Current political-military evaluation, 30th September 2020
The fascist regime in Ankara continues its aggression against the peoples of the region without interruption. Driven by an insatiable imperialist urge of expansion, Turkish fascism is bringing destabilisation, destruction, and war to one country after another. The true intentions of the criminal AKP-MHP regime are becoming more and more evident every day. No matter how long they had tried to hide their occupation operations under the guise of the ” fight against terrorism “, and had tried to hide their real face, the mask has fallen, and the new Ottoman Empire has exposed its real face.
From Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen to Armenia, Erdogan’s Islamist terror gangs spread fear and terror and wherever they succeed in gaining a foothold, lawlessness and crime take hold. The Islamist gangs, which already served Turkish fascism successfully as cannon fodder in Syria and Libya, are now being used almost arbitrarily throughout the region. Erdogan’s murderous gangs fight in Yemen on the side of the Muslim Brotherhood, and in Nagorno-Karabakh on the side of the Azerbaijani puppet regime against Armenian forces. Turkey also exports Islamist terrorism to nearly all countries in the region.
The strategy follows the example of Syria. First, the countries are destabilised, the gangs cause chaos and instability, and in the second step Turkish forces intervene directly, and a loyal occupation regime is established. Wherever a small gap opens up and a power vacuum is created, the Turkish regime knows very well how to turn every situation to its advantage. Sometimes with the use of military power, sometimes with political and diplomatic pressure, Turkish fascism continues to expand its supremacy in the region. Highly armed by NATO states and Western corporations, Turkish fascism has been able to accumulate a serious military potential that they are ready to bring to the negotiating table without hesitation. Especially the armed drones have given Turkey and its allies on the battlefield a weight that should not be underestimated. It is to be assumed that Erdogan has also made his plans for the near future and will use the Islamist gangs above all as a means of pressure to secure Turkey’s new power and status against other international forces. The terror army of hundreds of thousands of men, which is mainly composed of former fighters of the Islamic state and of Al Qaeda, hangs like a threatening sword over the heads of the European states, too. All this guarantees Turkey a new position of strength and encourages Erdogan to continue. Erdogan makes no secret of his ambitions in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Openly and without any trace of shame, he declares the former territories of the Ottoman Empire to be legal Turkish soil and legitimises his aggression as a defence of what they claim to be ‘rightfully’ entitled to. With an increasingly aggressive nationalist rhetoric, Erdogan and Bahceli stir up the masses and try to deceive the desolate situation of the country through war rhetoric and state of emergency legislation. The regime of AKP-MHP is a regime that lacks any solid base with the exception of war. War alone is what can keep this regime alive.
Without a doubt, it is still the Kurdish Freedom Movement and the revolutionary forces of the Middle East that are the biggest obstacle to Erdogan’s neo-Ottoman expansion plans. While the world is merely watching as one area after another falls victim to Turkish occupation and Turkish fascism is rising more and more to a regional hegemonic power, the fighters of the revolution are putting up determined and fierce resistance on all fronts. From the mountains of South and North Kurdistan, through Rojava and North-East Syria, to the metropolises of Turkey, the struggle against fascism is carried out at the highest level.
The phase in which our struggle currently finds itself could hardly be more critical. On the one hand, Turkish fascism is continuing its expansion and is gaining more and more influence and strength, but on the other hand, the war has taken on a new regional dimension and a dispersion of the enemy front. The resulting new power-political constellations in the region and the increasing decay of the Turkish war economy create the basis for the destruction of the regime. It is clear that an active struggle is needed to defeat fascism. Just waiting and hoping that the economic crisis will sooner or later bring down the dictatorship is no solution these days. Also any speculations about possible interventions of international powers or even the elections that would lead to the end of the Erdogan regime do not help us. The replacement of an AKP-MHP regime that has become obsolete for imperialism with a new form of Turkish fascism will also not be a gain for the revolutionary forces and for the peoples of the region. Only through the united antifascist struggle of all revolutionary-democratic forces will the regime be brought down and a democratic and free Turkey become reality. The more the confrontation intensifies, the more the decision becomes inevitable.
