R4R-Statement and Call regarding the recent attacks by the fascist Turkish state

PDF: R4R-Statement, Evaluation, and Call 15th June 2020

+++ The connections between the Free Mountains of Kurdistan and Rojava +++

+++ Time for Actions EVERYWHERE +++

 

EDIT (Wednesday morning, 17th June 2020):

This statement has been finished before the announcement of the fascist Turkish state’s beginning of a new ground offensive, named ‘Claw-Tiger’, in Southern Kurdistan, starting from Haftanin. The statement and evaluations below reaffirm the immediate threat for all democratic forces of the world and the need to connect the Free Mountains of Kurdistan with Rojava. NOW is the time to ACT, to organise and to defend ourselves, building a real alternative to the system of capitalist modernity. That alternative is practically built up in Rojava and the Free Mountains of Kurdistan, and we must defend and build it up wherever we are!

 

Short Intro:

This statement is a follow-up onto our call from before. It is reiterating and repeating the important aspects mentioned in the call, and it is putting the newly started offensive ‘Claw-Eagle’ by the fascist Turkish state in a wider geo-political and historical context. The statement draws upon political analyses and evaluations that have been prepared and published by the RiseUp4Rojava- (R4R-) network, emphasising the importance of the connection between the free mountains of Kurdistan and Rojava, as well as the importance to ACT NOW, to defend the revolution, and to create 2,3 many Rojavas no matter where we are!

We follow KCDK-E’s call to be part of the ‘Week of resistance against colonialism’, and to show our global resistance by getting active in a creative and diverse ways!

 

Our statement and call is as follows:

While the war and the attacks on Rojava and on Northern Syria by Turkey and its jihadist allies with the support of the imperialist forces of the world continue on a daily basis, and while the threat of another major offensive is increasing, the war in Northern and Southern Kurdistan is in full progress.

On 15th June, in the night from Sunday to Monday, the fascist Turkish state announced the operation ‘Claw-Eagle’, and conducted mass bombings on Qendîl – the heart and brain of the Kurdish freedom movement in the Kurdish mountains – , on the self-governing refugee camp Mexmûr and on Şengal, which is predominantly populated by Yazidi people.

As a recent obituary, written by the Internationalist Commune of Rojava, for S. Qasim Engin already emphasised, all these attacks need to be seen in light of the fact that the enemies of the revolution try everything to neutralise ‘the revolution in the Middle East […] by political-ideological, economic, and military attacks. These kinds of attacks are not only the work of the fascist Turkish state, but the product of a direct cooperation between the imperialist powers, especially the USA, the [Turkish secret service] MIT, and local collaborators like the KDP’s [the Democratic Party of Kurdistan’s] secret service Parastin, and are therefore to be considered as part of the ongoing international conspiracy’.

In the past years, the US imperialists have repeatedly tried to push the Freedom movements not only in Syria or Iraq, but in various countries of the Middle East into a confrontation with the Iranian forces in order to use them as foot soldiers for their own plans. In this way, they are trying to force a collaboration upon the movement, which is a capitulation to the interests of the USA.

For the Kurdish Freedom movement, it is clear that it will not engage in any struggle that is contrary to the interests of the revolution and the peoples of the region. At the same time, the USA is aware of the capacity and strength of the Kurdish Freedom movement, to intervene quickly in Iraq and change the situation to the advantage of the democratic forces wherever a vacuum opens up. In order to prevent the revolutionary forces from using a possibly unforeseen situation in the conflict with Iran to further strengthen the revolution in the region, their forces should be weakened as much as possible before further intervention. Also, the other NATO states up to the regional nation states and Russia can very well participate in such a concept for weakening the revolutionary forces.

In this context, we speak of an international conspiracy, that is, the unity of the counter-revolutionary forces against the revolution in the Middle East. The recent Turkish occupation attacks in Northern Syria in October 2019 must also be seen in this context. Just as the international conspiracy in the 1990s, which culminated in the abduction and imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan, must be seen as a prelude to the occupation of Iraq in 2003, so the second phase of the international conspiracy, which we are currently witnessing, only acquires its full significance in the context of the intervention efforts against Iran. At that time, the imperialists’ aim was to bind Turkey and the other regional collaborators to themselves, to put their own ranks in order and to weaken or even completely liquidate the strongest and most influential revolutionary force in the region, the Freedom Movement.

