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Superb capsule analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the PYD and PYG/Y and why they warrant unconditional support. Karadjis alone gives this list its value. > -----Original Message----- From: Andrew Pollack via Marxism > >> The ICG earlier this year issued a report which basically called the > Kurdish PYD collaborators with the Syrian regime who are only able to > govern the "autonomous areas" thanks to physical regime withdrawal but > continued funding. ICG also claims that the self-governance structures > everyone is raving about are PYD-appointed fronts; and that PYD repression > against opponents continues. > >> I put Arbour in the subject line because she was head of ICG at time of > this report (May 2014) > http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf > > I don't think the issue is Louise Arbour. The report is by the ICG, which is > a relatively level-headed group of pro-imperialist analysts. They produce > well-researched analysis which, however, is obviously written from a > particular point of view. I don't think they go out of their way to doctor > facts but of course their spin is there. > > The fact that the PYD is "only able to govern the "autonomous areas" thanks > to physical regime withdrawal" is simply a statement of fact, but whether it > is also due to "continued funding" by the regime, let alone low-level > collaboration or even alliance, with the regime, as the report suggests, > enters seriously into the area of interpretation and spin. > > As the report shows, it was the PYD that led the uprising in 2004, and > suffered fierce repression from the regime. When the uprising began in 2011, > naturally they again tried to take over Kurdish regions. When the regime > withdrew in mid-2012, was this because the regime loved the PYD or vice versa > and they were entering into an alliance with each other? > > No, the regime withdrew because it looked at a map, saw the Kurdish regions > were the furthest thing away, the jihadist-controlled regions were the next > furthest away, the FSA and other rebel controlled regions were much closer, > including right under their noses in the major cities. By leaving the Kurds > be, the regime could focus on the more immediate dangers. > > Was the PYD complicit with the regime by accepting the withdrawal and trying > to build its society, rather than sending its fighters to aid the resistance > elsewhere? I don't that criticism is valid, though part of the bad blood > between the FSA and PYD is due to that feeling. From the point of view of > self-determination, you can't blame the Kurds for getting what they could in > the circumstances. I guess you don't actively invite barrel bombs when you > can avoid them for a while. The PYD knew very well they would come > eventually, if Assad finished off everyone else. > > The report also says the regime continued to pay salaries in the PYD > controlled region. I know nothing about this, but I assume it is based on > research. In some instances where the FSA has signed truces with the regime, > the regime has agreed to pay salaries. What can we say about this? It is > desperation. It is a question of tactics. > > The report also makes a number of concrete accusations against the PYD for > instances of collaboration with the regime, a more serious thing. Some of > this seems anecdotal, some more solidly based. It does not appear to be of a > systematic nature, but here and there, opportunistic. > > Question: Is the PYD a perfect organisation that has NEVER DONE ANYTHING > WRONG? Were the Bolsheviks? Is there such a thing? > > In a recent discussion on the GL list, I warned against the tendency to > suggest that the FSA were a huge (or tiny, whatever your fancy) morass of > smugglers, warlords, swindlers, jihadist, US puppets, bandits, thieves etc, > on account of the fact that the sheer anarchy of revolutionary situations, > combined with the extraordinary level of counterrevolutionary regime > violence, means that a significant number of violations absolutely do happen. > If you make those kinds of sweeping generalisations then there has never been > anyone worth supporting, ever. > > I also made the opposite point: while we rightly look at the model of the > Rojava revolution (above and beyond the fact that we should defend Kurdish > self-determination even if they were run by Kurdish Black Hundreds), we need > to avoid romanticisation, the complete opposite attitude to demonisation. The > PYD has any number of skeletons in its closet as do most organisations which > consist of human beings. > > It is thus possible that some of what is in the report is right; but > organisations in a revolutionary situation evolve based on realities on the > ground. It seems to me the current active collaboration between the PYD/YPG > and the FSA in Aleppo and Rojava represents a positive evolution for both > forces. The real fraternisation on the ground occurring may hopefully break > down some of the issues they previously had, including the problem of the > Syrian opposition leadership having a view on Kurdish self-determination