Therefore, it is no coincidence that in these days, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the umbrella organization of various self-governing structures and revolutionary organizations of Kurdistan, has called for the beginning of a new offensive against Turkish fascism. On 12th September, the 40th anniversary of the military fascist coup of 1980, the Executive Committee of the KCK proclaimed the beginning of the offensive and declared that the time has come to smash fascism and fight for freedom. The offensive is developing in diplomatic, political, social and military fields and includes almost all organisations that feel part of the freedom movement. Also, numerous other Kurdish and regional organisations, patriotic and democratic forces have joined the offensive by now. In its statements to the offensive, the Kurdistan Communities Union analyses the current course of the war between Turkish fascism and the revolutionary forces and states that the current situation opens the historical opportunity to liberate the peoples of the region once and for all from the yoke of Turkish fascism. Moreover, the step into the offensive is considered as the only way to preserve the existing achievements, especially the revolution of Rojava and North-East Syria, as well as the political status that the Kurdish people in Southern Kurdistan have gained and to defend them against the attacks of the occupying forces. In light of the increasing aggression of Turkish fascism and the ongoing preparations for further occupation operations, waiting and remaining in a defensive position will neither bring success nor prevent from losing more hard-won achievements.
The guerrilla forces of the Freedom Movement, the People’s Defense Forces, HPG, and the Free Women’s Associations, YJA-Star, also declared their participation in the offensive. In the cities and metropolises of Kurdistan and Turkey, the urban guerrillas welcomed the offensive with successful actions. Even though the Turkish state, in order to cover up its own defeat and to cover up its losses, officially declared the invasion in Heftanin to be over, the fighting and confrontations continue. The Turkish occupying forces are still trying to move further into the base areas of the guerrilla with the help of their air forces, especially the massive use of helicopters, in order to clear the way for further occupation operations against Southern Kurdistan. The statement that the offensive was successfully completed is not much more than another maneuver of the Turkish special war propaganda and aims to take the issue off the political agenda. After all, in the last three months of the struggle, the guerrilla forces have demonstrated what everyone thought was impossible. With new methods and tactics, the professional use of their own techniques and an unbending fighting morale, the guerrillas have managed to stop not only the advance of the Turkish occupying forces but also to keep the initiative on the battlefield under their control despite the entire enemy war machine. Although the invaders may have brought individual hills and mountain peaks under their control, this does not mean complete territorial control, because the guerrillas continue to decide when and where to strike.
Despite the use of the most modern reconnaissance technology, the guerrilla was able to regain freedom of movement this year and carried out successful actions in all combat zones of Northern and Southern Kurdistan, especially in the last months. The recent successes and progress in the guerrilla war have a significance that should not be underestimated, and they are unsettling the regime at its very foundations. For example, the Turkish Minister of the Interior, Süleyman Soylu, claimed, as every year, that the end of the guerrilla is only a question of time, spoke of only a few hundred remaining fighters, and announced the victory in the “fight against terrorism”. The existence of the guerrilla, every further successful action is above all an attack on the myth of the invincible state that the regime is trying to build and thus a blow against the fading regime of fear, which has imposed psychological warfare on the peoples of Turkey and the region. Proving that it is possible to successfully resist and stop the Turkish expansion, just by showing the courage to try, gives hope, strength and confidence to all fighting people in the region and worldwide. In this respect, the continuing resistance in Heftanin has a significance that goes far beyond the purely material control of one territory or another. Heftanin embodies the hope for victory and liberation and has practically clarified what is the right line and attitude in the struggle against fascism. The guerrilla in the 21st century, with its new professional structure and its modernized methods, is not only an effective tool, but without doubt, the main and leading force, the vanguard of the antifascist resistance struggle.
