Rojava:Fantasías y realidades
http://materialesxlaemancipaci
El siguiente texto es una traducción al español de nuestra parte, el cual fue extraído de la página web del grupo internacionalista Tridni Valka (Guerra de Clases). Nuestra intención, como en una anterior entrega, es la de profundizar la discusión sobre este tema tan polémico y poco clarificado, bastante alejados de las mitologías y ensoñaciones de los podridos círculos de izquierdas y liberales-libertarios, que ven en Rojava, una auténtica “expresión de la lucha revolucionaria”. Si bien creemos que la necesidad de lucha de nuestra clase está latente alrededor del globo, que existe una auténtica necesidad de comunismo –a pesar de que no se entienda realmente qué es eso del “comunismo”–, o al menos, que existe una leve crítica a la sociedad capitalista, que se expresa de variadas formas; eso no quita el hecho de que muchos esfuerzos de nuestra clase sean redirigidos hacia los terrenos que le sirven a la contrarrevolución, al oportunismo socialdemócrata o al (auto)gestionismo de la miseria propio de los sectores liberales-libertarios, quedando saboteado el esfuerzo de nuestros hermanos explotados de otras partes del mundo....
Rojava: Fantasies and Realities
http://materialesxlaemancipaci
El siguiente texto es una traducción al español de nuestra parte, el cual fue extraído de la página web del grupo internacionalista Tridni Valka (Guerra de Clases). Nuestra intención, como en una anterior entrega, es la de profundizar la discusión sobre este tema tan polémico y poco clarificado, bastante alejados de las mitologías y ensoñaciones de los podridos círculos de izquierdas y liberales-libertarios, que ven en Rojava, una auténtica “expresión de la lucha revolucionaria”. Si bien creemos que la necesidad de lucha de nuestra clase está latente alrededor del globo, que existe una auténtica necesidad de comunismo –a pesar de que no se entienda realmente qué es eso del “comunismo”–, o al menos, que existe una leve crítica a la sociedad capitalista, que se expresa de variadas formas; eso no quita el hecho de que muchos esfuerzos de nuestra clase sean redirigidos hacia los terrenos que le sirven a la contrarrevolución, al oportunismo socialdemócrata o al (auto)gestionismo de la miseria propio de los sectores liberales-libertarios, quedando saboteado el esfuerzo de nuestros hermanos explotados de otras partes del mundo....
Rojava: Fantasies and Realities
Following our previous critical contribution to
“solidarity campaign” towards “Rojava Revolution” entitled “In Rojava: People’s War is not Class
War”, we introduce
and publish here two small stands we found on the internet. Both of them go in
the same direction not to end the debate but on the contrary to bring some
class analysis elements in the discussion and to call thus into question the
romantic apology of the struggle in Syrian Kurdistan made by different
political circles.
We obviously insist on putting forward strong
reservations as for weaknesses and limits that can be found in these both texts
which represent neither the global positions of our group nor those of the communist
movement from a historic and programmatic point of view. Nevertheless these are
living expressions of revolutionary minorities that try to affirm against the
current and in an “unpopular” way the necessity and pre-eminence of internationalism
in all struggle of our class.
The first text is entitled “Rojava: Fantasies
and Realities”; it is signed by a militant called Zafer Onat and has been
published in Turkish on the blog of the “libertarian communist discussion forum”
Servet Düşmanı
which means “Enemy of
Wealth”.
The second text is entitled “Some Comments on the
‘Rojava Revolution’”; it is anonymous and has been published on the blog Infoshop News – Anarchist and libertarian news, opinion and analysis. We introduce and publish both of these
texts on our blog in their English version but we also translated them into
Czech and French…
# # #
Rojava: Fantasies and Realities
by Zafer Onat
The Kobane resistance that has passed its 45th
day as of now has caused the attention of revolutionaries all over the world to
turn to Rojava. As a result of the work carried out by Revolutionary Anarchist
Action, anarchist comrades from many parts of the world have sent messages of
solidarity to the Kobane resistance. This internationalist stance without a
doubt carries great importance for the people resisting in Kobane. However if
we do not analyze what is happening in all its truth and if we romanticize
instead, our dreams will turn to disappointment in short order.
Furthermore, in order to create the worldwide
revolutionary alternative that is urgently needed, we must be cool-headed and
realistic, and we have to make correct assessments. On this point let us
mention in passing that these solidarity messages that have been sent on the
occasion of the Kobane resistance demonstrate the urgency of the task of
creating an international association where revolutionary anarchists and
libertarian communists can discuss local and global issues and be in solidarity
during struggles. We have felt the lack of such an international during the
last four years when many social upheavals took place in many parts of the
world – we at least felt this need during the uprising that took place in June
2013 in Turkey.
Today however we must discuss Rojava without
illusions and base our analyses on the right axis. It is not very easy for a
person to evaluate the developments that happen within the time frame they live
in according only to what they see in that moment. Evidently, assessments made
with minds clouded with feelings of being cornered and despair make it even
harder for us to produce healthy answers.
