On Ocalan’s Call for Peace and Social Democratic Imperialism: An Anarchist Communist Critique

Revolutionary struggle is never a solitary endeavor; rather it is an unfolding process replete with contradiction and tension. But sifting through the complexity what fundamentally endures is solidarity and principles. When we – anarchist and communist revolutionaries – embark on the path of struggle we expect to exist, grow and die in a life of contradiction and tension, but we also intend for the path we are on to steadily maintain the positions that we’ve historically defined as unequivocal. In essence, some things are negotiable, some deviations are forgivable, and some can be treacherous. The recent positions and actions by the PKK, in several of its components, are not only inconsistent with revolutionary struggle, but have deviated so far from the established principles of proletarian and internationalist struggle that the project has now veered into an essentially revisionist, collaborationist posture. This is particularly alarming as the internationalist movement exceedingly needs heightened, resolute and honorable positions as the challenges facing us are grave and growing.

We are writing from an anarchist communist position that is far from monolithic in our locale, or in general, but we have also been at the forefront of solidarity efforts with the PKK since the formation of the International Freedom Battalion, the HBDH, and the establishment of the anarchist guerrilla faction, the IRPGF. We have been increasingly alarmed at ongoing developments and the most recent political realities need to be addressed. We are not writing this with any elation and are not laying out this statement from a dogmatic, idealist stance. In actuality, we maintained principled silence on a whole host of revisionist deviations, and would have continued out of respect for the complex and dynamic position the combatants find themselves in at the forefront in the conflict zones in West Asia. However, recent developments have pushed us to publicly critique the organization in spite of our admiration for their historical accomplishments.

In the earlier phases of the struggle in Rojava, the US and the YPG both stated their collaboration was “temporary, transactional and tactical”; in essence, not a strategic partnership but a brief association to combat ISIS. This stated position is now, approximately, 8 years old and has turned into unarguably a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The reality is even more stark in light of the larger situation in West Asia today. The Palestinian Revolution, ignited by the monumental October 7th operation, followed by remarkable acts of solidarity performed in northern occupied Palestine and the Red Sea, set a new stage in contemporary struggle against colonialism and imperialism, but is also an illustrative example of resistance for the entire internationalist movement. The war against the Zionist settler regime, and in effect the US-led imperialist world system, is at an elevated state, and due to the genocidal nature of the imperialist forces, the planned ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, and the potential of success for the Resistance in Gaza, the liberation of Palestine must have a central role. To be clear, this is not to contrast the Kurdish movement with the Palestinian movement, but to highlight a fundamental contradiction that has reached its peak. The Zionist regime, being a settler appendage of US power projection, has embarked on a genocidal campaign, and the eradication of the Zionist state will put unprecedented pressure on American imperialism, particularly as the US is a wounded animal that has been in decline for some time due to its intensifying excesses. In this context, the PKK partnership with the American regime is particularly inconceivable – as a crucial war for liberation against colonialism rages on in the region.

The opportunism in this collusion is evident but there are also three other crucial points that we feel must be addressed to clarify the true scope of the morass.

1) The historic statement by Abdullah Ocalan calling for the PKK to lay down its arms and to dissolve itself not only betrays the strategy of revolutionary people’s war, self-defense, and proletarian struggle; the release of the statement had been timed at the height of the counter-revolutionary push across the region, which is the HTS/Turkish consolidation of power and the Zionist colonial expansion in Syria.

The statement was met with confusion initially by PKK executive committee members. Murat Karayilan, for instance, stated, “Let’s assume that he [Ocalan] made the call. But this work cannot be done only through a call. We are a movement with tens of thousands of armed people. These fighters are not on a payroll to be sacked. These are ideological fighters. They have beliefs and are willing to sacrifice themselves.”

The Turkish revolutionary organization, the MLKP who is allied with the PKK, resoundingly rejected the statement arguing:

We strongly emphasize that the view in the “Call for Peace and a Democratic Society,” which states, “There is no path outside of democracy for system searches and implementations. There cannot be. Democratic consensus is the fundamental method,” is incompatible with the reality of polarization between oppressors and the oppressed, the rich and the poor, the rulers and the oppressed peoples in Turkey, Kurdistan, and worldwide. In a world where the ruling class, through their state apparatuses, hold the monopoly on violence, have access to the means of violence, are armed to the teeth, fascistize state apparatuses, and divide the world with blood and fire, it is impossible for the working class, women, oppressed peoples, and workers to achieve their basic demands, gain freedom, and create a just, humane world without armed struggle and revolutionary mass violence.

The MLKP will continue the fight for freedom against the fascist regime, denialist colonialism, the patriarchal system, capitalist exploitation, and imperialism, for the Union of the People’s Republics of Turkey and Kurdistan, for the Democratic and Socialist Federation in the Middle East, and for the war for socialism, using all means and forms of struggle.

