THE PKK’S SELF-DISSOLUTION IS A BETRAYAL OF THE KURDISH PEOPLE WHO HAVE PAID HEAVY COSTS AND THIS IS A PART OF THE U.S. IMPERIALISM’S GREAT MIDDLE EAST PROJECT
The leader of the Kurdish nationalist movement, the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, who is imprisoned, made the long-awaited call for surrender and self-dissolution. Following this, prominent figures from the PKK announced that they would comply with this call. This call essentially belongs to the fascism that has descended upon Turkey. The dissolution of the PKK is part of the imperialist project.
During the days when the PKK claimed to be dissolving, Turkish fascism was carrying out operations against revolutionary and democratic individuals and organizations in dozens of cities. This clearly shows that there is no democratic political path in Turkey. There is a fascism that condemns the people to poverty, hunger, and misery, a fascism that is genocidal, looting, plundering… a fascism that applies all forms of national, cultural, social, and economic oppression on the people, and there has been no change in the national oppression experienced by the Kurdish people.
The call does not offer a solution or perspective to the people’s problems. Instead, it has content that justifies and legitimizes fascism, even portraying it as democratic. The call suggests that the Kurdish people no longer need to struggle, that there is no national oppression requiring them to take up arms, and that freedom of speech and all other freedoms are no longer prohibited. It concludes that weapons should be laid down, and it is expected that the people will believe this lie.
The Kurdish patriotic movement that developed in the late 1970s, despite its nationalist base, emerged with a completely left-wing, socialist discourse and the goal of “Independent Kurdistan.” A movement that called itself the “Kurdistan Workers’ Party” (PKK), declared itself Marxist-Leninist, and aimed for socialism, was naturally against imperialism. However, the practice did not unfold as expected. As the movement developed its armed struggle, which objectively pushed imperialism and the oligarchy back, it distanced itself from openly opposing imperialism in the political sphere, and even boasted about it. By the point we have reached today, it has become the “army” of imperialism and a partner in its attacks on the world’s people. The situation of Kurdish nationalists in Turkey and the Middle East is exactly this.
We say that the dissolution of the PKK is part of the U.S.’s Greater Middle East Project (BOP).
Why?
In October 2024, MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) leader, fascist Devlet Bahçeli, shook hands with DEM Party members of parliament and said, “Abdullah Öcalan should come to the parliament and speak.” This marked the beginning of the surrender process. However, this “solution process” was not the first in Turkey. Similar processes had been experienced many times before, and the same intermediaries were involved. For example, Sırrı Süreyya Önder. His role as an intermediary ended in imprisonment.
What was different this time?
What was different this time was that the issue was not as much about Turkey itself. It had become clear that upheavals would soon occur in the Middle East.
On November 27, 2024, a ceasefire was established between Israel and Lebanon.
Immediately after it was established, Netanyahu said, “Our target now is Syria.” This marked the starting point for HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) to begin a coup to overthrow the Baath regime.
Those familiar with the region know that the ongoing “PKK should lay down its weapons and dissolve” process in Turkey is not much about Turkey because:
The PKK no longer has a significant armed presence in Turkey. It had largely moved to Syria. This shift occurred as a result of agreements made with the fascist state of Turkey.
What is the importance of this process? What is the main issue in the so-called “paradigm shift”?
The PKK will lay down its weapons, and the Turkish state will either indirectly or openly accept the autonomous Kurdish state in Syria. Alternatively, we can read it the other way: in order for Turkey not to be overly disturbed by the Kurdish forces in Syria, Iraq, and Iran, the PKK first needs to announce its dissolution.
It was specifically emphasized that the PKK’s dissolution does not include Syria. Mazlum Abdi stated: “Öcalan’s call is directly for the PKK, aimed at the PKK guerrillas laying down their weapons. It is not for our region and our forces.”
Here, it is clear that the Kurdish nationalists in Syria will not lay down their weapons.
What will follow from here will be revealed by time.
Will Turkey and the YPG act together?
Maybe not openly, but a common ground might be reached through HTS and the Syrian government?
The truth is that both Turkey and the YPG are servants of the U.S. Both serve the U.S.
Even during Assad’s time in Syria, there were 25 American military bases in the region called Rojava.
