******************** 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. *****************************************************************
Love the balanced and challenging portrayal of the various Kurdish forces - challenging because we need to find ways to forge unity with the best of them. It ALSO gives crucial concrete examples of grassroots self-management of liberated areas in Syria NOW, not just as some fondly-remembered episode of 5 years ago. https://leilashami.wordpress.com/2016/02/25/the-assault-on-aleppo/#more-368 On Thu, Feb 25, 2016 at 7:58 AM, Michael Karadjis via Marxism < [email protected]> wrote: > ******************** 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. > ***************************************************************** > > Leila Al Shami is co-author, along with Robin Yassin-Kassab, of 'Burning > Country, the best book available on the Syrian revolution. This is an > excellent interview with Leila about the mass-murderous Russian-led > counterrevolutionary assault on the people of Aleppo. She takes a very > balanced view, in my opinion, on the question of the PYD/YPG/Rojava, while > clearly situating its current appalling role in the Russian genocidal war > on the people of Aleppo in its expansionist, irredentist plan to "link" > Kurdish cantons by conquering Arab territory. > > The assault on Aleppo > February 25, 2016 by Leila Al Shami > https://leilashami.wordpress.com/2016/02/25/the-assault-on-aleppo/#more-368 > The questions for this interview were written by the authors of Syria: The > Stolen Revolution. > > “We Will Not Leave The Trench Until The Night Is Gone” By the activists of > Aleppo, photographed by Barry Abdulattif. Source: The Creative Memory of > the Syrian Revolution > > We are currently witnessing what looks like the crushing of anti-Assad > rebellion forces. The Aleppo battle seems to be a turning point in Syria’s > civil war before a general confrontation with ISIS occurs. In your opinion > do rebel forces still shelter components of the revolutionary Syrian > movement? Or are they nowadays reduced to sunni confessional militias, > supported by Turkey and Saudi Arabia? > > Anti Assad rebels in north Aleppo are now facing a relentless assault by > Russians from the air and an Iranian backed ground force comprised of > various sectarian militias. This has transformed their struggle against a > fascist regime into a national liberation struggle. The Russian Air Force > has decimated civilian infrastructure in the province. The main rebel > supply route from Turkey has been severed. The rebels are surrounded in the > Azaz corridor by regime allied militias, Daesh and the Kurdish YPG. > > If Aleppo is besieged up to 300,000 people will be cut off from the > outside world. Tens of thousands have fled the city. As well as crushing > the armed resistance the Assad regime and its imperial backers are carrying > out a deliberate and systematic policy to depopulate the liberated areas of > Syria. > > When we talk of ‘liberated areas’ it’s more than just rhetoric. Under > threat in Aleppo are the different local councils which ensure the > governance of each area and have kept providing services to the local > population in the absence of the state. We are talking about more than 100 > civil society organizations (the second largest concentration of active > civil society groups anywhere in the country). These include some 28 free > media groups, women’s organizations and emergency and relief organizations > such as the Civil Defense Force. It also includes educational organizations > such as Kesh Malek which provides non-ideological education for children, > often in people’s basements, to ensure school continues under bombardment. > Under Assad’s totalitarian state, independent civil society was > non-existent and no independent media sources existed. But in Free Aleppo > democracy is being practiced as the people themselves self-organize and run > their communities. This for me represents the original goals of the > revolutionary movement. > > The armed militias in the north Aleppo area include both the Free Army and > Islamists. The Islamists represent the conservative culture of rural > Aleppo. They are comprised primarily of Aleppo’s sons, brothers and > fathers. They have strong local support and men and women have taken the > streets in recent days calling for rebel unity to defend Free Aleppo from > this fascist onslaught. > > The rebels receive tepid support from the US, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. > Nothing until now has made a real difference on the ground such as > providing the rebels with the anti-aircraft weapons they desperately need. > This is changing with Turkey’s military intervention. But Turkey’s > intervention is primarily designed to prevent the establishment of a > Kurdish state along its border. It has not intervened solely to protect the > Azaz corridor, but is shelling civilians and uprooting olive trees in > Afrin. No state is intervening to defend the popular struggle but rather to > defend its own interests and those of its elites. > > What is the current situation in the eastern Ghouta and in the rebel > controlled zones in the south? > > The eastern Ghouta is also under relentless attack. Assad and Russian > forces have targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure such as schools, > hospitals and market places. Over 160,000 people are trapped under regime > siege in desperate conditions. Some authoritarian rebel groups have also > been accused of stealing and hoarding food, contributing further to the > people’s suffering. But despite these challenges the people of the Eastern > Ghouta have practiced communal solidarity in the most creative and > practical ways and kept life functioning. They’ve dug wells for water > supply, set up solar power and recycled methane from waste to provide an > alternative energy supply. They’ve operated makeshift hospitals and schools > and grown food (often roof-top gardens) to fend off starvation. Since the > beginning of this year two towns in the eastern Ghouta, Erbin and Zamalka, > have held democratic elections for their local council. > > The rebels in the south are under a lot of pressure at the moment and the > regime, under cover of Russian airstrikes, has made strategic gains around > Deraa. Most hospitals and clinics in east Deraa are now out of service due > to bombardment. The Deraa provincial council reports that more than 80,000 > people have fled their homes to seek refugee deeper in rebel-held territory > or have moved towards the Jordanian border which is closed. The south of > the country is held mainly by the Southern Front, a coalition of over 50 > Free Army groups with a secular, democratic agenda which have largely > refused to cooperate with extremist Islamist groups. The Southern Front > receives support via Jordan which has been reducing assistance to the group > in recent weeks, under US pressure, to get rebels to focus their fight on > Daesh (even though there’s little Daesh presence in the south) rather than > the regime. > > How