In this light, we have to also see the attacks of 15th June. Since the beginning of April 2020, the KDP, which is collaborating with Turkey, has been moving new units into the Zînê Wertê area, which marks not only the entrance to the Qendîl Mountains, but also the border between the areas controlled by the KDP, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, led by the feudal family clan Barzani, and those controlled by the YNK, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan of the Talabani family. The goal is to try to get the strategic hill and mountain peaks under its control in order to be able to cut off the route from Hewlêr to Qendîl. Together with the Peshmerga units, large units of the Turkish secret service MIT have been entering the area and are trying to find the guerrilla positions in order to have them bombed from the air – as we have seen on 15th June. The local villagers report of unknown Turkish speaking men, equipped with walkie-talkies and headphones, wandering around the villages trying to gather information.

We, therefore, see that the current KDP offensives in YNK controlled areas close to the Qendîl Mountains, limits the possibility for the guerilla to move, and an inner-Kurdish conflict is being provoked that benefits Turkish fascism and its genocidal aims against Kurdistan. This is increasing the war and it furthers the goal of Turkey and its allies to attack the Kurdish Freedom Movement at all fronts. Similar developments happened already a year ago, showing that if an immediate attack on Rojava delays, the focus of attacks continues on other fronts, such as militarily in Bakur, the Qendîl Mountains, and Mexmûr, where democratic confederalism has been put into practice. Mexmûr has already been bombed by Turkish armed drones, resulting, for example, in the death of 3 women on an open field and injuring people. Attacking Şengal – the area that was liberated from ISIS in 2014 –, including a hospital, and hence survivors of the ISIS genocide reaffirms the fascist Turkish state’s genocidal politics and the ideological closeness to its jihadist allies. It is also not the first time, that Turkey is bombing the area liberated from fascism, and also linking Rojava to Şengal, as heavy attacks on Rojava’s Qereçox region and Şengal occurred on 25th April 2017.

The start of Turkey’s new offensive under the name ‘Claw-Eagle’ in Qendîl, Mexmûr, and Şengal, resulting in fire on agricultural land, on 15th June is more than cynical. As the people of Rojava – who are taking everywhere to the streets these days – emphasised, the date was not chosen at random, but ‘coincided with the anniversary of the Seyfo massacre [– the Assyrian genocide during the Ottoman Empire –] carried out by Erdogan’s grandparents’.

We clearly see that this is an attack against the revolution and the system of democratic confederalism everywhere. Having a radical democratic system for all ethnicities, social-ecology, and women liberation as central pillars of the revolution are clear obstacles to the patriarchal, genocidal state system. As one of the most extreme expressions of that system, Turkey and its allies have always considered women’s liberation and the democracy of the peoples to be an existential threat to their system of capitalist modernity.

This is why we also say that Rojava and Qendîl belong together. Attacks against Qendîl must be taken very seriously. Qendîl today is more than just an area controlled by the guerrillas, it is the heart, the brain, the headquarters of the revolution in the Middle East and of the democratic confederal movement also on a global scale. Therefore, an attack against Qendîl, carried out by whomsoever, by the KDP or Turkey, forced by the United States or even by other states, must be evaluated as an attack on all revolutionary forces worldwide and answered with all determination. Hence, the attacks of 15th June must be answered with all determination.

The global resistance movement, which took to the streets last autumn to defend the revolution of Rojava, must recognise the connection of the struggles and must not consider Rojava isolated from Qendîl, or Qendîl isolated from Rojava. Today, the revolution in the Middle East has become a decisive factor in the struggle for control in the region. However, thanks to the global resistance movement, it has also gained a global position that cannot be ignored and cannot simply be disregarded.

In the defence of the revolution today we must, therefore, start from two basic subjects. On the one hand, there are the revolutionary forces of the region, the revolutionary defence forces, the guerrillas, the armed people, who are fighting against the occupation, colonialism, and foreign rule with all means. On the other hand, there is us, the global resistance movement, which is putting pressure on the politics in the imperialist countries with our actions. We analyse the crimes of the ruling classes and attack them openly. An important factor for us is that we see the defence of the revolution as more than a distant struggle. In the common resistance, we also see the defence of our own hope, we have recognised the revolution as our own revolution.