We echo a similar sentiment here. The renunciation of revolutionary self defense and mass violence is the siren call of a movement replete with bourgeois revisionism. Other segments in Ocalan’s call illuminate the same issues: the demands for “free self-expression, democratic self-organization of each segment of society based on their own socio-economic and political structures”; the idea that “permanent and fraternal continuity” can be achieved if it is “crowned with democracy.” Or that “there is no alternative to democracy in the pursuit and realization of a political system. Democratic consensus is the fundamental way.” This is the language of imperialist power; it is the language of liberalism. We don’t mean this in a pejorative sense either, but literally. The discourse of democracy separated from class war, a movement without an armed component, or a strategic initiative against the colonialist enemies is merely speaking the language of defeat.

2) Mazloum Abdi, the top SDF general, who was in the PKK high command, the HPG and a personal friend of Ocalan, publicly stated that the YPG is open to support from the Zionist colonial regime. Abdi stated if the occupation regime can “prevent attacks against us and stop the killing of our people, we welcome that and appreciate it… ‘Israel’ is a force with influence in the US, the West, and the region.” As we noted, Palestine is the compass for anti-colonial revolution, and publicly articulating (particularly now) a desire to open relations with the Zionist regime is unconscionable.

From Imrali Island to SDF headquarters, the whispers of social democratic imperialism have now become screams, however, in Qandil, and HBDH guerrilla zones we hear a different discourse. Cemil Bayik recently stated, for instance that, “A new Syria is being built, and it is based on protecting ‘Israel’ and the global capital. What does ‘Israel’ represent? It represents global capital; it represents the capitalist system. Protecting ‘Israel’ does not only mean protecting Israel; it also means protecting the system of capitalist modernity.”

After the martyrdom of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah the MLKP proclaimed his “memory will live on in the struggle for a free and united Middle East,” while also calling “on the peoples of Kurdistan and Turkey to take the streets, side by side with the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon, against genocidal colonialism.” TKP-ML’s Martyr Nubar Ozanyan Brigade, based in Rojava, proclaimed that “Nasrallah has become an example of resistance against ‘Israels’ brutality, attacks and occupations.” They called “on all peoples to take a stand against genocide and to actively solidarize with the Palestinian and Lebanese people,” since the “only remedy for the oppressed against this system is to unite in a common line of resistance and to strengthen solidarity networks with the oppressed peoples of the world.”

These positions hearken back to the foundational era of the PKK’s Kurdish Freedom struggle, when guerrillas were based in the Bekaa Valley as guests of the Palestinian Resistance, and even took casualties fighting Zionist colonialists in the 1982 battle for the Castle Arnun in Lebanon. Evoking this period highlights the nature of the political differences that have emerged, and the consolidation of bourgeois thought and practice within the upper echelon of the PKK – seemingly the dominant perspectives. The revolutionary parties and some of the executive branch in Qandil fully understands that the Kurdish Freedom Movement, allied with the Palestinian Resistance is unmistakably the path to liberate both societies – merged again through resistance.

Practically speaking, the Resistance in Palestine and Lebanon wanted a front opened against the Zionist regime from Syria. The Assad regime, being as opportunistic and cynical as expected, refused to open a new front for the Resistance, leaving Hezbollah to take the brunt of the fighting in the north singlehandedly. If PKK/YPG forces had opened a front, even symbolically, the contradictions that exist would have been severely disrupted, solidarity between the stateless peoples would have been strengthened and the repairing of Kurdish-Arab ties could have been addressed with a foundational basis of revolutionary solidarity and not political maneuvering.

3) The SDF/YPG announcement of their political and military merger with the HTS regime in Damascus signals an impending collapse of the revolutionary project.

The HTS seizure of power in Syria is the culmination of a counter revolutionary process targeting Palestine and revolutionary Kurdistan in tandem. HTS, like its counterparts ISIS and Al-Qaeda, are accomplices with the fascist Turkish state. Its military offensive against Assad, timed on the very day of the ceasefire in Lebanon – November 27th – was designed to put extraordinary pressure on the Palestinian Resistance and its supporters during a period of vulnerability. In this regard, it was almost certainly agreed upon by the Zionists and their American sponsors. Before the offensive, the US and Zionist regime were beaten to a stalemate in Lebanon and the HTS actions became the one marker of strategic success for imperialism in the entire al-Aqsa Flood battle. Fascist Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed the collapse of the Syrian regime was “a direct result of the blows we have inflicted” on the anti-Zionist Resistance forces.

On the Kurdish side, the success of the HTS military operation brought to power the same people the PKK had fought against since the rise of ISIS and it also rejuvenated the Turkish backed SNA forces that were attacking the YPG in the north. However, this also put political pressure on revolutionary factions in the Kurdish movement since Rojava was surrounded by hostile forces who have now gained momentum.

