's ideas regarding people's assemblies, direct democracy and a confederation of local, autonomous communities are currently being implemented across the three cantons that together make up Rojava. Popular councils, or 'Houses of the People', make up the heart of the political system. The first level of organization are the local communes, each made up of 30-150 households; on the next level are village and neighborhood councils, which consist of 7-30 communes each; this is followed by area councils and finally there is the MGRK, the People's Council of West Kurdistan. Decisions are conveyed from one level to the next by two delegates, one man and one woman, that are elected for this purpose. Moreover, all councils must adhere to a 40% gender-quota.

Syria's Kurds need solidarity, not charity

Unfortunately but unsurprisingly the Rojava revolution has been all but ignored in the international media and political circles alike. The project of radical democracy, the creation of autonomous zones and its harsh critiques of both imperialism and capitalism hasn't left the people of Rojava with many friends. Even Masoud Barzani, leader of neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan looks at Rojava with suspicious eyes, realizing that a similar revolution in northern Iraq would automatically mean the end of his rule. More worrisome, however, has been Turkey's disposition towards the social experiments of the Syrian Kurds.

“For us, the PYD is the same as the PKK, it's a terrorist organization,” the Turkish President Erdoğan stated publicly in response to plans to arm the PYD at the height of the battle for Kobane. Throughout the conflict Turkey has kept its borders with the Syrian town hermetically sealed, not allowing any aid, whether medical or military, to reach Kobane's defenders. The sole exception was when it allowed for a small battalion of 150 Peshmerga fighters from Iraqi Kurdistan to cross the border to fight alongside the YPG/YPJ against ISIS.

Turkey fears that a successful Rojava revolution might inspire its domestic Kurdish population to pursue a similar goal. In reality, both civil society groups such as the People's Democratic Congress (DTK) and political parties like the People's Democratic Party (HDP) have already been implementing and supporting local, autonomous governance structures for years. Autonomy for Turkey's Kurds would mean that Ankara would lose direct, everyday control over about a fifth of its territory, something which is unacceptable for the current government.

For these, and other reasons the Turkish government has thus far refused to provide aid in any form to the people of Rojava in general, and to the town of Kobane in particular. In order for the rebuilding of Kobane to be possible and for the people of Rojava to be able to continue to resist the ever-imminent threat of the jihadist forces at their doorstep it is absolutely crucial that Turkey opens it borders with the Syrian regions under Kurdish control. If Turkey's past behavior is any indication of its future actions then there is little hope of this happening any time soon.

However, where it would require the pressure from other governments to force Turkey to open its borders, the people from Kobane have to be careful from whom they accept aid for the rebuilding of their city. Unconditional aid without any string attached is a rare phenomenon. In order to preserve their radical independence and the core values of the revolution they have been fighting for, it is crucial that supranational organizations like the UN, the IMF and the World Bank, nor global corporations prying on the region's natural resources are allowed access by the people of Rojava. The true battle of Syria's Kurds is theirs, and theirs alone. In the coming months and years they will need all the solidarity they can get, but their impressive track-record proves that the last thing they need is appropriation disguised as charity from Western powers.

[John Dolva]

something to always bear in mind as things develop: Che Guevara last Speech in Algiers 1965

[John Dolva]

AKP forces’ attack on neighborhoods in Gever repelled http://www.anfenglish.com/kurdistan/akp-forces-attack-on-neighborhoods-in-gever-repelled …

[John Dolva]

Dictator Erdogan and his ruling clique continues to create chaos and terrorise people who struggle for peace.

Women and men marching to stop the slaughter in Sur are being attacked right now.

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Firat News Agency ‏@anfenglish 15h15 hours ago

Tens of thousands marching to Sur amid police crackdown http://www.anfenglish.com/kurdistan/tens-of-thousands-marching-to-sur-amid-police-crackdown…



A man runs to take cover as Turkish riot police use a water cannon to disperse Kurdish demonstrators during a protest against a curfew in Sur district and security operations in the region, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey March 2, 2016 © Sertac Kayar / Reuters