The escalation in Northern Iraq is also serving this year to prepare for another occupation offensive against Rojava. We cannot reiterate enough that the enemy already attacked last year, first in Xakurke and later in North-East Syria. Turkey’s preparations are now also continuing at full speed in Rojava. The necessary diplomatic talks are being held behind closed doors. With the last proposal of the Erdogan regime to the US and Russian imperialists to divide the oil of Northern Syria among themselves, it is only a matter of time until the superpowers will once again clear the way for Turkey.

Despite the withdrawal of the self-defence forces from the Northern border of Syria, despite all efforts to maintain the ceasefire, the Turkish fascists continue to mobilise against the revolution, and the war that we are currently facing at low intensity could soon flare up again. At the moment it is not clear where the next target of the occupiers is. Various information is circulating, but we must assume the worst, namely that all the areas that are still free, all the liberated areas of North-East Syria from Shehba to Kobanê, to Tirbespi and Derik are currently under acute threat of another occupation attack.

The enemy has used the time of the Corona virus, which has been the focus of world public attention, for unnoticed preparations. Armament is underway, including with Islamist auxiliary troops in the areas of Gire Spî and Serêkanî, and as soon as a favourable situation arises, they will not hesitate to strike. The only thing still missing are diplomatic preparations to rearrange the balance of power in the region.

Once these preparations are made, they will strike here in Rojava, as they have already struck in Basur.

However, the resistance against the fascist regime is also growing, in Turkey as well as in Syria and Iraq. As the occupiers and imperialists prepare for new offensives, the peoples of the region are also arming themselves to defend their lives, dignity and freedom. Nobody will simply accept the Turkish occupation. Just as in Gire Spî and Serêkanî, the resistance in the other areas will continue. Whether in Qendîl or in Northern Syria, wherever the occupiers advance, they will meet fierce resistance and it will not be a piece of cake for them. Neither in Northern Iraq nor in Northern Syria will it be easy. The greater the attacks of the occupiers become, the greater the resistance against them will be. If we succeed in uniting the forces of resistance and of revolution in the whole region and fight with united strength against the occupiers, we will also witness great developments and revolutionary progress of unprecedented dimensions this year. However, in order for the revolution to achieve a breakthrough in the whole region of the Middle East, the fascist AKP-MHP regime, which is currently the biggest stronghold of counter-revolution in the region and prevents the revolution from achieving its breakthrough, must be destroyed.

With the revolutionary people’s war as a weapon, the peoples and oppressed of the region will be able to resist any attack and defeat Turkish fascism. Of course, there will be individual defeats, but this does not mean losing the war. Even if Efrîn, Gire Spî and Serekanî are currently under occupation, the revolution cannot be defeated so easily. Even if a step backward has to be taken again and again, the next offensive is always prepared.

 

Following and reiterating our call from before:

Now is the time for global resistance! The global resistance movement must recognise the seriousness of the current situation. Today, the time has come to deliver the final blow to Turkish fascism and to all its imperialist allies, being a crucial part of this war, and the attacks against the revolutionary and democratic forces of the world. The resistance movement throughout the world must also play its part in this. It is not the time to wait and watch. If we wait for the next attack on Rojava to become active, it will already be too late. The war is now, the war has already started, the war has never stopped. On the surface, a theatre about the armistice is performed, but the war continues without interruption in Northern Syria as well as in the other parts of Kurdistan, as we are witnessing with the big offensive in Southern Kurdistan right now!

It is not the time to sit at home and wait for the next big invasion, already now it is time to stand against this occupation war with all necessary means.

We follow KCDK-E’s call to be part of the ‘Week of resistance against colonialism’, and to show our global resistance by getting active in a creative and diverse ways!

This call is not simply a call for solidarity. This is a call for actions everywhere and on all levels! It is important to see the defence of the revolution as more than a distant struggle. In the common resistance, we see the defence of our own hope, and we have recognised the revolution as our own revolution. Let’s show creatively and diversely, but angrily and determinedly our internationalist solidarity with the Kurdish Freedom Movement and stand by the radically democratic-, social-ecological-, women’s revolution in Kurdistan!

The revolution in the Middle East will win – fascism will be crushed.

Altogether Against Fascism!

Long live Internationalist Responsibility!

Long live the Freedom Struggle!

Resistance is life!