The quintessence: none of the regional and global players want Kurdish self-rule in Northern Syria to survive! The decisive role is being played by Turkey: In Kobani Ankara got the final say. The Turkish calculus is obvious. If Rojava held on it would serve as a precedence enormously strengthening PKK. The pressure on Ankara to grant substantial autonomy also to its own millions of Kurds would increase massively. The US, on its part, is pushing Turkey, pillar state for the NATO, to join their alliance against the Islamic State (IS) thus defining the Jihadis to be the main enemy in the regional civil war. The US air campaign is turning Asad into the lesser evil potentially upgrading his regime even into a partner. This is, however, unacceptable for Turkey’s ruling AKP. For them … [read more]

Elections Black Turkey boldly remains behind Erdoǧan regardless of corruption allegations. The decisive factor for the renewed electoral support is the social and economic ascendancy which also arrived at the Anatolian middle and lower classes – which actually is not a minor occurrence. To acknowledge this it suffices to compare it with the poor performance of all the neighbours. Furthermore there is the historic achievement of peacefully having pushed back the army allowing for a democratic opening which symbolically includes the important right to wear the hijab in public environments. Corruption, on the other hand, was widespread also before the AKP era. The new rulers just do the same as the old ones – for many even with more legitimacy. Actually, capitalism means systemic … [read more]

The radical left which during the military dictatorship rose in arms (paying a heavy price) has been alimenting itself mainly from the ranks of the Alevi community. The war waged by the junta against the Kurds with the most dirty of methods including mass eviction and dam projects in East Anatolia evoked a large migration to Western Turkey’s metropolis – in addition to the economic factors which pushes the population in the entire global south into the cities. Millions of uprooted and impoverished Alevis all of a sudden found themselves within an urban environment. The Alevis have been known as social rebels. They staged several insurrections against the Ottoman Sultans leading to bloody crack-downs. They remained heavily oppressed different to other ethnic and sectarian minorities … [read more]

The starting point of the mass protests, to prevent the destruction of a park in the very heart of Istanbul’s political centre, offered a broad and flexible platform. As the movement is multi-faceted, it can develop in various directions. Where it will go is yet not decided. Here are some thoughts on the character of the events and how to act upon them. The different souls of the protests First of all the mass action is directed against unrestrained capitalism and its reckless megaprojects which do not tolerate objections. People on the street are targeting the new Islamic elite, which had promised to be different to its secular predecessor, but eventually turned out to be very similar. But that does not automatically mean that it is all about an uprising of the poor. Looking at … [read more]

previous Additionally, given the continued overwhelming supremacy of imperialism there cannot be any doubt for our geo-politicians that whatever regime comes into conflict with the imperial centre must be supported – regardless of its relation to the popular masses. Tertium non datur! During the last two decades this geo-political position did not differ much from the social revolutionary one. Imperial power has been at its highest, unfolding ruthlessly and attacking resisting regimes that represented old gains of long-gone popular struggles. Outstanding examples were Yugoslavia and Iraq, where the popular masses essentially remained passive while only politically advanced sections supported the regimes’ resistance against imperialism. Popular resistance movements like those … [read more]

previous The Arab ancien regime The Middle East has always been a neuralgic point of the imperialist world system. To simplify: there is Israel and petroleum. It is not by accident that the Palestinian resistance continued while after 1989/1991 nearly all other popular movements against the imperial capitalist elites ceded. Under these extremely unfavourable conditions this continued resistance, however, suffered deformations. In the absence of mass movements there was militarism. The other deformation was culturalism tending towards sectarianism. Its highest expression was al-Qaeda type Jihadism with its gesamtkunstwerk [all-embracing, holistic artwork] 9/11. It could deal some important symbolic blows to imperialism but without the masses it could not win. The old Middle … [read more]

previous First stage: peaceful and anti-interventionist When the democratic movement in Syria started, inspired by the advances in North Africa, there was the hope for quick victory as with its precedents. But the Assad regime refused to take the same road as his homologues in Tunisia and Egypt. The succession of Assad junior had evoked hopes for reform, but they have been frustrated since. All during the last decade the Baath apparatus did not allow them. Why then should they do so now? The only strong explanation for this total inability to respond at least partially to the democratic mass movement is the sectarian Allawi character of the Baath regime encapsulating itself. As in the other Arab countries the Islamist forces played no driving role in this first stage of the … [read more]

Press Statement from UK Delegation in Diyarbakir to observe the trial of 151 Kurdish political activists and human rights defenders: We, as delegates from Britain of varying backgrounds and ethnicities welcome the opportunity that has been afforded to us to have firsthand insight into these historic trials. During our observations thus far we have had the opportunity of meeting and speaking with Mayors, Parliamentarians, Lawyers, Academics and many other interested parties. This has given us the opportunity to explore at firsthand the issues in these trials and have helped to shape our understanding of the actual meaning of these trials. We had firsthand experience of being in the Courtroom with the 151 defendants and their 250 lawyers yesterday and today. We can confidently … [read more]

In a speech, Leyla Zana had praised Abdullah Ocalan for his tireless work for the Kurdish causes and announced him as the Kurdish national leader. She also stated that if Erdogan is intending to solve the Kurdish issue he should take Ocalan as the interlocutor and instead of travelling to Diyarbakir he should visit Ocalan in his solitary confinement in the Island of Imrali Prison. In another speech Leyla Zana expressed his admirations to the PKK and its imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan's importance to the Kurdish people to the importance the brain and heart have to humans. "They have created a new life for the Kurdish people, so that a people that used to be ashamed of its existence gained a spirit of freedom and resistance, Zana said" Leyla Zana the winner of the Sakharov Prize … [read more]