Open letter: the resistance is not over, after World Africa Day.

Open letter from the Internationalist Commune of Rojava following World Afrin Day. Shared from the ICR’S website.

The resistance is not over – Open letter after the #WorldAfrinDay

Posted on March 25, 2018by InternationalistCommune

We, who are working here in Rojava as internationals, are part of the worldwide fight of the opressed against the reign of state, capital and pathriarchy.

– șehid Hêlîn Qercox

The #WorldAfrinDay has been a historical example of resistance and international solidarity. Thousands took to the streets and stood up against this war, giving their support to the resistance and values of this revolution. Solidarity came from more than 50 cities from all around the world, and it proved how important what is happening here is for people. New groups and new people are organizing their solidarity, getting involved and defend the revolution. From Canada to Australia, from Mexico to Japan, the world has shown that Afrin is not alone.

For two months, the bombs of the Turkish army have been falling and killing people in Afrin. During these same two months, there have been worldwide actions against this occupation. And they will continue. Afrin, as the western canton of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, will be defended as the beacon of hope that it became, as the source of inspiration that it is. The bottom-up democracy, with women at the forefront building social ecology, is what the capitalist system tries to keep locked up, claiming that ‘there is no alternative’, that utopia is not possible. But here, we learned that another world is not only possible, but necessary, and it just depends on how much we believe in it, how determined we are to bring this utopia into existence.

Afrin is now under the occupation of the Turkish army. After these months of resistance, to see the occupation forces entering the city may seem like the utopia is going away once again; but no one said the revolution would come around easily. It was something we had only imagined before coming to Rojava, and witnessing with our own eyes what’s going on here. Today, here, we are taking on several centuries of the capitalist system and nation-state model. We are challenging thousands of years of patriarchal oppression and male rule power. We are challenging the essence of how society itself is perceived and organized.

But today we also need to examine ourselves and assess what we have done. As the internationalist commune, we did not manage to develop the full potential that international solidarity can mean for this revolution. We were not able to follow all the initiatives and actions that people shared with us, we were not able to give our perspectives and answers to all the ideas and proposals that were presented to us. We were not able to give the right answer to the attacks that struck us. We were not able to understand the real dimensions of the revolution that is going on here and the importance of defending what today is being developed.

But we will reflect on that, and we will learn from our mistakes. When the next attack of the ruling powers strikes once again, we will be wiser and more experienced, and more capable of defending ourselves and the people around us. We know that this can happen at any time, maybe tomorrow, and we know we can not do it alone. We need to be able to see the threats before they are too big to overcome. We need to have better and deeper analysis of the situation we are in. We need all the hope and the international solidarity that this revolution is raising in people’s hearts. And that’s why we call on you to come here.

Come and see with your own eyes what is happening here. Come with an open mind and heart, ready to challenge what you believe humanity is able to accomplish. Come to learn, to support and to organize this revolution. Come and help us to create the international movement that will be able to change the capitalist drift that humanity is suffering.

But if you can’t come, there are still a thousand ways you can contribute to this resistance. We need to think how we can make this revolution successful, and what can be done in every place to achieve this aim. As internationalists, we need to be able to act and interact with the society we are in. We need to learn from the past movements and analyze what are the best ways to face oppression. From mass mobilization, to civil disobedience. From solidarity demonstrations, to direct actions. Yesterday, we showed the world that together we are strong. But the situation in Afrin today showed us that this is not enough. So now, we need to open a global debate about what should be the next step.

– This open letter is a call to all the people and groups who took an active role in the #WorldAfrinDay, and also to other initiatives in solidarity with the Afrin resistance. We want to open a public debate. We will be expecting your answers, your ideas, your proposals. We also call for your support to spread and translate this letter, you can find our email in our website.