The resistance of Heftanin has also brought about major political developments. Under the growing pressure of the Kurdish public, almost all Kurdish parties in Southern Kurdistan and beyond were forced to take a clear position and oppose the Turkish state’s occupation policies. The same applies to the political forces in the Arab states. Just a few forces that openly collaborate with Turkish fascism, such as the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, KDP, continue their treacherous policies against the achievements of the liberation struggle. For decades, the KDP has continued its intelligence and even at times military collaboration with Turkish colonial fascism. Beginning with the recent Turkish invasion in Southern Kurdistan, there are also increased movements on the part of the KDP. In coordination with the Turkish occupying forces, the KDP is setting up military bases in the occupied territories and is repeatedly advancing into the guerrilla bases. The goal of these new movements is to restrict the guerrillas’ freedom of movement and, in the medium term, to implement the Turkish plan of a permanent buffer zone along the Turkish-Iraqi border. Also along the border between Southern Kurdistan and Western Kurdistan (Başur and Rojava) the KDP has started further preparations in the last two weeks. More than 40 new KDP-Peshmerga military bases have been established, trenches are being dug, and heavy weapons and troops are being moved to the border. The positions are aimed at the liberated areas. Above all, the fact that these new movements have begun after the recent meeting between Nechirvan Barzani and the Turkish dictator Erdogan raises the question whether they might not be preparations for another Turkish invasion against Rojava. The border area in the border triangle Turkey-Syria-Iraq is strategically important and will play a decisive role both in an invasion against the Derik region in North-East Syria and as the first bridging point of an operation against the Şengal mountains further South. There, Turkish air strikes against the Yezidi civilian population and their defense forces have repeatedly occurred in recent weeks. With the increase of Turkish air strikes, the press of the collaborating forces closely associated with the KDP began at the same time with a smear campaign against the self-administration of Şengal, and tried to lay the basis for a Turkish occupation attack against the liberated areas of Şengal under the false pretext of the alleged presence of PKK forces. Besides, last month the United States of America had repeatedly called for the forging of an alliance between Turkish fascism, the KDP, and the Iraqi central government to “purge” Sengal from the PKK under direct coordination of the US imperialists. Instead of the democratically elected self-administration of the people of Şengal, a puppet government is to be set up and the protective forces of the Yezidi people, the resistance, and women’s units of Şengal would be replaced by a mercenary force. The US imperialists see the occupation alliance against Şengal as a first step to subsequently extend cooperation against the Freedom Movement to the entire territory of Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Turkish occupying army has also begun renewed preparations along the border with the liberated areas. Along the city of Dirbesiye, trenches are being dug and fortifications built. Again and again there are troop displacements in the already occupied areas and there are many indications that Turkish fascism is just waiting for a favourable moment to start with the next invasion against the liberated areas of North-East Syria. It is quite possible that the recent trial of strength in Idlib must be seen as part of the negotiations taking place between Ankara and Moscow concerning the fate of North-East Syria. Even the proxy war in the Caucasus, between Azerbaijan and Armenia, could ultimately serve Erdogan only as a bargaining chip to get the green light for the occupation of further areas of Syria.
Recent events and shifts in the balance of power show us once again in all clarity how fragile the existing balances, treaties and agreements really are. Within a few hours the situation can change by 180 degrees, and a ceasefire can turn into an open conflict. In these times, it is crucial to remain vigilant and to retain the ability to react and intervene quickly. The latest waves of arrests of leading politicians of the democratic opposition party, HDP, by the Erdogan regime once again show very clearly that their choice is not dialogue but war. Under the pretext of organizing demonstrations in solidarity with the Kobanê resistance six years ago in the fall of 2014, 83 opposition politicians were recently kidnapped and imprisoned. The message that the regime is sending is very clear. Anyone who dares to oppose its war policy must expect to be thrown into prison from one day to the next on arbitrary charges. The political genocide campaigns of Turkish fascism make once again very clear that there is no perspective for liberation in the fight against fascism without the use of weapons, without the conscious use of self-defence, without the armed antifascist fight. The AKP-MHP regime has declared war to the democratic-revolutionary forces of the region a war as a matter of life or death. As long as the rule of Erdogan and Bahceli is not crushed, this war will continue and expand.
For all of us, as a global resistance movement, it is important to take a stand in this war on the side of our fighting comrades and to defend the rightful struggle for liberation. Just as Turkish fascism is organised worldwide and has become a global threat, the anti-fascist front must be united as one force, from the fighting people of Rojava, the guerrilla in the mountains, the revenge units and initiatives that light up the nights with their fires in the metropolises of Turkey, to the resistance movement in the imperialist countries and worldwide. We may lead the struggle with different methods, the conditions under which we organise and work may be different, but our common goal of smashing Turkish fascism and our international solidarity with the revolution in the Middle East unites us. If we manage to unite our forces globally and to defeat Turkish fascism with concentrated force, it will be easy to throw the AKP-MHP regime into the dustbin of history.
The revolution in the Middle East will win – fascism will be smashed!