The Communist factions have maintained the position that striving for a Kurdish nation, allied with internationalist anti-imperialist forces as a bulwark against Western expansion is the objective. The PKK, on the other hand, proposed the formation of the democratic nation, opposed to the nation-state system, where directly-democratic communes organize themselves, cutting through the miscellaneous Sykes-Picot arrangement, and through ethnic divisions. But the opportunistic forces in the PKK, based in Syria and Turkey, disregarded both revolutionary propositions and took Ocalan’s call for disarming/dissolution and the opportunity to appease western forces to its logical conclusion. As TKP-ML stated in their recent text about Ocalan’s call, “it appears that even this ‘paradigm’” – Democratic Confederalism – “has now been abandoned.” In both instances, in Syria and Turkey, the party is calling for subsumption by both states. In Turkey the PKK calls for the establishment of a democratic process, which as Cemil Bayak says the conditions for such an initiative do not even exist. He states, “The Turkish state attacks us every day with all kinds of weapons. How are we going to stop under these circumstances? Of course, our struggle continues.” In Syria, Salih Muslim, spokesperson for the PYD’s foreign relations, reinforces the capitulation, claiming that the agreement with HTS is consistent with Ocalan’s decree.

We should also note that the signing of the agreement with the HTS regime, just like the offensive against Assad, was timed in a particularly heinous manner. The signing ceremony was commenced immediately after one of the gravest massacres – resembling Sabra and Chatilla – was committed by regime forces. Recent estimates maintain that almost 1400 people were slaughtered by the state in western Syria, the vast majority civilians, with tacit approval by the west and their puppet Arab states.

In the imperial core, particularly in the US, we had struggled against the revisionist creep in Rojava solidarity efforts; promoting the combative forces and maintaining the line of armed struggle, anti-imperialism, while supporting efforts either towards the Kurdish nation, or the Democratic Confederalist line. Both positions have merit, and solidarity was established through struggle, with its clearest articulation in the International Freedom Battalion in Rojava, and the HBDH in Turkey in Bakur. Through this process we have also understood mourning, loss and sacrifice. The internationalist movement has given martyrs from all over the world; Orhan Bakırcıyan, Ivana Hoffmann, Dogan Kirefe, Lorenzo Orsetti, Michael Israel, Ulaş Bayraktaroglu, Alina Sanchez, Nurhak Cem, and the list continues.

In memory of the fallen it is our responsibility to clearly proclaim that the direction the party has taken is contrary to the stated objectives of the revolution: from either the class struggle position or the Democratic Nation. We hope non-revisionist forces within the struggle can exert the necessary pressure to prevent a further drift towards reaction and normalization with imperialism. In a similar manner that Fatah’s capitulation in the Palestinian struggle damned the left to years of insignificance, or Khrushchev’s peaceful coexistence betrayed anti-colonial forces, thoroughly discrediting the Soviet project, the PKK’s shift towards integration and peaceful coexistence with US imperialism will certainly have a similar effect.

The integration of revolutionary political forces into the Western-backed state in Syria, and the dismantling of revolutionary military forces in Qandil and Bakur is totally irreconcilable and antagonistic to the furtherance of the internationalist movement. The Kurdish Revolution, with the PKK as its primary revolutionary force, cannot prevail after being absorbed into bourgeois, fascist political structures in West Asia; in fact, the most advanced sections of the movement – the women’s movement and the armed struggle – will only survive if the democratic aspirations of the Kurdish people are fulfilled and maintained through embracing the principled positions that have been established and continuing to combine efforts with other forces fighting against imperialism today. People’s War, the Democratic Confederalist model, and the “right to freely secede” (the right to establish a Kurdish nation which is now rejected by Ocalan), are all positions that reject absorption and must be upheld. As TKP-ML succinctly stated, “Renouncing or refusing to demand.. national-collective rights does not mean that the Kurdish national question has been resolved, nor does it indicate that the contradiction between the oppressor and oppressed nations has disappeared.”

Due to wary statements from some members of the PKK leadership and the revolutionary organizations we believe there is still potential to pivot and rectify the situation internally. We are certain the guerrillas in the mountains, the commando units in the cities, and local organizers who worked diligently to build popular power are questioning these positions. Revolutionaries in Kurdistan and elsewhere understand what is at stake and that now is not the time for half measures. The collaborationist posture is particularly egregious as antagonisms and conflict are amplified in the region. The internationalist anarchist and communist positions must further the line against capitulation.

For a free Kurdistan and a free Palestine!

No to unilateral ceasefire and disarmament!

Revolutionary Anarcho-Communists in the Northeastern “US”

Further reading:

“Kurdish National Question ”The Call of the Century”: Solution or Dissolution? – TKP-ML,” https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/17751/

“Let’s Strengthen the Struggle for the National and Democratic Rights of the Kurdish People! — MLKP,” https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/17327/

“PKK: We will comply with Leader Öcalan’s call, we declare a ceasefire,” https://anfenglish.com/features/-78180

“Call for Peace and Democratic Society: Abdullah Ocalan,” https://www.demparti.org.tr/Images/UserFiles/Documents/Editor/2025/eng-callfor-peace-and-democratic-society.pdf

https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=18070

The Emergence of the PKK in the 1970s – Part I

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) emerged in the 1970s, in a period when freedoms were being suppressed across Turkey and Kurdistan, and Kurds were subjected to policies of annihilation and denial. Sowing its seeds during the 1973 Newroz and evolving into a political party in 1978 through a process of ideological consolidation, PKK claimed the legacy of revolutionary figures such as Deniz Gezmiş and Mahir Çayan. It launched a struggle of resurgence against social-chauvinism influenced by Kemalism, the Turkish occupation and colonialism in Kurdistan, and the local collaborating forces that supported them.

