Part 1: Turkey’s war/ politics against the AANES and the Rojava revolution carries several elements. One, of course, is Turkey’s fierce war against Kurdish aspirations for self-determination. As Kurds in all four parts of Kurdistan (under Tukey, Iran, Iraq and Syrian territory) strive for self-determination and democratic self-administration, Turkey fascist AKP-MHP government has been fighting these aspirations in all parts of Kurdistan. In this sense, the war against AANES is also war against Kurdish self-determination. This hostility is however inextricably linked to Turkish Islamo-nationalist neo-Ottoman visions and aspirations (referring to the Ottoman Empire 1299-1922).
Part 2: In previous posts we explained how the current occupation of Shehba/ Manbij is a continuation of Turkish expansionist politics and the previous occupations of Afrin/Serekaniye/Gire Spi and other areas that were not part of the AANES (Jarabulus, Azaz north of Shehba/Manbij). The areas under occupation have seen ethnic cleansing in the form of demographic changes by forced displacmentt, massacres, murder and rape; the persecution of Kurdish and Yazidi people and the destruction of historical sites of Kurdish and Yazidi tradition and identity. It shows that the occupation of these areas is not simply a strategy to undermine the Rojava Revolution but to establish a new “Turkish project”. In other words, Turkey’s vision of a neo-Ottoman empire based on fascist-nationalist and Islamic thought is at the core of its hostility towards the Kurdish people.
Part 3: Erdogan lately repeated if ‘WW1 had ended differently and the Ottoman Empire had not been defeated, cities such as Aleppo, Damascus, Idlib and Raqqa woud still be under its rule’ indicating that Turkey uses the Ottoman Empires previous imperalist politics as a justifcation for the ongoing invasion/ war and seeks to expand its territory. In a speech on 18.12.2024 Erdogan reiterated that “Turkey is greater than Turkey itself. As a nation we cannot limit ourselves to 728.000 km2 [the current territory of the Turkish state]. We are obliged to recognize, accept and act in accordance with the mission that history entrusted to us as a nation. Those who ask: “What is Turkey doing in Libya, Syria or Somalia?” may fail to comphened this vision and mission.”. Erdogan is here openly referring to the deployment of mercenary forces (private military contractors) that have been fighting in Syria, Lybia, and Somalia in the interest of Turkish politics of expansion and white genocide. The establishment of mercenary forces, namely under the private company SADAT, has enabled Turkey to equip, train and essentially employ proxy armies to regions outside of its territory.These militias have been at the forefront of Turkey’s war against the revolution in North-East Syria. Central to their efforts is that these militias have been acting with impunity, commiting all kinds of war crimes and severe human rights violations (documented by several human rights organisations). The fact that unlike national armies these militias act without any legal repercussions and are not accountable to anyone allows one the one side their horrific crimes and on the other hand for Turkey to hide its involvement. Only this week mercenary contract papers were again found on SNA fighters killed in the Manbij region. In that sense, peace and a solution to the conflicts need for Turkey to change’s its expanisionist fascist-nationalist/ Islamic-nationalist aspirations. It is for this reason that Abdullah Öcalan’s philosophy are regarded not just a solution for the Kurdish people but for peace in the entire Middle East (and beyond) as his philosophy promotes the idea of a democratic nation based on ethnic and religious plurality, co-existence, protection of peoples’ cultures and traditions, democratic self-determination and in that sense peace for the entire region. This war is, as Jineoloji has said, is a war between two lines – either ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ or ‘men, state, violence’.
