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Recent articles by José Antonio Gutiérrez D.
El PKK saluda a las FARC-EP con motivo de su 50º aniversario May 29 14 Πατριωτισμό`... Apr 22 14 Πόλεμο κατά τ&#... Mar 03 14 The Arab rebellion and the imperialist war on Libya from a Kurdish perspective international |
imperialism / war |
interview
 Wednesday March 23, 2011 01:02 by José Antonio Gutiérrez D.
 The following is an interview with Nejat Firat Zeyneloglu, a Kurdish libertarian based in Turkey. In this interview, held on March 21st, he deals with the impact of the Arab rebellion for the Kurdish people, about the Kurdish protests in Southern Kurdistan, and draw relevant parallels to the situation of the Libyan rebels today and that of the Kurdish rebels after the First Gulf War. [Français] [Italiano] [Türkçe] [Castellano] 1. How were the Newroz celebrations this year (ie. the Kurdish new year)? With all the Arab revolts going on it is certainly an interesting time... This year the Newroz celebrations were carried out in an absolutely enthusiastic atmosphere; millions of people participated in the celebrations all around Kurdistan and abroad. For decades, Newroz has not only been a national celebration, but has also been a demonstration which represents the tough and longstanding struggle for the liberation of the Kurds. As a matter of fact, we have fought for having the right to celebrate it for over a decade. Nevertheless, this year, what gave real motivation to the millions of Kurds who celebrated Newroz was the splendid revolt wave in the Middle East and Northern Africa. The Kurdish people have already welcomed this movement warmly, in sympathy with other people that are oppressed by brutal regimes. I think that this revolt wave has become a very important turning point in the consciousness of people in the region: dictatorships or brutal regimes seemed like as if they were almost eternal or immortal, but if the people rise up to bring down these regimes, neither dictatorships nor hypocritical parliamentary systems could survive; the revolution is possible and also real. We all should draw lessons from this great experience. 2. What's the position of the Kurdish liberation movement in relation to these protests? Do you think the demands of the Arab masses create room for a common struggle? It is clear that the Kurdish liberation movement is very glad of the Arab resistance. Kurds have been struggling for liberation for a long while, therefore, it can only be expected that they sympathize with these revolts. In its statement about the Arab revolt, the KCK (ie., Koma Civakên Kurdistan -Union of Communities in Kurdistan) saluted the rebels and called for the destruction of all dictatorships and brutal systems in the Middle East. I believe that the artificial hostilities between people or communities which have been systematically created by the ruling classes, states and imperialist powers, will dilute from now on. Thanks to the struggle of liberation, all people of the region may figure out that they are able to build a future together, through mutual aid. Let us hope so... 3. What has been the Kurdish population's role in Iraq during this wave of rebellion? We heard there have been important protests in Southern Kurdistan... Really powerful demonstrations have been staged in Southern Kurdistan, or officially Iraqi Kurdistan. The demonstrations began when a poor former soldier tried to burn himself – exactly like in Tunisia – to protest against the corruption of the local government, poverty and the oppression in the region. On the same day, in Sulaymaniyah, thousands of people poured into streets to protest. This was a great revolt wave indeed. The regional government reacted violently to the protests: the police killed two protestors and injured fifty. After that, of course, demonstrations were not over, on the contrary, they became stronger and spread out all over the region. I think it is clear that the resistance was inspired by the Arab revolt. The masses have been resisting the current situation where you have, on the one hand, an exploiter class which relies on the protection of local tribes and the regional government, and on the other hand, poor people living under a brutal system. The government makes promises to the people now, but I believe that the people cannot be deceived any longer. 