Internationalist Commune of Rojava
25/03/2018

Statement announcing formation of The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army

Founding statement by The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army, a section of the anarchist guerilla forces active in Rojava. I don’t usually post stuff from or endorse armed forces. Something i’m particularly worried about at them moment is the currant fetishisation of armed struggle by Western leftists because of Rojava – but i do recognise that armed self defense is essential there to protect people and the revolution. So, with these reservations, i think its worth promoting these guys – how many times in history have queers condemned people to the gulags or sent people to die in wars that they started for their own narrow sectional interests? And, as they say, who better to fight fascists than the victims of fascism? Statement borrowed from insurrection news.

We, the International Revolutionary People’s Guerrilla Forces (IRPGF) formally announce the formation of The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army (TQILA), a subgroup of the IRPGF comprised of LGBT*QI+ comrades as well as others who seek to smash the gender binary and advance the women’s revolution as well as the broader gender and sexual revolution.
TQILA’s members have watched in horror as fascist and extremist forces around the world have attacked the Queer community and murdered countless of our community members citing that they are ‘ill’, ‘sick’ and ‘unnatural’. The images of gay men being thrown off roofs and stoned to death by Daesh was not something we could idly watch. It is also not only Daesh whose hatred for Queer, Trans* and other non-binary peoples leads to religiously motivated hatred and attacks. Christian conservatives in the global northwest have also attacked LGBT*QI+ peoples in an attempt to silence and erase their existence. We want to emphasize that queerphobia, homophobia and trans*phobia are not inherent to Islam or any other religion. In fact we know many Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists etc who are welcoming of uniqueness and non-conforming people and some who are even Queer themselves. We stand in solidarity with them against fascism, tyranny and oppression. Additionally, we criticize and struggle against the conservative and feudal anti-Queer sentiments within the revolutionary left both here and abroad.
Our commitment to struggling against authority, patriarchy, oppressive heteronormativity, queer/homo-phobia and trans*phobia are strengthened by the revolutionary advances and gains of the Kurdish women’s struggle. The fact that Jineolojî classes debate gender constructs and sexuality further highlights the advance of the revolution in Rojava and all of Kurdistan with women pushing for revolutionary advances at a rapid pace. It is this necessity and desire to strengthen the gains of the women’s revolution while advancing the Queer struggle that has motivated Queer comrades of the IRPGF to form TQILA.
QUEER LIBERATION! DEATH TO RAINBOW CAPITALISM!

 ̶B̶A̶S̶H̶ SHOOT BACK! THESE FAGGOTS KILL FASCISTS!

MILITANT HORIZONTAL SELF-ORGANIZED COLLECTIVES & COMMUNITIES

FOR THE REVOLUTION AND QUEER ANARCHISM!
International Revolutionary People’s Guerrilla Forces IRPGF

Book reviews: To dare imagining: Rojava Revolution by the Autonomedia collective and A small key can open a large door by the Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness collective

A small key can open a large door – front cover. Image from Combustion Books.

Something incredible seems to be happening in Rojava. The first revolution ever to be pre-figuratively anti-patriarchy, anti-state and anti-capitalist, and doing all this in the most difficult of circumstances. Of course the Rojava Revolution is not without its contradictions: they have a military alliance with the US, there is the hero-worship of Öcalan, official feminist and libertarian ideology seem to have been decided on by the leadership of a formerly Stalinist Communist Party. But as Marx said, “every step of real movement is more important than a dozen programmes”, the Revolution in Rojava is something real, happening, and it is something to be supported and deserves our solidarity.

The problem I have is getting info on it. The many online resources are great to keep abreast of things. But like a lot of things on the internet while being swamped with updates I don’t really have a clear idea of what is being updated. On the other hand the problem with books is that they take so long to write, publish, distribute, become affordable, and finally to read them that they are hopelessly slow at keeping pace with the situation that changes everyday. And usually long single-author reads are just inappropriate for reflecting a real democratic revolution that is by nature full of diverse and often conflicting viewpoints and is constantly fluctuating.

