James Gelvin on the Kurdistan Rojava Project (cf Dilip Simeon’s Blog):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Gelvin: Turkish\nattack on Syria endangers a remarkable democratic experiment by the Kurds<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Posted: 13 Oct 2019 07:56 AM PDT<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turkey\u2019s attack on\nKurdish-run territory in northern Syria will likely snuff out a radical\nexperiment in self-government that is unlike anything I have seen in more than\n30 years studying the Middle East. The Kurds call their autonomous region in Syria Rojava<\/strong><\/a>,\nmeaning \u201cthe land where the sun sets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kurdish-led forces took possession of this swath of\nterritory in northern and eastern Syria<\/strong><\/a> from direct Syrian\ngovernment control in 2012<\/strong><\/a>. Then they successfully defended it\nagainst the Islamic State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kurdish Syria is a small portion of a territory, known as\nKurdistan, that includes parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Kurdistan is\nhome to approximately 25-35 million\nKurds<\/strong><\/a>, a cultural and ethnic minority in the Middle East. The\nkey to understanding the Rojava project, as those involved often refer to it,\nis the notion of \u201cconfederalism<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d\nIn this form of government, local units \u2013 in this case, Kurdistan\u2019s \u201cautonomous\nregions\u201d \u2013 come together in a federation yet retain a great deal of autonomy.\nBecause sovereign power belongs to the local units and not to a central\ngovernment, <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kurdish confederalism differs from an American-style federal\nsystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kurds are so serious about devolving power to the\nlocal level that Rojava\u2019s charter<\/strong><\/a> requires\neach of its three regions to have its own flag. And within each region, local\nelected councils are in charge. They organize garbage collection, adjudicate\ndisputes and manage public health and safety. Confederalism sets the Kurds\napart from almost every other government in the Middle East. Across the region,\npower is concentrated at\nthe top<\/strong><\/a>. Syria\u2019s president, Bashar al-Assad, is an authoritarian\nleader who has ruthlessly crushed his opponents in the country\u2019s eight-year civil\nwar<\/strong><\/a>. Egypt has a military\ngovernment<\/strong><\/a>. Saudi Arabia has a king. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But Rojava would be an exceptional society almost anywhere.\nRojava\u2019s charter guarantees freedom of expression and assembly and equality of\nall religious communities and languages. It mandates direct democracy, term\nlimits and gender equality<\/strong><\/a>.\nMen and women share every position in government. Kurdish women have fought the\nIslamic State in Syria as soldiers<\/strong><\/a> in an all-female\nmilitia. In a region where religion and politics are often intertwined, the\nKurdish state is secular. Religious leaders cannot serve in politics. Rojava\u2019s\ncharter even affirms the right of all citizens to a healthy environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surrounding countries, including Syria<\/strong><\/a>,\nalso have constitutions with eloquent endorsements of political and human\nrights. In Rojava, however, the constitution is actually in\neffect<\/strong><\/a>. Syrian Kurds have realized the dream of the 2010-2011\npro-democracy uprisings across the Arab world….<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.juancole.com\/2019\/10\/remarkable-democratic-experiment.html<\/strong><\/a> Call to Defend\nRojava from Turkish attack – An Open Letter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Meredith Tax –\nThe Revolution in Rojava – A liberated area in the Middle East led by\nsocialist-feminists is fulfilling the dreams of Arab Spring<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Meredith Tax on\nYazidi and Kurdish women militias: When Women Fight ISIS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Turkey\u2019s Attack\non Syria\u2019s Kurds Threatens That Country\u2019s Most Democratic, Pluralist Force<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n David Graeber:\nWhy is the world ignoring the revolutionary Kurds in Syria?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" James Gelvin on the Kurdistan Rojava Project (cf Dilip Simeon’s Blog): James Gelvin: Turkish attack on Syria endangers a remarkable democratic experiment by the Kurds Posted: 13 Oct 2019 07:56 AM PDT Turkey\u2019s attack on Kurdish-run territory in northern Syria will likely snuff out a radical experiment in self-government that is unlike anything I have seen in more than 30 years studying the Middle East. In a surprise Oct. 6 statement, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw its troops from northern Syria. Approximately 1,000 American soldiers had been stationed in that region as a buffer separating Kurdish forces Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights-civil-disobedience-courage-honesty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":232,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231\/revisions\/232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIn a surprise Oct. 6 statement, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would\nwithdraw its troops from northern Syria. Approximately 1,000 American soldiers\nhad been stationed in that region as a buffer separating Kurdish forces \u2013 who had\nbeen working with the Americans in the fight against the Islamic State \u2013 from\nTurkish troops. Turkey feared that the Syrian Kurds would link up with Turkey\u2019s\nKurdish minority who have demanded autonomy or independence.
\n
\nOn Oct. 9, the Turkish military began its assault, pummeling Kurdish-held\nterritory with artillery and airstrikes. Kurds are rapidly evacuating the\nregion and at least 24 people have been killed in northern Syria. Retaliatory\nstrikes from Syria have killed civilians in southern Turkey. According to\nTurkish president Recep Erdogan, Turkey\u2019s goal is to create a buffer zone\nseparating Syria\u2019s Kurds from the Turkish border. But his country\u2019s attack will\ndo much more than that. If successful, it will destroy the most full-fledged\ndemocracy the Middle East has yet to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\nRead more on Revolutionary Kurds<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n