4. The current situation in Libya has many parallels with the situation in Kurdish Iraq after the 1991 war, when the US declared the area a no-fly zone. Some elements of the left draw a mechanical conclusion that because the imperialist nations flex their muscles in crisis like this, on dictators such as Hussein or Gaddaffi, then the right position is to side with those dictators against imperialism. Yet the liberals, tend to think that because those dictators are awful and the ground for rebellion against them is legitimate, this means we have to side with the imperialists against the dictators. Keeping in mind the Kurdish experience of the '90s and the complex position it has fighting both sworn enemies of imperialism such as Syria and Iran, while at the same time fighting a close ally of the US such as Turkey, while, on top of that, having a tough struggle in Iraq where a "Kurdish nationalist" government collaborates openly in crushing the resistance; what is your view of recent events in Libya? As you said, there are similarities between the two situations, both in Kurdistan and Libya. And many leftists, just the way they are often mistaken with the Kurdish question, they are generally mistaken on the Libyan question. First, it is wrong to support any dictator or dictatorships, and worse, to consider that they could be progressive or honestly anti-imperialist. In fact, all of these dictators oppress their people with the aid of some imperialist power. Secondly, it’s also wrong to hope to get help from imperialists in any liberation struggle. Defending dictatorships or defending the imperialist intervention against dictators, are basically the same thing; it means to reject or to ignore the will of the masses of the people who fight for their liberty by themselves. I’d like to point out that there is on both arguments, distrust of the people, the masses, and their struggle. For the imperialist countries, naturally, the whole issue is to provide a so-called “stability”, because their interests depend on the “stability”. So, generally, as long as their benefits are protected, they do not care who the dominant power is; fascists, social democrats, conservatives, greens and so on. Remember that as far as a month ago, Sarkozy, Berlusconi, Erdogan and others were best pals with Gaddaffi. Because all of them have investments in Libya, and as you know, investment is more important than people’s life for capitalism. The imperialist countries are more worried about the Libyan people rather than Gaddaffi. Therefore, the aim of this war is to establish and to guarantee a new structure in Libya that is for the benefit of the imperialist countries. I think that we must support the struggle of the Libyan people that is based on their own will. We must support all kind of practice of direct democracy and self-management against any kind of opression or authority. We have to acknowledge that the Libyan people have the right to self-determination, and we have to side with people, not Gaddaffi or the imperialists. While the Kurdish resistance was fighting for liberation, the Turkish nationalist left criticized the liberation movement because they considered that Kurds have to accept the status quo and not to disrupt the international balance. But the freedom is a demand which cannot be postponed. We must defend the freedom and the self-management against both dictators and imperialists. 5. We hear about the Christians, the Shia, the Sunnis, the Allawis, among many others, having tensions as groups in the Middle East. The Kurdish liberation movement developed the project of Democratic Confederalism for the Middle East to find a peaceful coexistence of this complex mosaic of people, where communities from the bottom up federate according to affinities and common interests, and not based on colonial borders. Do you think this project is more relevant now with the region in revolt? I take note of the project of democratic confederalism which was put forward by the Kurdish liberation movement and by Ocalan himself. In spite of several shortcomings, it is a project which is based on self-management, anti-capitalism and environmentalism and I think it is worth to be discussed. The liberation movement has just decided to put into practice this project in the areas where they are strong. As far as I am concerned, this experience must be observed and discussed. |
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There are two possible futures. In one of them, the conflicts between the imperialist countries, and between them and China, will grow until some miscalculation leads to a nuclear war which could destroy humanity. The other possibility, the only means of avoiding that fate, is a workers' revolution to abolish capitalism and eliminate the causes of war. We can do it and we start by building the labour movement and taking a stand against militarism today. Instead of idolising the Anzacs, we should mourn them, and instead of glorifying the military, we should oppose its very existence. Statement of Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group. [Italiano] Latest news from our Syrian comrade Mazen Kamalmaz: The situation looks quite bleak for the future of the Arab peoples' revolutions: the official machine of the regimes' repression is unleashed to its maximum in several countries, threatening to put down by brutal force the uprisings of the Libyan, Bahraini and Yemeni masses. Our solidarity is needed in terms of actions of support!
Unlike the capitalists, the working class can unite across national boundaries. We can sweep away the capitalists and their State, with its armies, police and prisons. We can build libertarian communism, a world of peace and plenty, a world of both freedom and security. We can and we must.
