******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. *****************************************************************
The PYD has always said its aim is not an independent Kurdish state, but autonomy within a democratic Syria, with linguistic and cultural rights for Kurds and other minorities. Thus when the Afrin administration says that Afrin is "part of Syria", that is nothing new. The statement aims at exposing the Assad regime's failure to defend Syria's "territorial integrity" against the Turkish invasion. If the statement has the effect of prodding the regime into taking some action against the invasion (e.g. threatening to shoot down Turkish military aircraft entering Syrian airspace), that will help the defenders of Afrin. In the (more likely) event that Assad continues to allow the invasion to go unchallenged, it might lead to questioning of his credentials as a defender of Syria. John Reimann claims that "the Kurdish leaders...accept that the central Syrian government - meaning Assad - has final say about what is and is not allowed in Afrin. And they all agree that a powerful anti-Assad movement will be prohibited". In fact the Kurdish and other leaders of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria want the "central Syrian government" to be democratised so that it is no longer the dictatorship of Assad. But the question is: what sort of movement is needed to bring democracy? Being "anti-Assad" is not sufficient. Some "anti-Assad" groups are religious sectarians and/or ethnic chauvinists. Some have been coopted into Turkey's war on the DFNS. Democracy can only be created by a multi-ethnic and multi-religious movement that can win the support of those Syrians - particularly the religious minorities - who currently view Assad as the lesser evil. Chris Slee ________________________________ From: Marxism <marxism-boun...@lists.csbs.utah.edu> on behalf of John Reimann via Marxism <marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> Sent: Sunday, 28 January 2018 2:06:52 AM To: Chris Slee Subject: Re: [Marxism] Fwd: In blow to Trump, Syrian Kurds call on al-Assad to Save them from Turkey | Informed Comment ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. ***************************************************************** thank you, Chris Slee, for giving the complete statement from the Afrin administration. One thing upon which we all agree, I think, is that the Kurdish leaders are not stupid or ignorant when it comes to realpolitik. They must know perfectly well that inviting Assad to intervene will not stop there. They also must know perfectly well what all their stress on the region being "part of Syria" and about "Syria's territorial integrity" means. It means that in the end, despite all the silliness of decentralization, they accept that the central Syrian government - meaning Assad - has final say about what is and is not allowed in Afrin. And they all agree that a powerful anti-Assad movement will be prohibited. Basically, they are trying to make a deal with Assad: "Let us administer this region and we will insure that nothing is done to destabilize your position. Meanwhile, we expect you to step in and protect us from Erdogan." This shows the limits of their whole strategy. They want some form of independence (yes, they do) within the limits of capitalism. They are trying to build a Kurdish rights movement in isolation from all the other movements around them such as the Arab Spring and what came of it, workers' strikes in Turkey and Iran. Or put it another way: Just like all such movements, they need allies. The question is whether they will seek allies in the working class struggles of the region or from one capitalist regime or another. Time and again they have sought the latter and time and again they have been "betrayed". I put that in quotes, because when a lion chases off a leopard in order to kill and feast on an antelope, that antelope wasn't betrayed. It was simply a matter of which killer gets to reap the spoils. John Reimann -- "No one is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them." Assata Shakur Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/chris_w_slee%40hotmail.com _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
