Because they are an embarrassment - and a very, very important one. First, they defy every single Islamist stereotype. They have introduced Bookchins social ecology and communalism, which rejects dogma and demonizing the other. They have offered peace to the Turkish govt and a renunciation of their Kurdish land claims in Turkey. They have arrested and tried Baathist officials and replaced them with communal councils. They have rebuilt churches, mosques and synagogues. The model has spread through the Kurdish territories and has the potential to spread across the region. Thats a real danger, Id say, from the point of view of the West and its actual ambitions for the middle east and its oil: In Turkish, Syrian and to a lesser extent Iraqi Kurdistan, women are now free to unveil and strongly encouraged to participate in social life. Old feudal ties are being broken, people are free to follow any or no religion, and ethnic and religious minorities live together peaceably. If they are able to confine the new caliphate, PYD autonomy in Syrian Kurdistan and KCK influence in Iraqi Kurdistan could ferment an even more profound explosion of revolutionary culture and values. On June 30, 2012, the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCB), the broader revolutionary leftist coalition in Syria of which the PYD is the main group, has now embraced “the project of democratic autonomy and democratic confederalism as a possible model for Syria” as well. ... A socially progressive and secular pan-Kurdish revolution with libertarian socialist elements, uniting the Iraqi and Syrian Kurds and re-invigorating the Turkish and Iranian struggles, may yet be a prospect. In the meantime, those of us who value the idea of civilization owe our gratitude to the Kurds, who are fighting the jihadists of Islamist fascism day and night on the frontlines in Syria and Iraq, defending radical democratic values with their lives.roarmag.org/2014/08/pkk-kurdish-struggle-autonomy/ Note:The new Kurdistan is funded and protected by Israel and the USA but until very recently was hostile to the PKK, PRK. Understand that following the old model, this new Kurdish state would have posed a threat to Syria, Iraq and Turkey because of its claims to territories in the region. A bit of Islamic fundamentalism, propped up by US cash and it would have become another turbulent middles eastern territory needing intervention and governance by the West, (which is what we are seeing played out in Iraq right now with Syria next on the agenda.) A heroic, free, democratic and humane people living by and defending those values, inspired by a political philosophy that might spread to other countries is NOT what the West had in mind!
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 10:17:06 +0000
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