Marxism-Leninism Currents Today 1 Kurdistan – A Marxist-Leninist Framework Part Two Preface The intersection of the four countries of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria, lies in Kurdistan. As Kurdistan is within these borders, all these must be considered, in any sensible work on the Kurdish national movements. Iran and the Mahabad Republic, in relation to the Kurds, were discussed in Part One. Here in Part Two, we will focus upon Iraq and Turkey, highlighting history relevant to the Kurdish national movement. Part Three will focus upon Syria. In assessing the Kurdish struggles, it is impossible to avoid the details of what now makes up the entire Middle East battle-ground. This term - ‘battle-ground’ - is not hyperbole. For the Middle East now embroils both major imperialists (USA, Russia), and the hitherto client states. The latter are now capable of exerting their own agency to varying extents. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Gulf States, Turkey – while generally subservient to a dominant state (For most of these it is the USA, or in the case of Iran and Syria, it is a co-equal status with Russia) – also have their own separate interests that they pursue. Disentangling these knots is difficult. Hence any history of modern day Kurdish struggles – appears to drown in details of the “Middle East”. We saw in Part One of this work, that the years up to 1946 were bitter for Kurds. But they were to be no less bitter, in the remainder of the 20th century. The prior era set the Ottoman, Russian Imperial and British Empires upon the Kurds. But after World War II, the full weight of the even more rapacious USA was laid on the Kurds. The Kurdish people died amidst a tragic and repetitive cycle of massacres such as Halabja, neglect, and betrayed promises. Even after the Kurds obtained a semblance of a ‘homeland’ – in the so-called Safe Havens, with USA aid – they were not secure. For the Kurdish national movements then became trapped in the Muslim sectarian, fundamentalist strife. Truly the Kurds were in the cockpit of the Middle East. Who were the Kurdish leaders in this often-burning cockpit? Tragically, they were not up to countering the imperialist forces at play. Each of the three main parties of the Kurds, served comprador positions for various imperialisms, mainly that of the USA. Furthermore, each had serious problems. Despite tempering of the completely feudal character of the Kurdish chiefs, old feudal social ties dominated, in the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). In Part One, we have already briefly discussed the KDP and PUK, but here we expand on their shabby history. Finally, the third leading Kurdish party, the Workers’ Party of Kurdistan (PKK), fell into an early opportunism, and then most recently plunged into anarcho-naivete. In the final part here, of Part Two, we discuss the early history of the PKK. This is a preface to the episode of the Rojava Republic in Syria. The Syrian Civil War and the most recent Marxism-Leninism Currents Today http://www.ml-today.com Marxism-Leninism Currents Today 2 events in Iraq will be separately covered in a third and final part. Suffice a summary statement for now, that in Syria the Kurdish protagonists came to be the warriors for USA imperialism, yet again. This time in conflict with the rawest and most extreme Islamic fundamentalism. Marxist-Leninists will see in this saga of the Kurds, the utter futility of relying on imperialism to obtain justice – or even nationhood. This is quite in keeping with the classics of Marxism-Leninism. But reciting these is not adequate. We prefer to show from the historical facts, that these classics are completely relevant today. But, in order to do this, requires detail. Following the current-day contending fundamentalisms in the Middle East is bewildering. Especially, without a grounding in the history of Iraq. We argue that events in Syria today, can only be understood after first discussing Iraq between 1920-2003. We acknowledge that describing this adds both length and detail. Moreover, the Kurdish question itself, may seem at times to become drowned in a plethora of other Middle Eastern questions. Nonetheless, in a Marxist-Leninist history of the Kurdish struggle, evaluating Iraqi history is necessary, for four reasons. Firstly, Kurdish people and fighters died in their masses in Iraq, yet failed to establish a homeland. Only after the intervention of USA imperialism in the 201st century did a foothold of a nation get established. What accounts for this failure, and the long and unremitting tragedy? Further, once the Kurdish Safe Havens and the Kurdish Regional Governments were established, with USA imperialist assistance, did that help the Kurdish people? What bargains with the USA did the Kurdish Regional Governments make, and how did they fit into the plans of USA imperialism? Secondly, The