Two books which kind of address this are To dare imagining: Rojava Revolution by the Autonomedia collective and A small key can open a large door by the Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness collective. Both books are short, accessible compilations of multi-author texts, and published relatively recently. Compiled to specifically address this dilemma outlined above they are aimed at international audiences to raise awareness about what is going on in Rojava and to stimulate solidarity movements.

To dare imagining was motivated by an utter failure on part of the american media “to report on the real story of what is happening in Syrian Kurdistan, i.e. Rojava”, believing that “journalists are literally unable to comprehend the very idea of a social revolution” which they outline as:

“a left-tradition of resistance to oppression, and like those struggles, the Rojava Revolution has identified the State itself – nationalism, hegemony and patriarchal power – as the force to be overthrown. Alone amongst all recent armed uprisings in the world (except that of the Zapatistas), Rojava’s is an anti-authoritarian insurrection” (p7).

Compiled of texts (sometimes new, sometimes ‘borrowed’) written by visitors to Rojava, commentaries on the work of Abdullah Öcalan, and a few excerpts of his work, the collection reflects “a distinct urgency about getting this book out and into the american conversation”. It contains a diversity of viewpoints and is sufficiently coherent yet retaining the rough and ready feel that reflects its role as emerging from an ongoing and changing situation. In short, it is anarchist publishing at its most useful. Among the highlights are a set of interviews with women combatants in the YPJ discussing the experiences and feminist reasons for taking up arms, an essay on the sociology of biopolitical and necropolitical wars – the Kurds are victims of both state/imperial rationalised violence and the communal ritualised violence of the likes of ISIS with the implication that new logics and institutions need to be imagined as appeals for protection on the grounds of citizenship or humanitarianism don’t work – and a great piece by Dilar Dirik, a Kurdish activist, phd candidate, and one of the editors of the book.

A small keyis similarly motivated by the observation that “Radicals in the West have been mostly silent as regards the Rojava Revolution” arguing that although “it is absolutely true that it is easier for radicals to travel to Chiapas, Greece, Palestine, or Ferguson” because the “danger is greater in Rojava then so too is the necessity of our support” (p41, 42). But beyond supporting the experiment,

“we also need the Rojava revolution for our own work here in the West. Revolutionary politics in the West have been waiting far too long for an infusion of new ideas and practices, and the Rojavan Revolution in all of its facets is something we should support if we take our own politics at all seriously. […] we can not wait for the selective safety of hindsight to analyze the revolution now unfolding. The people of Rojava have chosen to fight and so must we” (p. 42).

Unlike To dare imagining, A small key is built almost entirely on translated statements, documents, or interviews from groups in Rojava or Turkey and not original pieces, apart from a very informative introductory chapter written by the editorial collective and another great piece by Dilar Dirik on what it is that gives the revolution the will to succeed in the face of so many forces against them (“In the midst of war, Rojava’s cantons have managed to establish an incredibly empowering women’s movement, a self-governance system that operates through local councils in a bottom-up grassroots fashion,and a society in which all ethnic and religious components of the region work hand-in-hand to create a brighter future […] the anticipation of such a free life is the main motor of the Kobani resistance”).

If there are drawbacks, the most obvious one is that both are very much oriented to US audiences. A small key compensates a bit being based on translated texts, as mentioned above, from people or groups taking part in the revolution or activists in places like Turkey. This gives it more of a feeling of talking to a friend who has family and friends active there, whereas To Dare imagining feels more like being taken on a tour by a group of Western academics. Added to this, you have to be cautious and aware that both books only contain a very partial view of the revolution. With To dare imagining you have to keep in mind that the writers are themselves being taken on tours, most likely PR tours, by the welcoming committees, drivers, and translators who bring them everywhere. I’m sure there is as much hidden as there is shared with these messengers. And the other drawback, which is generic to this form of communication, is that they are already woefully out of date – A small key was published in March 2015, while although To dare imagining generally feels rushed and hastily prepared, the most recent of pieces date from January 2016.

