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Iran, Türkiye, Syria: Hands Off the Kurdish People!
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RKOB
Iran, Türkiye, Syria: Hands Off the Kurdish People! Against any invasion by the Turkish or Iranian army! Unite the Kurdish struggle for freedom with the popular struggle against the tyranny of Assad and the Mullahs! Drive the Russian and NATO forces out of the Middle East! Statement of the RCIT, 24 November 2022 |
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Chris Slee
RKOB says:
"The latest developments are also a powerful
confirmation of the criticism of socialists against the pro-imperialist opportunism of the (petty-)bourgeois leadership of Kurdish parties like the PKK/YPG or Barzani’s and Talabani’s forces. They have repeatedly collaborated with the U.S. or looked for deals
with Russia and the Assad regime. At the same time, the PKK/YPG has refused to support the Arab revolution which began in 2011. This policy has resulted in the isolation of the Kurdish struggle from the Arab masses and in the dependence of support by Great
Powers or reactionary regimes".
*****
We should not make sweeping generalisations about "Kurdish parties".
The Barzani regime in Iraqi Kurdistan has
collaborated with US imperialism for several decades.
By contrast, the US has always remained
hostile to the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party, which originated in Turkey but has bases in the mountains of northern Iraq). The US supports Turkey's war against the PKK, which includes aerial bombardments and ground attacks by Turkish forces in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Barzani-controlled Kurdistan Regional Government supports Turkey's attacks.
The situation is more complicated in Syria.
In 2014 the US became worried when ISIS took over much of Iraq and Syria. ISIS took control of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, and also attempted to conquer north-eastern Syria, much of which has a predominantly Kurdish population.
Since July 2012, much of north-eastern
Syria was controlled by the Kurdish PYD (Democratic Union Party) and its armed forces, the YPG/YPJ. They implemented progressive policies including equality for women, equal rights for different religious and ethnic groups, etc.
Worried about the
growth of ISIS, the US began to cooperate with the YPG/YPJ against the common enemy. The YPG/YPJ also formed an alliance with some Syrian Arab rebel groups to fight ISIS. This alliance became known as the Syrian Democratic Forces.
The SDF, with US support, was successful
in defeating ISIS. However, the Erdogan regime in Turkey was not pleased.
In 2018 Turkey invaded Afrin, a predominantly
Kurdish area of northern Syria. The US did nothing to prevent this.
Then in 2019, Turkey invaded a strip of
land along the Turkey-Syria border between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn. Once again, the US did nothing to prevent it.
However, Turkey was not allowed to take
any more Syrian territory at that time. The US was happy to see the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
(AANES) weakened, but not to such an extent that ISIS could revive. A small number of US personnel remained in north-east Syria, both to assist the SDF in fighting ISIS and as a signal to Turkey not to carry out a full-scale invasion of the whole of north-eastern
Syria (at least not yet).
RKOB says that the YPG "refused to support the Arab revolution". The problem was that much of the anti-Assad rebel movement
was hostile to the revolutionary process in north-eastern Syria. Turkey, which supplied arms to the rebels, mainly supported those groups which were most hostile to the Rojava revolution, whether because of anti-Kurdish attitudes or because of Islamist ideology.
However, the YPG/YPJ was able to form an alliance with some Arab anti-Assad rebel groups that had come under attack from ISIS
or other reactionary Turkish-backed groups.
Facing the threat of a full-scale Turkish invasion of north-eastern Syria, AANES has sought to manoeuvre. It has not only
allowed some US troops to remain in AANES-controlled territory. It has also allowed a few Russian troops to have a presence in some areas.
Neither the US nor Russia is a reliable ally. But for the time being, neither wants to see Turkey take over the whole of north-eastern
Syria.
Russia is a rival of Turkey. They have backed opposing forces not only in Syria but in Libya and elsewhere.
Erdogan is similar to Putin in some ways. While Putin acts as if he wants to revive the tsarist empire, Erdogan gives the
impression of wanting to revive the Ottoman empire. These competing ambitions bring them into conflict in the Caucasus as well as the Middle East.
AANES makes use of this rivalry, just as Ukraine makes use of the rivalry between Russia and the United States.
Of course, there are dangers in this policy, including the danger of co-option.
Chris Slee
From: marxmail@groups.io <marxmail@groups.io> on behalf of RKOB <aktiv@...>
Sent: Thursday, 24 November 2022 10:06 PM To: marxmail@groups.io <marxmail@groups.io> Subject: [marxmail] Iran, Türkiye, Syria: Hands Off the Kurdish People!
Iran, Türkiye, Syria: Hands Off the Kurdish People! Against any invasion by the Turkish or Iranian army! Unite the Kurdish struggle for freedom with the popular struggle against the tyranny of Assad and the Mullahs! Drive the Russian and NATO forces out of the Middle East! Statement of the RCIT, 24 November 2022
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