USA led invasion on Iraq was the ground where the ambitions of the dominant USA imperialists and their sub-imperial agents played out. What was their intent in physically entering Iraq? How and why did they inflame the sectarian antagonisms latent within the Iraqi people? In a post-war Iraq, why did a resurgent Turkish state repeatedly try to shove its way in, clutching “their Ottoman history”, to renew their repressions of Kurds? Finally, did the USA achieve its goals and ambitions? thirdly, the Kurdish story is bound up with the story of the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP), which carries important lessons on national liberation struggle. Why could the ICP not ‘solve’ the Kurdish national problem, through solving the massive class contradictions in Iraq? What were the failures of the ICP? Marxism-Leninism Currents Today http://www.ml-today.com Marxism-Leninism Currents Today 3 Finally, as Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, all pointed out that nations both come into being and die. Iraq is a dramatic example. An astonishing feature of the Iraqi position of the Kurdish saga, is the Iraqi national history. Even though “Iraq” was a fiction of convenience to British imperialism, an Iraqi consciousness arose. It was first seen even under the comprador monarchy established by the British. For it formed the background of the struggles of the Iraqi CP. The Saddam Hussein era, brutal as it was – did further weld a common ‘national’ consciousness. Even more recent events firmly reinforce an ‘Iraqi’ view. After the intense sectarian fire-storms set after the 2003 imperialist invasion of Iraq; the Iranian had effectively taken control of the Iraqi shell of a state. Iraq was now a neo- colony of Iran. But - a non-sectarian ‘Iraqi’ nationalism is reasserting itself. How else can the events of November-December 2019 in Baghdad be viewed: “After weeks of mass protests in Iraq, there are signs that the government’s patience is waning. Its current response — a mixture of spending and reform promises combined with violent security measures (at least 320 have been killed and approximately 15,000 injured) — has not placated the demonstrators. Scared by the threat to its interests, the political elite is shifting to sticks alone to quell the protests. “An incremental crackdown may temper protesters in the short term, but it is unlikely to break the spirit of Iraqi demonstrators. Something has happened in Iraq these past few weeks... Iraqis’ patience with a self-serving, inept ruling elite is over. They are no longer scared to demand their rights, … As an Iraqi protester from Baghdad told Al-Monitor, it is a “wakeup call. And there are no more red lines.” … In Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the demonstrations, where protesters have displayed their collective spirit and capabilities in ways that are quintessentially Iraqi…. The demonstrators are showing they are a nation in search of a homeland, and in Tahrir Square, they have shown the world how they want it to be. While the streets of Baghdad are in disrepair, Tahrir Square boasts a trash service and volunteer street cleaners. Services that the Iraqi state has failed to provide comprehensively, despite multibillion-dollar budgets, have been established: health care, electricity and water. … Outdoor buffets offer free food, and the square has at least one newspaper that publishes the protesters’ demands. Signs display an Iraqi humor that has persisted in the face of adversity. The scene has a carnival air similar to the amusement parks all over the country. People dance. They recite poetry and sing historic, patriotic, modern and religious songs. Nearly every wall is covered with murals and clever graffiti depicting protest scenes and slogans. Halls and paintings that have sat in disrepair for years have been brought back to life. Marxism-Leninism Currents Today http://www.ml-today.com Marxism-Leninism Currents Today 4 This is rule by the people for the people. Protesters are seizing their country, which was wrenched from them by a corrupt government. In doing so they reaffirm their Iraqiness in the most positive ways. They have even set up reverse checkpoints that welcome citizens but exclude the armed forces. Communities intermingle; different sectors of society stand side by side. Patriotism is on full display. Iraqi flags are everywhere. Women are highly visible. There is a clear rejection of sectarianism, as “Iraqi” identity is emphasized. Everyone helps each other by whatever means — money, chaperones, medical care, internet. There is even a laundry service. And those who cannot or will not protest help in other ways, through donations and supplies. … It is a show of what Iraqi society could be — al-Iraq al-Musagher (mini Iraq) set on an iconic roundabout. None of this comes as any surprise to those familiar with Iraq and its people.