Nowhere on the world today exists an effective
revolutionary movement in our sense of the term or a strong class movement that
can be a precursor of such a movement. The struggles that do emerge fade either
through being violently repressed or by being drawn in to the system. It seems
that because of this, just as in the case of an important part of Marxists and
anarchists in Turkey, revolutionary organizations and individuals in various
parts of the world are imbuing a meaning to the structure that has emerged in
Rojava that is beyond its reality. Before all else, it is unfair for us to load
the burden of our failure to create a revolutionary alternative in places we
live and the fact that social opposition is largely co-opted in to the system
on to the shoulders of the persons struggling in Rojava. That Rojava, where the
economy is to a large extent agricultural, and is surrounded by imperialist blocs
led on the one hand by Russia and on the other hand by the USA, repressive,
reactionary and collaborator regimes in the area and brutal jihadist
organizations like ISIS which have thrived in this environment. In that sense,
it is equally problematic to attribute a mission to Rojava that is beyond what
it is or what it can be or to blame those people engaged in a life and death
struggle for expecting support from Coalition forces or not carrying out “a
revolution to our liking”.
First of all we must identify that the Rojava
process has progressive features such as an important leap in the direction of
women’s liberation, that a secular, pro-social justice, pluralist democratic
structure is attempted to be constructed and that other ethnic and religious groups
are given a part in the administration. However, the fact that the newly
emerging structure does not aim at the elimination of private property, that is
the abolition of classes, that the tribal system remains and that tribal
leaders partake in the administration shows that the aim is not the removal of
feudal or capitalist relations of production but is instead in their own words
“the construction of a democratic nation”.
We must also remember that the PYD is a part of
the political structure led by Abdullah Ocalan for 35 years which aims at
national liberation and the political limitations that all nationally oriented
movements have apply to the PYD as well. Furthermore, the influence of elements
that belong to the ruling class inside of the Kurdish movement is constantly
increasing with the “solution process”, especially in Turkey.
On this point, it is helpful to examine the KCK
Contract that defines the democratic confederalism that forms the basis of the
political system in Rojava. (2) A few points in the introduction written by
Ocalan deserve our attention:
“This system is one that takes into account
ethnic, religious and class differences on a social basis.” (..) “Three systems
of law will apply in Kurdistan: EU law, unitary state law, democratic confederal
law.”
In summary, it is stated that class society
will remain and there will be a federal political system compatible with the
global system and the nation state. In concert with this, article 8 of the
Contract, titled “Personal, Political Rights and Freedoms” defends private
property and section C of article 10 titled “Basic Responsibilities” defines
the constitutional basis of mandatory military service as it states “In the
case of a war of legitimate defense, as a requirement of patriotism, there is
the responsibility to actively join the defense of the homeland and basic
rights and freedoms.” While the Contract states that the aim is not political
power, we also understand that the destruction of the state apparatus is also
not aimed, meaning the goal is autonomy within existing nation states. When the
Contract is viewed in its entirety, the goal that is presented is seen not to
be beyond a bourgeois democratic system that is called democratic
confederalism. To summarize, while the photos of two women bearing rifles that
are frequently spread on social media, one taken in the Spanish Civil War, the
other taken in Rojava do correspond to a similarity in the sense of women
fighting for their freedoms, it is clear that the persons fighting ISIS in
Rojava do not at this point have the same goals and ideals as the workers and
poor peasants that fought within the CNT-FAI in order to remove the state and
private property altogether. Furthermore, there are serious differences between
the two processes in terms of conditions of emergence, the class positions of
their subjects, the political lines of those running the process and the
strength of the revolutionary movement worldwide.
In this situation, we must neither be surprised
by, nor blame the PYD if they are forced to abandon even their current
position, in order to found an alliance with regional and global powers to
break the ISIS siege. We cannot expect persons struggling in Kobane to abolish
the world scale hegemony of capitalism or to resist this hegemony for long.
This task can only be realized by a strong worldwide class movement and
revolutionary alternative.
Capitalism is in a crisis at the global level
and imperialists who are trying to transcend this crisis by exporting war to
every corner of the world, together with policies of repressive regimes in the
region have turned Syria and Iraq into a living hell. Under conditions where a
revolutionary alternative is not in existence, the social uprising that emerged
in Ukraine against the pro-Russian and corrupt government resulted in
fascist-backed pro-EU forces coming to power and the war between two
imperialist camps continues. Racism and fascism is rising fast in European
countries. In Turkey, political crises come one after the other and the ethnic
and sectarian division in society is deepening. While under these
circumstances, Rojava may appear as a lifeline to hold on to, we must consider
that beyond the military siege of ISIS, Rojava is also under the political
siege of forces like Turkey, Barzani and the Free Syrian Army. As long as
Rojava is not backed by a worldwide revolutionary alternative for it to rest
upon, it seems that it will not be easy for Rojava to maintain even its current
position in the long run.
The path not only to defend Rojava physically
and politically and to carry it further lies in creating a class based grounds
for organizing and struggle, and a related strong and globally organized
revolutionary alternative. The same applies for preventing the atmosphere of
ethnic, religious and sectarian conflict that draws the peoples of the region
further in by each passing day, and preventing laborers from sliding into
right-wing radicalism in the face of capitalism’s world level crisis.
Solidarity with Kobane, while important is insufficient. Beyond this, we need
to see that discussing what needs to be done to create a revolutionary process,
and organizing for this at the international level everywhere we are is
imperative not only for those resisting in Kobane but millions of laborers all
over the world.