Among the facts we know is that Kandil (the PKK’s base) does not like Mazlum Abdi very much. When they tried to act against him and distance him from the YPG, the U.S. intervened: “Mazlum Abdi is our man, you will not touch him,” openly supporting him. The importance of the YPG for the U.S. is at this point.
Similarly, both Turkey and the YPG maintain good relations with Israel and try to protect their interests. A small nuance is that the fascist regime in Turkey, fearing public reaction, still pretends to protect the Palestinians and acts hypocritically, providing Israel with all kinds of material support. The Kurdish forces in Syria openly cooperate with Israel.
Of course, we can speculate and offer opinions here. But the reality is that there are currently undisclosed, hidden pieces of information. Since we do not know these, some developments remain speculative.
However, there are also things we can say definitively: the current call for the PKK’s dissolution concerns the Middle East more than it concerns Turkey. It is part of the Greater Middle East Project.
Turkey’s continuous military operations in Syria present a problem from the U.S.’s perspective. On one hand, the YPG, which is considered “God’s blessing” in the Middle East by the U.S., and on the other hand, its proxy, Turkey.
Why is the YPG so important for the U.S.?
Because, as we recall, Israel was marketed to the world as: “The land of slaughtered and stateless Jews.” For more than 75 years, policies have been carried out based on victimhood. But Israel has now become very worn out and exposed.
However, this cannot be said for the Kurds. They share similar characteristics: the Kurds are also a persecuted people, the Kurds are also a stateless people. Moreover, they did not have to be gathered from different places (Poland, Germany, Russia, etc.) and placed on those lands. They are already on their own land.
Thus, the U.S. wants to further benefit from the YPG or the Kurdish nationalists in Syria. On the other hand, there is Turkey, a NATO ally. Their constant infighting or Turkey’s continuous attacks on the YPG, forces the U.S. to manage both sides.
In short, the PKK laying down its arms and dissolving itself is primarily related to the U.S.’s interests and hegemony. In this context, Israel will be supported, and the U.S. will target the countries or forces it seeks to subjugate or overthrow: Lebanon, Hezbollah, Gaza, Hamas, and primarily: IRAN.
According to the U.S., the YPG’s mission from now on is, if possible with Turkey: to support Israel and overthrow the mentioned forces and countries.
In conclusion, we can say this:
Nationalism is a dead end; it does not lead people to liberation. Today, people have learned bitterly through their own experiences how nationalism is a trap, how it is a quagmire. When they see a revolutionary alternative, they will completely withdraw their support for nationalism.
What is the revolutionary solution? First and foremost, the Kurdish issue is the right of the Kurdish people to self-determination. It is a matter of whether they can freely exercise this right. The oligarchy that implements national oppression in Turkey is the source of the Kurdish issue. Imperialism and the collaborating Turkish oligarchy are the source of the Kurdish issue. The issue of nations determining their own destinies is not an isolated, self-sufficient issue; it is part of the overall issue of the proletarian revolution, which must be addressed in a holistic manner.
These are the basic outlines of our view on the national question. The revolutionary line that will lead all the people of Turkey, both Kurds and Turks, to liberation is the revolutionary line. In a country like Turkey, which is a neo-colony of imperialism and ruled by fascism, no organization or party that does not develop armed struggle, organize the people, and arm them has a chance to develop. All revolutions occur after long, difficult, and bloody struggles. Either we will fight against imperialism, or we will surrender to imperialism… There is no middle road!
The people of Turkey have no alternative but socialism and revolution. To reconcile with imperialism and its collaborators means to betray the struggle for independence, democracy, and socialism that has lasted for decades and will continue, and to betray the people of Anatolia who have given martyrs for this cause.
However, the existence of Marxist-Leninists in the Anatolian lands who continue the struggle against imperialism and the oligarchy, who persistently carry the revolutionary alternative at the cost of the heaviest sacrifices, is the greatest proof that belief and hope in the liberation of the people still exist.
We say:
UNTIL IMPERIALISM IS DRIVEN OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST, IT IS THE DUTY OF EVERY ANTI-IMPERIALIST TO SUPPORT THE RESISTANCE AND STRUGGLE OF THE PEOPLE.
LONG LIVE THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE PEOPLE! DEATH TO IMPERIALISM AND ITS COLLABORATORS.
ANTI-IMPERIALIST FRONT