PKK emerged in Kurdistan as a radical and critical movement for freedom. In his book Defending the Kurds under the Grip of Cultural Genocide, Abdullah Ocalan—known within the movement as Leader Apo—describes the conditions in which the PKK was born. Recalling the moment he first used the phrase ‘colonized Kurdistan,’ he shares how deeply it affected him, both emotionally and physically: ‘‘The tremor that the concept of colonized Kurdistan caused in my mind and heart, followed by my fainting, was the first and only such episode in my life. At the time, I found it truly strange. But later developments would show why a single concept could carry such overwhelming weight. Even now, I find it difficult to explain the impact it had on me in those early days. To stand alone in Ankara and decide to initiate a conceptual awakening at a time when the death warrant for Kurdistan and Kurdishness had been declared—and was being executed in its most extreme form—would require an analysis profound enough to be the subject of a novel.’’

Mahir, Deniz and Ibrahim

Abdullah Ocalan recalls being part of both the Kurdish and Turkish revolutionary youth movements, and says he was deeply influenced by them. Reflecting on this formative period, Ocalan writes: ‘‘I had heard the names of the People’s Liberation Party-Front of Turkey (THKP-C), the People’s Liberation Army of Turkey (THKO), and the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP/ML-TIKKO), and I had witnessed the brave martyrdoms of their leaders. I saw with my own eyes how Mahir Çayan, the leader of THKP-C; Deniz Gezmiş, the leader of THKO; and Ibrahim Kaypakkaya, the leader of TIKKO, gave voice to the reality of the Kurdish people and the Kurdish nation—at the cost of their lives. Alongside many other factors that came later, the martyrdom of these leaders, who emerged from within the youth and sacrificed themselves for the sake of truth, was a decisive force that gave me the courage to walk toward my own authentic reality.’’

How will you make a piece of wood grow?

Ocalan (Leader Apo) drew attention to the disbelief and resistance he faced in the early days of political organizing by sharing a striking moment with a villager—an exchange that captured the atmosphere of those difficult years. Describing that period, he writes: ‘‘To live and move forward with a political concept based on just two words in the Turkey of the 1970s and 1980s was of immense significance. Each day passed like a leaden weight, heavier than years. The goal we were striving toward was more vague than a dream. Yet I was certain that even becoming a group was already a major achievement. It wasn’t hard to guess that our group activity—carried out right under the nose of the most capable intelligence officers—was not being taken seriously, even mocked and dismissed. It was just like what that villager said when I shared my first social experience—the realization that ‘we might be Kurds’: You’re trying to speak to a dry plank of wood. How are you going to make that piece of wood grow? It was clear they saw us with the same disbelief.’’

Ocalan explains that it took five years after forming as a group for them to find the courage to name themselves: ”Our earliest labels were given to us: ‘UKO supporters,’ ‘Apo supporters.’ It felt like an honor to be named, but those names were not of our own choosing. During the group period, the only name we could give ourselves was ‘Revolutionaries of Kurdistan.’ It took us five full years after forming as a group to finally gather the courage to name ourselves. What began near the banks of the Çubuk Dam in Ankara during the Newroz of 1973—a journey filled with passion and madness—culminated on November 27, 1978, in the village of Fis in Diyarbakır’s (Amed) Lice district, with the founding of PKK. It felt like we had redeemed our honor. What greater goal could there be? After all, the modern organization of the modern class structure had been established.”

Through these reflections, Ocalan reveals the historical and emotional depth of the founding of PKK, and how it became a revolutionary response to the denial and destruction imposed on the Kurdish people. In an era when even saying ‘I am a Kurd’ was forbidden, the emergence of the PKK marked a miraculous breakthrough. What began as a lifeline for a people targeted by cultural genocide eventually grew into a revolutionary movement that came to be embraced by other oppressed peoples as well—and continues its struggle for freedom to this day.

If not for real socialism

Ocalan notes that, from today’s vantage point, he can evaluate the intellectual and historical conditions that led to the founding of PKK with greater clarity. He continues his reflections as follows: ‘‘As we moved toward the founding of PKK, we were deeply committed to remaining faithful to the scientific socialist line of Marxism. Without real socialism, an organization like the PKK might never have come into being. However, that does not mean the PKK, in its early phase, was a fully formed real socialist organization. Although it was heavily influenced by real socialism, the PKK’s entire reality cannot be explained solely through that lens. To arrive at a more accurate interpretation, it is necessary to consider the concepts of relativity and difference. I still remember clearly—because of the subject-object dichotomy embedded in real socialism, I was constantly searching for a material basis for the PKK’s formation, trying to interpret everything through a materialist framework. This search became, for me, a kind of fundamental principle—something absolutely essential.

