>>2587864The Myth of the "Kurdish Revolution": Who and Why Created the "Libertarian" Rojava
Translation of the text from „Голос анархистов“ (Anarchist Voice)
At a time when, against the backdrop of the worsening situation in Syria, the national-“anarchists” (BOAK) are once again making noise about the “struggle to defend the revolution in Rojava,” we would like to address the topic of this so-called “revolution” itself.
The fact is that for more than a decade the anarchist movement has been spreading narratives about a “libertarian” Rojava. David Graeber does this for the American audience, and Dmitry Petrov—for the Russian one. But how much do their accounts actually correspond to reality? Was there really any kind of “social revolution” that anarchists could have supported, even with reservations?
To begin with, it should be noted that during this “social revolution,” the property of the bourgeoisie was not (even partially) expropriated, and now both foreign and Kurdish capitalists operate in the region. They possess multimillion-dollar fortunes, employ wage labor, and their private property is officially protected by Article 43 of the Rojava Constitution. This infamous “system of self-management”… includes the Kurdish bourgeoisie. Here are excerpts from the book written by fervent supporters of Rojava (Anja Flach, Ercan Ayboga, Michael Knapp, Kurdistan: Real Democracy During War and Blockade):
“Civil Society Committee (Sîvakî). The civil society committees organize working groups, small trade, cooperatives, and workshops. Interestingly, employers and workers (in enterprises with fewer than fifteen employees) cooperate within the committees, just as in the Union of Civil Society Associations.” (p. 163)
“In the Economic Association, shops, companies, cooperatives, and workshops unite for dialogue to ensure social responsibility.” (p. 182)
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