Despite being dated, there is still a lot to learn from both books. What is going on in Rojava, if these books are in any way accurate, is nothing short of a new way of thinking and doing feminism (undoing male domination of women and society inherent in the birth of ‘civilisation’, hierarchy and the city-state thousands of years ago) and a new way of doing anti-capitalism (through practicing “the peoples’ economy”). It has made me rethink my perspectives on militarism and nationalism: I used to have answers – both were bad; now just uncertainty.

If I had to choose one of them, I would probably go with a small key. It feels closer to the revolution. That said, to dare imagining does convey more of the philosophy which is (apparently) behind it – particularly in terms of feminist theory and Öcalan’s writings on Sumerian roots of civilisation-as-patriarchy-and-hierarchy and on democratic confederalism. And it is that bit more up-to-date.

But I probably would also prefer the newer book, Revolution in Rojava: Democratic Autonomy and Women’s Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan which is more up to date and at least written by people who had spent more time there (written by three Germany- and Turkey-based activists who have been working for years with with and in Kurdish groups, they visited Rojava and spent a month there and compiled their notes into the book, which originally appeared in German but has been translated into English recently by Janet Biehl). Hoping to get my hands on a copy of that as soon as I can. But in the end, it is not so important which book or blog you follow. The most important thing is to spread info about what seems to be an incredible struggle that should be supported and learned from as much as possible.

Best of October

The “Jungle” camp in Calais, where refugees attempting to reach britain lived, was dismantled last week by the French state, with people being ‘redistributed’ to different centres around the country, in complete disregard for the choice of people forced to leave war conditions. Image shared from Liberation.

The biggest story is still the inspirational prison strike in the US. Most important to share is a compiled list of calls for support. Resources and contact details for offering

Front page of the National following the uk conservative party conference where they announced plans to expel non-essential foreigners, have schools and workplaces report their foreign pupils and workers, exempt the army and police from following human rights legislation, revive a class-appartheid education system, among other atrocities. Source: The Canary

support to different local campaigns. As ever, things change quickly so follow the links for updates. And indeed, one of those links leads to an excellent article about an uprising as the strikes started in a prison in Michigan. Try also another piece from the same blog (great blog, by the way, itsgoingdown.org) on solidarity organising with prisoners, which also contains lots of avenues for you to show support with specific struggles and campaigns.

 

And on the theme of prisons, ROAR has a story about how the Greek government under Syriza are blocking access to educational leave to an activist imprisoned and tortured for involvement in the anti-austerity protests that brought them to power after having from opposition issued statements supporting his right to educational leave during a victorious hunger strike. Until they got into government a few months later and failed to implement what Demokratia-PASOK had conceded. From the same blog an interview with the authors of one of the three high profile English-language books to date on the Democratic Confederalist project in Rojava. Book is called Revolution in Rojava, originally published in German, written by three activists based in Germany and Turkey after spending a month in Rojava. And translated by Janet Biehl (who also interviews the authors in this article), collaborator and partner of Murray Bookchin, said to be a leading influence on the philosophy behind the revolution.

Woman is Not Incubator – sign displayed at Czarny Protest, a womens’ strike in Poland against legislation banning abortion. Source unclear.

Four years ago an Indian woman, Salvita Halappanavar died in a hospital in Ireland because doctors refused her requests to terminate her fatal pregnancy, and threw in a good measure of racist slurs at her and her husband while she was dying. A blog post commemorating her death and calling out the patriarchical, racist and statist systemic violence that killed her and continues to deny bodily autonomy to women. Shocking but important that the story is shared. The Black Lives Matter UK group introduce themselves and their agenda to combat the same type of intersectional violence.

britain-based Sisters Uncut let off green and purple (colours of the Suffragettes) smoke flares after disrupting the in-session local council in protest at the cuts to domestic violence response services. The council sits on 1,270 unoccupied social housing units while 47% of domestic violence survivors are turned away and told to go back to the abuse. Image shared gratefully and in solidarity from the Sisters Uncut fb page.