Toward a description of the PKK

The effort to reinterpret PKK today, Ocalan suggests, is only possible thanks to a philosophical transformation—one that avoids absolutizing the subject-object dichotomy and resists turning itself into an absolute framework. Within this perspective, rethinking the PKK involves identifying the global conditions and material-cultural elements it was grounded in during the early 1970s, as well as the dominant forms of consciousness, organization, action, and moral culture that shaped it. According to Ocalan, this process is essential not only for accurately defining the PKK Movement, but also for shedding greater light on its role in the present.’’

He notes that the counter-revolution of the 1970s emerged in direct response to the anti-modernist cultural revolution that had peaked in the 1968 uprisings. He warns against reducing the global shift of the 1970s to mere economic transformation, writing: ‘‘The rise of financial capital cannot be explained by the innocent mask of economic reform. Its dominance was built upon two world wars, the wars of the twentieth century—history’s bloodiest century—and even more deeply, on five centuries of class domination and colonial warfare. It all culminates in the power of the nation-state, which represents total war against society from top to bottom.”

Ocalan goes on to describe Turkey of the 1970s as a country increasingly shaped by both the revolutionary and counter-revolutionary waves sweeping the globe. He writes: ”Turkey could not avoid becoming part of this world, despite its efforts to shield itself behind thick ideological walls. The Youth Revolution of 1968, followed by the economic and military counter-revolutions of 1980—namely, the 24 January economic decisions and the 12 September military coup—ultimately dragged Turkey into this historical tide. The global crisis of the capitalist system manifested itself in Turkey as a crisis of White Turkish fascism. In essence, the crisis of capitalist modernity was the crisis of the Turkish nation-state.’’

The most extensive operation of Gladio: September 12

Abdullah Ocalan emphasizes that the military coups of 12 March 1971 and 12 September 1980 were carried out to crush revolutionary movements that civil fascist forces had failed to suppress. He writes: ‘‘The system’s most fortified bastion could only be protected through military coups, which were constantly reinforced by counter-revolutionary civilian fascist movements. Since 1925, the ‘White Turkish’ conspiratorial system has been at war with all forms of cultural existence and democratic stirrings that posed a threat to fascist modernity—especially the Kurdish identity. As this system became increasingly exposed and discredited, it also became more unhinged. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Gladio structure had the most powerful operational units. It had taken control of nearly all political formations. Whenever there was even a limited break from its grip, civil fascist forces would be mobilized; and when they proved insufficient, the entire military would be brought in. It played the role of a proto-Zionist system and was supported by global hegemonic powers because of that. There is no other example of a regime that exerted such total control over its own people.

This is why the crisis of ‘White Turkish’ modernity directly concerned the global system. The aim of the September 12 fascist coup was to overcome this crisis. Its core political strategies included opening the economy to global markets and integrating with the global financial system; and ideologically, shifting from secular nationalism toward a fusion of Turkish-Islamic nationalism—reinforcing the secular nation-state model with a Turkish-Islamic one. The September 12 coup was NATO Gladio’s most extensive operation. It was tasked with permanently suppressing the revolutionary and democratic actions of all peoples in the Middle East. To this day, it continues to pursue that mission, alongside the system’s civilian fascist networks and semi-military structures.’’

Reviving truths once thought dead

In the 1970s, real socialism entered a deep crisis and began shifting into a position that, rather than challenging the system, reinforced capitalist modernity. Unable to renew or reorganize itself, it faced ideological stagnation and eventual collapse. One of the states most shaken by this crisis was Turkey. The breakdown of White Turkish fascism began to surface ideologically, exposing it to the critique and resistance of emerging revolutionary forces. As Ocalan observed, the revolutionary movements of that period were deeply ideological. For the first time in Turkish history, suppressed social realities were being voiced through these movements. Truths once assumed to be dead were being revived. Islamist ideologies were losing ground to socialist-revolutionary currents, and the Kurdish reality was once again rising to the surface. Outside the PKK, most ideological and revolutionary movements of the era remained confined to the narrow actions of isolated groups. In this climate, it was only the PKK that succeeded in standing up against Turkish colonialism and launching a genuine revolutionary breakthrough.

Ocalan has stated that the foundational idea behind the PKK’s emergence was based on the model of state-building proposed by Joseph Stalin and later endorsed by Vladimir Lenin, particularly in the context of resolving the Kurdish question. However, one of the major ideological ambiguities the PKK faced during its formation stemmed from the nation-state model itself. Stalin’s principle—endorsed by Lenin—of granting nations the right to self-determination through the creation of a state had caused deep ideological confusion across global socialist and leftist movements. The PKK, too, was drawn into this confusion. It was only later that Ocalan would break from this paradigm. With his book Defending a People, he introduced a new framework—’Democratic, Ecological, and Women’s Liberationist Society’—marking the beginning of a new and more powerful phase of struggle.

source: ANF English

https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=18031

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17.03.25 - 23.03.25
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# NEWROZ PIROZ BE!

