(en) Anarkismo.net: Kurdistan lies the hope of the Middle East and Central Asia by BrunoL (pt)

[machine translation]

In barbarities times promoted by the action of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 
(ISIS), the resistance in Kobane, third most important city of the Kurds, located on the 
border between Syria (or what remains of it) and the Republic of Turkey, reinforces the 
hope of a non-sectarian and democratic society in the Middle East, and with influences to 
Central Asia. ---- The western Kurdistan region whose name in Kurdish is Rojava represents 
a hope of new social relations to Islamic majority societies and operate as a global 
solidarity catalyst. ---- To intervene political force in the process, highlight two 
political organizations and their Kurdish military versions. One, the oldest, is the 
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Another strength is the People's Protection Units Kurdish 
(YPG is the acronym from the original Arabic), with special emphasis on its women's wing, 
the YPJ, composed of more than 7,000 militia. The YPG / YPJ is the military expression of 
the popular forces in the region whose name in Kurdish, Rojava, now runs the planet 
through alternative portals.

The political force that gives basis for the organization of the three cantons of Rojava 
is the PYD (Democratic Union Party). Founded in 2003 and fruit of the new political, 
social and multi-faith connections arising from the strategic reorientation of the PKK, 
this political force has the hegemony of hard power relations in the region and, from this 
condition, receives the other ethnic and religious groups on equal civil, social and 
political.

In the Kurdish militia, are regimented fighters of different confessions (Assyrians, 
Yazidis, Christians, Armenians, Alevis, Sunnis and Shia Arabs, Turks left) to organize 
resistance in Kobane. The YPG / YPJ are not the armed wing of the PYD, but the regular 
forces of Rojava as autonomous territory - semi-independent - operating in practice as a 
regional self-government since the Kurdish rebellion 2012.

The autonomy of Rojava is with the military victory of the militias of the YPG / YPJ 
against fundamentalist forces of Al-Nusra and the Free Syrian Army called the Battle of 
Ras Al-Ayn (Ser?kan? in Kurdish). This long battle had three phases, the first of which 8 
November to 17 December 2012, the second from 17 January to 19 February 2013 and the third 
and final phase was on 16 and 17 July 2013 . At the end, signed a ceasefire agreement with 
the Free Syrian Army (FSA acronym in English) and recognized the Kurdish sovereignty by 
the main opposition force to the Assad clan.

After the territorial control more than half the border of shattered Syria with Turkey, 
the setbacks in fighting against Al-Nusra Front (Al-Qaeda branch in the Syrian civil war) 
and against the ISIS stabilized the confederation in a number of cantons in Syrian 
Kurdistan totaling 5 municipalities (cantons), 5 towns and about 100 villages. In this 
article, we stick to the nature of the PKK and its visible design. In the series that 
follows, the subject is called Rojava Revolution and inclusive political project and 
direct democracy in Kurdistan.

The PKK when founded (1974, still without that name) contained Stalinist elements and 
tried to enter the route support of left-wing groups in the region, who also attended the 
Cold War in the Arab and Islamic countries. When his initial training, the legend name 
(1978) and the beginning of the insurgency against the Turkish government (in 1984), 
Turkey was still dominated by the secular elite, military and Kemalist. This elite, whose 
right wing promoted a Fascist dictatorship cutting and contained far-right hordes known as 
Grey Wolves is made up of followers of Kamal Ataturk and the generation of officers who 
created the country with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire after this regionally State 
administrative be defeated in WW1.

At the time there was a period of Bi-polarity and harass the clash in Kurdistan within 
Turkey amounted to at least three indirect objectives: - to make war within a NATO member 
country; - Achieve a state whose tourism receipts were already important; - Work within 
the emigre community "Turkish" (even if they were Kurds) within Germany. But the strategic 
goal was to build a Kurdish sanctuary provided with a design on the left and a corridor to 
the Kurdish areas of Syria and Iraq. But, we must highlight the ideological and strategic 
transformation of this political force and its military wing HPG (People's Defence Force) 
since the change in design of its historic leader.

The current thinking of the PKK, right serving an orientation almost philosophical leader 
and founder Abdullah Ocalan (Apo), based on libertarian municipalism whose expansion in 
scale would be is the democratic confederalism. The political project gained momentum and 
life with the opportunity given by the Arab Spring and the subsequent Syrian civil war. 
With the fragmentation of legal sovereignty over the territory of the State ruled by the 
Assad clan, there was the chance of a popular uprising, anti-Baath and also against the 
advances of Islamic fundamentalism, funded by the Arab Gulf monarchies.

One has to recognize two facts, a virtue and another difficulty. Start with the second; in 
a lapse - would be an exaggeration to characterize as deep - of understanding between the 
prey leadership, members of the legal Kurdish party in parliament (BPD, Democratic Party 
of Regions) and the guerrilla forces of the HPG operating on the border with Syria. Have 
virtue is the organic nature of the decisions. In the declaration of the 11th Party 
Congress, held between 5 and 13 September 2014, attended by 125 delegates from the four 
regions of Kurdistan and abroad, the concepts mentioned above are set as center line of 
the organization.

The Rojava Revolution has a chance to be victorious, with due support and recognized 
hegemony of PYD and militia of YPG and YPJ. Such structures under the direct influence of 
PKK and Ocalan leadership can win militarily to ISIS, but not win alone. If this occurs, 
the following dispute is trying to enforce the political will in a region where a secular 
state would be a huge step forward for humanity.

The demands of Rojava self-government are a kind of regional autonomy status. This social 
organization is nurtured forms of direct participation, with equal rights for the 
inhabitants of various ethnic and cultural groups. This egalitarian condition are the full 
gender rights, religious freedom, but with subordination of these authorities to the 
popular councils and elected officials. I understand that if these social relations will 
be stable and within a geographical space with legal sovereignty and self-defense 
capability at all levels, we would be at the limit of the possible and desirable within 
the Islamic world. Overcoming both of theocracy as the political confessionalism is a lot. 
Direct democracy - or even semi-direct - and full rights for women (as we shall see in 
other texts of Kurdistan series), we are facing a new possibility of life in society.

Within this logic, the PKK, despite the personalism around Ocalan and the dangerous cult 
of personality (we question it in other texts) is a great hope for Middle Eastern peoples 
of Central Asia. These achievements may be able to influence world.

The original version of this text and shorter before was published in Journalism B.
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/27666