Black Lives Matter UK action in July. Image from Red Pepper

But to finish on some positive notes, this post tells the story about how the solidarity network supporting VioMe (an occupied factory in Greece that the workers have been running as a cooperative for four years now) prevented another attempt by Capital to auction off the property. To be clear, the factory was economically viable, but the owner closed it down after going bankrupt because of a different venture. In London, students recount how a rent strike was won. And in Bristol, homeless people defeat an injunction by the local council trying to evict their encampment, a camp that actually brightened up the area and got the community involved.

“With solidarity and self-organisation we defeat facsim” – Syrian activists in Greece at anti fascist demonstration in august. Image from the New Internationalist.

Through international solidarity towards Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom – A call from Yekîtiya Ciwanên Rojava

Call for solidarity put out by the diplomatic committee of the Youth Union of Rojava. Decries treatment of Ocalan in prison, sets out some of the vision of the Rojava Democratic Confederalist project and calls for international solidarity with the movement. Thanks to Insurrection News for sharing.

“Through international solidarity towards Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom

A call from Yekîtiya Ciwanên Rojava

While the capitalist modernity wants to prolong it’s age by emptying the content of our universe especially the minds of people which have been played with by the hands of oppression, until the point that people’s minds neither recognize what is happening in their environment nor with which danger humanity and life itself are confronted with. Since the creation of city states in Sumer and during their continuing development by oppressive powers until these days, all the people that stood up against the monster of capitalism were confronted with annihilation. In all times, especially in the Middle East, the capitalist system has been violating and destroying the natural laws. Furthermore it didn’t let the people of the region live together a life of peace and stability.

But in between this chaos somebody raised his head and said, enough of annihilation of humanity and nature and enough of violence, and began a struggle for the creation of a new system, a system which is lived in peace by all peoples on the basis of women’s freedom and defense of the nature/ecology. The one who created the idea of this system and the one who stood against the annihilation of societies and the interests of oppressive states, is the philosopher of the people Abdullah Öcalan. But he was kidnapped and detained through the international plot of these states on the 15th of February 1999. This plot targeted the will of freedom of Middle Eastern’s people in the individual of Öcalan. Since then Öcalan has been in the Imrali prison.

But because the people of this region do not follow the dirty games of capitalism, that’s why they have created the system of Democratic Nation for a common and con-federal life. In the system of Democratic Nation there is sociology of freedom and social justice to be found for all humans to be able to live equally in a ethic and political society based on youth’s initiative, ecology and women’s freedom. A result of this democratic idea are the revolution in Rojava and the creation of the federal system of North-Syria. Wherein all components of society are participating and have formed their own self-defense to resist the enemy of humanity – the Islamic State.

But this system, which has been created is not in the interest of the oppressive powers. For this reason a total isolation on Öcalan has been imposed from the 5th of April 2015 on, following the decision of AKP not to continue the peace process and therefore not to find a solution for the peoples of the region. The goal of this process, which has been started by Öcalan, is the creation of a democratic future, not only for the Kurdish and Turkish people but rather for all the people worldwide.

We, as the youth of Rojava which is organizing itself with the paradigm of Öcalan, are calling all the people and democratic forces worldwide, especially the youth, for actions and pressure on their governments so that the meetings with Öcalan are continued and informations about his situation are given concerning his life threat due to the very tense situation in Turkey right now. Not at least because this total isolation is against all kinds of human rights and because it’s an international plot, is it absolutely necessary for all democratic forces to fight for the freedom of Öcalan.

The struggle for freedom for Öcalan means struggle for the freedom of the people!
Fighting for freedom of Öcalan means fighting for women’s liberation!
Freedom for Öcalan means freedom for the youth and their initiative role in the society!

Diplomatic relations committee of the Youth Union of Rojava (YCR)”