would you interpret YPG/PYD strategy? Do you think there will be a > final armed confrontation between the Kurds and the Baathist regime, or do > you think Russians, Iranians, Kurds and Baathists have a shared vision of > the future of Syria? In other words, is there a general agreement on land > and power sharing within the former borders? > > In the case of the Kurds, key regime figures have said they will not > accept Kurdish autonomy in the north. Concessions given to the PYD by the > regime so far should be seen as tactical. But it now looks as if the PYD > has turned to Russia as its protector. And for Russia an alliance with the > PYD is a useful tool in its fight against Turkey. The PYD has at times > entered into strategic alliances with the regime, but the YPG has also > fought the regime. It’s alliances are solely pragmatic in maintaining > control over the north. If Arab resistance forces are neutralized, it’s > possible that Assad will turn his attention to destroying Kurdish autonomy. > Whether Russia and the US (allied with the YPG) allow this to happen > remains to be seen. > > The Russians, Iranians and the regime realize that Assad will be unable to > reassert his control over large parts of the country which he has already > lost. It’s possible there will be a partition of Syria and the imposition > of mini states along sectarian lines. In areas which the regime and its > allies hope to control, we are witnessing the ethnic cleansing of Sunni > (oppositional) communities and their repopulation with communities loyal to > the regime and its allies. When the regime took over Homs, the land > registry was destroyed and Alawites moved into vacant Sunni homes. The > assault on Zabadani and crippling siege on Madaya by the regime and > Hizbullah are designed to force Sunni inhabitants to leave the area. It’s > feared that Lebanese and Iraqi Shia militia members and their families will > be resettled there. Iran and Hizbullah’s involvement is to maintain the > strategic link from Iran to Lebanon which runs through Damascus (and > Baghdad) and is fueled by sectarianism. As for Russia, deals have already > been made to hand over Syria’s energy sector to Russian companies. Both > Iran and Russia see Syria as a key battle ground in their geo-political > struggles with Saudi Arabia and the West respectively. > > Do you perceive the unification of Rojava’s canton (Afrin, Kobane, > Jazira), its political and social system, and the creation of Syrian > Democratic Forces (multi-ethnic and multi-confessional – YPG ruled) as a > democratic alternative to the regime Reconquista? > > It’s not a ‘democratic’ alternative but it’s an alternative. The > Self-Administration is monopolized by the PYD. Those Kurds that oppose the > PYD have been silenced, imprisoned, tortured and assassinated. The PYD has > now moved beyond the idea of democratic confederalism (democracy without > the state) – an idea which I strongly support – towards attempts to carve > out a new state through linking the cantons. This includes its expansionist > turn to take over Arab majority areas under cover of Russian airstrikes. > The Syrian Democratic Forces aren’t an alternative to the regime. Dominated > by the YPG and including some minor Arab forces, they were established to > gain the support of the US led coalition in the fight against Daesh only. > > Kurds have suffered decades of systematic oppression at the hands of > Arabist (and Turkish nationalist) regimes and their struggle for > self-determination should be supported. Inspiring examples of > self-organization and direct democracy have occurred on the community level > through the communes established in towns and villages across Rojava. > Kurdish youth are filled with libertarian spirit and all Syrians can learn > from the ideas which are spreading across the north. My main fears are that > this will be undone in the end by PYD authoritarianism and that > Arab-Kurdish ethnic conflict will break out. If ethnic conflict breaks out > it will be a result of three factors: the attempt of the Syrian regime to > destroy any Arab-Kurdish alliance which emerged during the revolution; the > failure of Arab opposition leaders to stand fully behind the Kurdish > struggle for self-determination; and the actions of the PYD and extremist > Islamist militias. All Syrians will loose in such a scenario. > > Do you consider the Rojava cantons a safe place for Syrian political and > revolutionary opponents to shelter? Or is exile still the only way to > escape dictatorship? > > Because of the current practices of the PYD the Rojava cantons aren’t a > safe place for political and revolutionary groups operating independently > of the PYD. > > Afrin has welcomed some families fleeing Aleppo. But it’s unlikely the > cantons will allow large numbers of Arabs to seek safety on their territory > incase they upset the demographic balance. The countries surrounding Syria > have closed their borders except in exceptional cases. Many people simply > do not have the option of leaving and do not have any place to go. > > Do you think the US and Russia agree on focusing the war on ISIS and that > occidental powers are abandoning the opposition forces to Bashar and > finally isolating Erdogan? > > In terms of the regime the Russian and US positions were never very > different – no one wanted to see it dismantled. It was about Assadism with > Assad (Russian position) or Assadism without Assad (the US position). > What’s changed is that now neither are calling for Assad to go. > > In terms of fighting Daesh – rhetorically they both agree that this is > their main focus. But as we have seen, very few of the airstrikes carried > out by Russia have been on Daesh, but rather on the resistance militias > fighting the regime and Daesh too. It must not be forgotten that the Free > Army which is now being decimated and the (former) Islamic Front have been > the most effective force on the ground at fighting Daesh – pushing them out > of large parts of northern and eastern Syria in 2014 – before Daesh came > back in force with the heavy weaponry it seized in Iraq and US support was > given to the Syrian Democratic Forces. It appears the US has abandoned the > rebels, even though it never truly supported them beyond applying pressure > to force Assad to the negotiation table – a strategy which failed. The > results of this will only be the strengthening of Daesh and other extremist > groups like the Al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat Al Nusra. The US has not been > responsive to Turkish concerns and proposals in Syria (such as arming the > Free Army and establishing a safe zone) it has been more accommodating to > Iran than its traditional allies – Turkey and Saudi. Alliances are > currently interwoven among opposing interests and in flux > _________________________________________________________ > Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm > Set your options at: > http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/acpollack2%40gmail.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