that > is only barely better than that of the regime. > > There is little doubt that at a political level the PYD is in advance of > other sections of the Syrian resistance. Our support for the Syrian > revolution has never depended on trying to find a perfect leftist leadership. > We are well aware of the political problems of much of the leadership. > > But that should not in any way affect solidarity with the people on the > ground. Kobane is in immediate danger of genocide and is thus the key issue > of this moment. However, Syrians are being barrel bombed into oblivion, > massacred with ballistic missiles, MiG fighters, napalm, chlorine gas, > besieged and starved, tortured to death in enormous numbers, all at the same > time, still, right now. > > In such circumstances, the tendency to be overly critical, in some leftist > circles, of the FSA for various infringements on revolutionary morality (and > here I am not just talking about the red-brown outright apologists for > Assad), while overly romanticising the PYD/YPG, has the obvious problem that > until the latest ISIS siege, Rojava was largely left alone and thus the > levels of fascist violence imposed on it were not remotely at the level of > those imposed on the rest of Syria by the regime; they thus had the space to > build a new society and reduce violations to a minimum. > > We had countless examples of revolutionary councils around Syria, with a > great range of creative revolutionary activities and sometimes quite > transformative structures; but when you're bombed, rocketed, besieged, > starved, burnt, tortured every day and your entire society and town is > reduced to rubble, there's not much to build a society with, and plenty of > room for banditry etc. > > Yet the decision of the FSA to join forces with the YPG to resist ISIS shows > a revolutionary spirit that we have no right o be critical of from our > comfort zones. Indeed, according to a couple of reports, a group of FSA > fighters from Aleppo - where they are jointly besieged by the regime and ISIS > while their allies are bombed by the US - managed to break through to Kobane > to to further aid the YPG (ie, on top of the local FSA forces already on > their side): > https://www.facebook.com/groups/revolutionarysyria/permalink/712281322184901/ > > If the PYD has had to play some games with the regime to survive over time > this is little different to the games the FSA has had to play with Turkey, > Qatar, KSA etc. If sometimes they went beyond what is justifiable, then that > is similar to various issues with the FSA etc. > > For years the FSA has called for decent arms to help it defend its people > from massive regime violence, especially manpads (shoulder-held anti-aircraft > weapons) to prevent the regime's daily aerial massacre. Nothing of much use > was ever forthcoming, mainly regular arms from local states and nothing at > all from the US (until mid-2014, when it began to distribute a handful of > anti-tank weapons to a handful of groups in the context of wanting to sue > them against the jihadists). > > For years the imperialist powers said they couldn't provide arms, using the > BS excuse that such arms might get to the jihadists; and for years, a > significant number of leftists parroted the same thing, except worse: the > fact that any arms at all were getting through to help people fighting a > genocidal tyranny was declared as evidence that the FSA were US puppets and > sell-outs to imperialism and other such filth-talk. Brave western leftists > love to try to "expose" that the FSA might have got a few more guns than they > were supposed to have (according to these leftists' standards, presumably?). > Meanwhile the FSA never called for imperialist troops and very rarely did > some unit or individual even call for air-strikes; apart from weapons so they > could fight themselves, the only thing they sometimes called for was a no-fly > zone to defend some population centres against aerial slaughter. How safe and > secure leftists would howl about that. > > Now the PYD/YPG, quite rightly, demands advanced weapons so they can defend > themselves against a heavily armed ISIS. Moreover, they completely > understandably call for US air strikes against the advancing ISIS siege. Not > that actual strikes have been of much help, though probably they have been > better than nothing. > > Who could argue with them? Who could stand up and denounce them as > pro-imperialists or other such garbage as they fight to defend their very > lives? Very few, and rightly so. But how many have a double standard as the > FSA made similar calls for aid against 3 years of massacre? For those who > don't have this double standard, you understand solidarity. For those who do > - I simply can't imagine a greater degree of hypocrisy. > > FOR MASSIVE SUPPLIES OF ADVANCED WEAPONRY TO THE FSA AND THE PYD/YPG! > > ________________________________________________ > Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu > Set your options at: > http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/marvgand2%40gmail.com ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