This week all Kurdistan went to the streets for Newroz, the new year celebrations for many peoples in West and Central Asia, Caucasus and Balkans. It has a very significant meaning of resistance for Kurdish people. Throughout northern Syria big celebrations were organized by the DAANES, with music, political speeches and other cultural events. Many political and social organizations made statements to celebrate Newroz and to celebrate the achievements of the Kurdish liberation movement, as well as the revolutionary steps taken this year, and the recent statement of Abdullah Öcalan invigorated the celebrations.

# NEXT STEPS ON THE AGREEMENTS SIGNED BY ABDI-SHARA'A

Following the agreements of cooperation signed by Mazlum Abdi and Ahmed al-Shara'a, the provisional goverment formed a committee to coordinate its implementation. Alongside discussions about the integration of SDF into the Ministry of defense and other topics related to security and military affairs, steps are also been taken in civilian affairs. UNICEF mediated a discussion between the DAANES and the Ministry of Education to develop a fair and accessible process for students across the region, mainly concerning Syrian universities and mechanisms for conducting secondary and preparatory certificate exams. Discussions about oil and gas fields and electricity plants are also taking place, with the Syrian Minister of Electricity Omar Shaqrouq giving at a press conference about energy infrastructure repairs in northeast Syria. Rumors and alleged conditions of SDF and the transitional government about the integration of SDF in the new Syrian army are spreading on some social networks, but as terms are being discussed no official announcements have been made this week.

# AGREEMENTS BETWEEN PYD AND ENKS

Representants of PYD (Partiya Yekitiya Democratic - Democratic Union Party, leading political party of DAANES) and ENKS (Kurdish national union party, a party in Rojava that is closely connected to KRG and Turkey) held a meeting in Qamishlo with mediation of Mazlum Abdi and American officials. After the meeting both sides communicated they reached agreements to end the disputes between both organizations and to build a common delegation to negotiate with the Damascus provisional government. Both parties also expressed their common disagreement with the provisional consitution that was recently proposed by the provisional government, calling for a decentralized and federal Syria. They also stated that they will meet again after the celebrations of Newroz to continue negotiations.

#COASTAL INSURGENCE

Incidents continue in the coastal areas of the Latakia province that saw the recent wave of insurgency. Revenge killings and kidnappings have continued over the past week, even as coordinated insurgent attacks and extrajudicial sectarian killings by interim government forces have decreased. Alawite media have widely reported on instances of violence committed against the Alawite community by Sunnis and government forces. Several thousands, mostly Alawites, left their homes seeking shelter from the attacks in Lebanon. Near 10.000 found temporary shelter in the Russian base at Hmeimim, but after the tensions lowered, Russian military personal urged them to leave the military base.

# CLASHES IN LEBANESE BORDER

After a confusing incident on the border between Syria and Lebanon where some Syrians were killed, clashes took place. Forces of HTS connected to the Syrian Ministry of Defense (MoD) launched a raid into Lebanese territory, taking control of one small border town. The Lebanese army engaged in clashes, allegedly against smugglers or tribal armed groups. HTS-linked media blame Hezbollah for the incidents, but Hezbollah denied involvment. Over the week, clashes continued on and off, with discussions ongoing between Lebanese goverment and Syrian provisional government to secure the border and stop the clashes. Allegedly, Hezbollah used the tensions and confusion to launch raids on Syrian territory.

# DEIR EZZOR INSURGENCY

Soldiers of the MoD launched several raids in the Deir Ezzor region, in areas under control of the provisional government. The raids followed a wave of insurgency and attacks against military points of the MoD, allegedly by smuggling networks and militias aligned with Hezbollah or with Iran. It seems there is no direct relation between the insurgency in Deir Ezzor and the insurgency in coastal areas, but in both cases Assad loyalist elements seem to be involved in one way or another.

# HALT ON TURKISH ATTACKS?

On Sunday 16th of March a Turkish drone attacked a family home in the Kobane countryside killing both parents and 7 children, with only two children surviving with serious injuries. Many protests denouncing the attack took place all across north-east Syria. Two days after the massacre, the attacks of SNA and the Turkish army slowed down to a point that in the last days, no new attacks are reported. This pause could be a temporary phenomenon, but it comes against the backdrop of the SDF-Syrian provisional government talks. Turkey and the SNA appeared to halt attacks on March 19, which was the same day that the Syrian interim government met with the SDF at al Shaddadi base in Hasakah Province to continue negotiations over the SDF’s integration into the Syrian army.