When news from the destruction of Gaza- which has claimed more than 200 lives- reached New York City, communities jumped into action. 90 years later, let 4 November be a day for repudiating war, for anti-militarism and non-violence between peoples, for ceasefires and the de-militarization of all war zones, for the withdrawal of the Italian army and all armies from fake peace-keeping missions. [Italiano]
For those of us involved in the fight for workers' power, the 1st of May gave us much to be cheerful about. Traditionally a day to celebrate working class solidarity and militancy, workers in America and Iraq, marked May 1st with a wonderful demonstration of both of these fine qualities.
The French State has chosen military escalation in Afghanistan. Not only will it increase its manpower on the ground, which will increase to 2,700 soldiers this summer up from the current figure of 1,700, but it will be sending a battalion of 700 soldiers to a combat zone of much more intensity than the area of Kabul where most of the French task force is currently concentrated. [ Français ]
The Chinese gov't just tested a ASAT (anti-satellite attack) system successfully. The US is bound to respond by ratcheting up its warmarking capabilities in space. Peace in the Mediterranean cannot depend on military peace missions, only on the re-birth of civil society and on the autonomy of the workers' movements in each country, together with de-militarization and disarmament on all fronts. more >>
Vladimir Putin, ex-KGB agent, is a man with close ties to the oil giant Gazprom, whose power is based in the Russian security apparatus and strengthened by his governments. [Português]
Many people in South Africa were shocked by the death of at least 13 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops when rebels overran their base in the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). Amongst the public and within the media questions soon started arising around the possible reasons why troops were in CAR to begin with. When it emerged that troops were possibly partly deployed to protect businesses in CAR linked to top African National Congress (ANC) officials, there was widespread outrage. The fact that South African troops were involved in protecting the political and economic interests of wealthy people linked to the South African state in CAR, and other African countries, should perhaps, however, not come as a surprise. Throughout its history, whether during apartheid or post apartheid, the South African state – which is controlled by the ruling class and headed up by members of this class - has been most willing to deploy troops in parts of Africa to protect the political, economic and strategic interests of the South African ruling class.
Workers Solidarity Alliance statement on situation in Gaza
An inter-imperialist clash is taking place in the Caucasus in which the Georgian dwarf is acting on behalf of the United States. The perfectly predictable and immediate Russian response - awarding Putin the first round - has only highlighted what an imbecile Georgia's president is. As a good nationalist, he (once again) made the choice in favour of an armed diversion, counting on US assistance which, though, was never going to be in the form of military intervention, when he should instead have been thinking about his country's disastrous state. By way of aside, it was another fine example of how dangerous it can be to be an ally of Washington. [Italiano]
This article has been first published in www.indymedia.org.nz The article is written before Anzac Day. more >>
There are two possible futures. In one of them, the conflicts between the imperialist countries, and between them and China, will grow until some miscalculation leads to a nuclear war which could destroy humanity. The other possibility, the only means of avoiding that fate, is a workers' revolution to abolish capitalism and eliminate the causes of war. We can do it and we start by building the labour movement and taking a stand against militarism today. Instead of idolising the Anzacs, we should mourn them, and instead of glorifying the military, we should oppose its very existence.
Statement of Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group. [Italiano]
Unlike the capitalists, the working class can unite across national boundaries. We can sweep away the capitalists and their State, with its armies, police and prisons. We can build libertarian communism, a world of peace and plenty, a world of both freedom and security. We can and we must.
90 years later, let 4 November be a day for repudiating war, for anti-militarism and non-violence between peoples, for ceasefires and the de-militarization of all war zones, for the withdrawal of the Italian army and all armies from fake peace-keeping missions. [Italiano]
The French State has chosen military escalation in Afghanistan. Not only will it increase its manpower on the ground, which will increase to 2,700 soldiers this summer up from the current figure of 1,700, but it will be sending a battalion of 700 soldiers to a combat zone of much more intensity than the area of Kabul where most of the French task force is currently concentrated. [ Français ] more >> |
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Spring zu Komment: 1 2I am really impressed with the depth of the analysis. Although I live in the middle east it is very hard to find such a comprehensive political analysis from a libertarian point of view. I wished that such political discussions and such a perspective could lead to the founding process of a political-mass based and militant subject. It would be quite nice if the guys from anarkismo could open a weekly coulumn for such people and such currents.
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