President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appears poised to launch a renewed invasion by Turkish forces of democratic autonomous zones in North and East Syria. Erdoğan’s repeated threats of military action raise fears of a resurgence of ISIS and pose an existential threat to the decade-old experiment in eco-feminist, multi-cultural democracy known as the Rojava revolution.
This week, Erdoğan demanded that the United States withdraw its few remaining troops from North and East Syria, where they act like a small protectorate for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, one of the political structures that governs the Rojava region through a system of “ democratic confederalism.” This decentralized systemIt is based on the empowerment of local communities and representative councils that include dozens of political partiesIt emphasizes women’s leadership.
The multi-ethnic coalition made up of militias from Syria’s Democratic Forces (SDF), provides security for the autonomous region. It is also backed by the U.S. in its successful campaign against ISIS. Erdoğan considers leftist Kurdish formations within the SDF to be terrorists linked to Kurdish guerrillas who have fought Turkey on its border with Iraqi Kurdistan for decades.
However, SDF supporters claim that the broader Rojava projectThey are creating a vibrant, democratic and viable alternative to nation-states as authoritarianism rises across the Middle East and the rest of the world.
More than two dozen academics and activists around the world signed the aforementioned agreement, including Gail Bradbrook (cofounder of Extinction Rebellion), Noam Chomsky, and Kumi Naidoo, former Secretary General of Amnesty International. statement of solidarityThe 10th anniversary of Rojava people declaring their autonomy during the chaos of Syria Civil War. The signatories warned that Erdoğan clearly intends to crush the democratic, women-led Rojava revolution in a bid to drum up nationalist sentiments ahead of a presidential election next year.
“The people of Rojava pose a core threat to any existing government, especially those with imperialist ambitions, by showing the world a viable model of peaceful multi-ethnic coexistence, grounded in lived political, cultural and ecological autonomy,” the activists stated.
Just this week, the U.S. & the Iraq government joined the Syrian Democratic Council, the SDF’s political wing, in condemning Turkey for a bombingIn the Kurdistan region in Iraq, at least nine tourists from south Iraq were killed and more than 20 others were injured. Turkey tried to blame the attack on leftist Kurdish rebels, but the Iraqi government said it has confirmedAccording to reports, the strike was carried out by the Turkish side.
“The neighboring Turkish state dropped bombs on civilians amidst its already ongoing attacks against civilian settlements and disrespect for the sovereignty of neighboring countries, targeting the security and stability of the region, especially in Syria and Iraq,” the Syrian Democratic Council said in a statement.
Turkey has invaded Rojava at the least twice in recent decades, including a deadly incursion on 2019 that was essentially approved by Donald Trump, who also agreed to temporarily withdraw U.S forces from the area. Turkey and allied militias were charged with committing the crimes. war crimesDuring the assault, ethnic minorities were forcibly relocated. Erdoğan hopes to occupy a buffer zone between Rojava and the Turkish border and relocate Syrian refugees living in Turkey there, raising fears of forced relocations, ethnic cleansing and “demographic re-engineering.”
Turkey its brutal proxy militiasTwo main areas of North and East Syria are currently under Turkish control, including Tel Abyad, Ras al-Ain, and Afrin. The humanitarian situation is very dire in the occupied areas. There have been numerous kidnappings, illegal arrests and land seizures as well as deadly infighting between Turkish-backed militias. documentedBy journalists and human rights groups.Turkish drone attacks on Rojava including a strike by that killed two SDF membersThis week, locals have been terrified by driving in a vehicle for several months.
Erdoğan is now preparing to expand the occupation in an effort to “clean up” the area and rid it of “terrorists,” according to the president and his increasingly authoritarian and nationalist regime. These so-called terrorists are actually the same pro democracy forces that have allied themselves with the U.S. for many years in the fight to defeat ISIS. Iran, a close ally of Bashar al Assad’s government in Syria, has warned against a reintroduction of invasion.
Rojava’s fledgling, non-state democracy isn’t perfect. and a union of independent civil society groupsTo allow citizens to voice their concerns and complaints to the autonomous administration, a complaint box is built into the structure. This Kurdish-led democracy experiment, built on the cooperation of local communities and communes in a region that has seen tight-knit communities from different ethnic backgrounds co-exist for centuries, is being supported by supporters.
“[Rojava’s] 10th anniversary may have seemed unlikely when the community first formed and their continued existence is testimony to the outstanding resilience and commitment of the people of Rojava, who willingly accept the consequences of their actions,” the international activists said in their solidarity statement. “From their inception, they needed to defend the revolution against significant hostility: Turkey to the north, Islamic State and the Assad regime to the south and Iraqi Kurdish neighbors to the east.”
The SDF warns ISIS could make its comeback if resources and manpower are not shifted from fighting the militants to protecting Rojava from Turkey. SDF troops protect dismal prison camps where ISIS militants are held, as well as their families, who were left behind in Syria by their home countries. They have no international aid and little resources. Rojava is on constant alert as ISIS prisoners make violent escape attempts. watch for ISIS “sleeper cells” that have claimed dozens of lives.
“We cannot fight on two fronts,” SDF leader Mazloum Abdi told ReutersThis week.