# ISRAEL ATTACKS

Israel continued its attacks on Syrian military positions, further advancing their occupation in southern Syria. Some airstrikes are claimed to be targeting military installations in southern Syria, which were allegedly being repurposed by military personal, and becoming a potential threat to Israel. Military occupation forces entered several new villages of the Quneitra region. Besides the expansion of the military occupation, they launched airstrikes next to the Lebanese border, allegedly targeting Hezbollah militias. The Israeli air force also bombed the Palmyra military airport in central Syria in several raids.

# ANALYSIS: Read in comments

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#Syria #NES #SDF #DAANES #AANES #SNA #SDF #PYD #YPJ #YPG #HTS #Rojava #Kurdistan #Revolution #DefendRojava #Anarchy #Anarchism #Comrades #Internationalism #AbdullahOcalan #Öcalan #PKK #WomenLifeFreedom #Newroz #Alawite #Latakia #Lebanon #Hezbollah #Israel

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# Signature of an agreement SDF - Provisional Government

On Monday, March 10, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and Syrian President Ahmad al-Shar’a sign an agreement formalizing what was already discussed and confirming cooperation towards a shared security framework. It ensures Kurdish political rights and paves the way for integration of major institutions. DAANES institutions back the agreement gladly, hoping that it will put an end to the different conflicts like the clashes erupted on the coast, will safeguard rights of Kurds, and will enable the return of IDPs and refugees to Afrin and other occupied territories. In the following days, the UN and relevant international state actors, such as Gulf states, European states, and US welcomed the SDF-Syrian government agreement.

# Aftermatch of Coastal insurgence

After few days of coordinated insurgent attacks on the coastal region of Latakia, the stronghold of Assad loyalists, forces of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) are, more or less,in control of the situation. Several insurgents had been killed or arrested in wide security operations, as well as several fighters linked to the MoD, mostly caught in ambushes by the insurgents. Many civilians, mostly Alawite population, have been killed or forced to flee looking for shelter in the Russian military base. Security operations continue, combing the insurgent areas. Insurgent attacks, even if not in the scale that they had been, also continue. Interim president al-Shara made declaration briefly acknowledged accusations of extrajudicial killings by HTS-led forces and promised that those who “exceeded the powers of the state” will be held accountable. Shara also appointed two Alawites and several competent, professional judges to a committee to investigate the crimes committed by government troops.

# Provisional Constitution of Syria

Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara signed a provisional constitution on March 13, claiming to initiate a five-year transition period. The document is based on Islamic jurisprudence, remarking that the president of Syria must be Muslim. The constitution defends the freedoms of opinion, expression, information, publication and press, also defends religious freedom. The Constitutional Committee emphasized that the document ensures a separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. However, it ensures a lot of powers to the president, who will appoint a third of the "Peoples Assembly" and select a committee that will appoint the other two thirds. The president will also select the seven members of the Supreme Constitutional Court, also have right to declare state of emergency with the approval of the National Security Council, formed by the minsters of Defense, Interior, Intelligence and Foreign affairs. This grants al-Shara a massive influence over the formation and direction of the Syrian state. The SDC and other institutions of the DAANES, including the opposition party of ENKS, made declarations rejecting this constitution and denouncing how it perpetuates the presidential model of the Assad regime, not reflecting the plurality of Syria. Druze authorities also made declarations in the same direction.

# Turkey continue on the offensive

After the agreement between Mazlum Abdi and Ahmed al-Shara, there was a question of how much this implies the end of hostilities between SNA and SDF. But clearly nothing really changed on the ground. Turkey continued their attacks with planes and drones over the Eufrates region around Tishreen dam, were the civilian protests still ongoing. There have been renewed attacks with heavy weapons on differnet points of the M4 like Til Temir and Ain Issa frontlines. Turkish foreign minister made declarations declaring that will monitor closely the implementations of the agreements with SDF, calling to make no concessions for any attempt of self-administration.

# Continuing repatriations from Al-Hol camp to Iraq

After Iraq halted repatriations from Iraqi citizens in al-Hol camp for a short period, and following coordinated efforts between DANNES and the Iraqi state, more than 600 Iraqi former arrested had been allowed to return to Iraq. This also comes after The provisional government announced that they are ready to take control of the ISIS prisons currently under control of SDF.

# Points of agreement signed by SDF and the provisional government:

Political Participation – Full representation and rights for all Syrian communities, including Kurds, in state institutions based on merit rather than sectarian or ethnic background.
Kurdish Rights – Recognition of the Kurdish community as an integral part of Syria, ensuring constitutional rights and citizenship protections.
Security and Stability – A ceasefire across Syrian territories, aiming to reduce hostilities and facilitate political dialogue.
Institutional Integration – The merging of all civil and military institutions in northeast Syria into the national framework, including border crossings, airports, and energy resources.
Refugee Return – Guarantees for the safe return of displaced Syrians to their homes under government protection.
Sovereignty Protection – Joint efforts to counter external threats, including armed groups and foreign interventions that destabilize Syria.
Combating Extremism – Enhanced cooperation in counterterrorism efforts against ISIS and other extremist factions.
Ending Division and Sectarian Rhetoric – Rejecting hate speech and ensuring national reconciliation.

# Evaluation

The recent agreement between Mazlum Abdi and Ahmed al-Shara, happening at the same time than the massacres against Alawite population, leaves a bitter taste. The agreement brings nothing new, nothing more than what was already discussed. It is the formalization on paper to reach common agreements for Syria. It takes a step to make sure that no national-scale decisions and talks are made without people of northeastern Syria. Still, it is hard to see the future of the revolution through the large scale moves of state-level diplomacy.

At the same time, we need to ask ourselves: what would we like to see? What is the alternative? What could be done in this situation? Is there any better way to proceed, something that aligns better with anarchists values and respects the will and the needs of the people of north-east Syria? Honestly, these are very difficult questions.

We need to reflect what all this means. What it means for the people here, wearied by war, with the Turkish threats of a full scale invasion still looming? What it means for the revolution, with the collapse of the Assad regime but with a new authotitarian goverment rising over the same structures of nation-state? And also what it means for us, revolutionary anarchists who committed to support and defend this revolution?

In comparison with everything around it and beyond, NE Syria is clearly the most exciting political proposal in the region. Can it survive the war, the lack of resources, the attacks from all sides, the cooptation Can it avoid collapse and annihilation? Can people defend what they fought and died for, and live their lives in dignity? Time is desperately needed to ensure positive answers to these questions. And the moves we see in past weeks do buy the revolution some time. What we are trying to do here defies th logic of capitalist modernity, and this is not an easy thing to do. And as every revolution, whatever happens will bring lessons for the next ones to come.

Revolutionary greetings!
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#Syria #SDF #DAANES #AANES #SNA #SDF #PYD #YPJ #YPG #HTS #Rojava #Kurdistan #Revolution #DefendRojava #Anarchy #Anarchism #Comrades #Internationalism #AbdullahOcalan #Öcalan #PKK #WomenLifeFreedom

In Memory of Lorenzo Orsetti – Şehîd Tekoşer Piling

To all the Youth.

In 2011 the Third World War was raising the level of conflicts and violence throughout the Middle Eastern region, at the same time from North Africa to the Middle East wide popular uprisings began. The forces of capitalist modernity such as United States, Turkiye and Israel used against these revolts the organization known to us as ISIS. The islamic state with its mentality of hatred and denial of the life, started the immoral and violent aggression against villages, cities and all the democratic movements that were fighting in order to get rid of decades of dictatorships. In doing so these groups were trying to stop the revolutionary wave.

These jihadist groups came to the peak of their strength and established their strongholds in Syria. It is also there where their decline began and where they were defeated thanks to the YPJ and the YPG. Their heroic fight led to the victory against the attacks of the islamist groups.

The resonance of the historical resistance that the defense forces carried out towards the islamic state spread all over the world and thousands of internationalists joined the Revolution in Rojava. Many of them fought until the end, sacrificing their own life in the defense of freedom and democracy.

Their decision to leave behind the life in the capitalist system and fight in defense of the principles of equality, freedom of the woman and of all peoples, had a great influence on all societies in the rest of the world. Their decision made us questioning: those who do not live in service of the society, with daily commitment in order to defend it, improve it and care for it, can be said that they are really living?

Lorenzo Orsetti is one of these young people who, joining the ranks of the resistance as antifascist gave everything and fought until the end. With his choice of living a partisan life in the 21st century he shared, especially to the younger generations, a message of hope: “War is a reality closer than what you think and it regards us all, but for how much these horrors seem invincible and inevitable, there will always be someone who will be willing to take weapons and protect life, tomorrow you can and you will have to be the ones that will do it.”

Lorenzo Orsetti has become martyr defending the Revolution of life with courage and love. Leaving inerasable signs that still guide us in our struggle. His values ​​are immortal and this is why we say that Martyrs Never Die. Their social existence is maintained alive in many different ways: first of all through the continuation of their struggle by those who came after them. Also, their names are taken by other young people who will embrace their lives and example.

The complexity of capitalist modernity requires us to have awareness and deep analysis, but the courage to make the right choices in the right moments is given to us by the example of the martyrs. To understand the historical phase in which we are now it is essential to understand their reality. If the ideas of Rêber Apo are today so widespread, if the revolution and the paradigm are defended in North East Syria, and not only, it is thanks to the sacrifice of the martyrs. Especially if we can now fight for a political and non -military solution is thanks to their sacrifice.

On the 18th of March of six years ago the comrade Lorenzo Orsetti became martyr, during the last offensive that led to the military defeat of ISIS. This reflection is dedicated to his effort: his decision to fight injustice and defend free life led him to come to this land and leave a deep trace that guides and motivates us in our daily work.

“Every storm begins with a single drop, try to be that drop” – Şehîd Tekoşer Piling

Şehîd Namirin –Martyrs Never Die

Revolutionary Greetings and Respect,
Internationalist Commune of Rojava

18 March 2025

https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=17694