I am able to draw many comparisons between the Sumerian clergy - the inventors of this logic – and the scientific mentality of our day. My belief is that both represent the same civilisation.
Abdullah ÖCALAN
A- An Introduction to the Problematic of Methodology and Truth
Method, as a concept, refers to the shortest possible path, habit or conscious approach utilised in arriving at a predetermined target, or targets. A method is found, if and when a path is deemed to be the most shortcut route in satisfying the predetermined target. The method is successful when it has been tried and is judged to be fruitful. It is vital for those concerned that this process of approval be a long and rigorous one.
When we try and comprehend the depths of history, we see that the first method utilised in understanding mentalities and phenomena is the mythological approach. Mythology, in the narrow sense, is a method; a method in decoding reality. Behind mythology is an understanding of the universe. Mythology’s tendency in taking nature to be a live organism full of spirits is today taken to be somewhat childish. However, when we consider modern science’s current condition we can see that this tendency – and the method deployed – is not as off the mark as previously thought. On the contrary, methods that have thought of nature as lifeless, inanimate and lacking in dynamism are comparatively devoid of meaning.
In connection to life, the mythological approach is definitely environmentally friendly, distant from fatalism and determinism, and is consequently open to freedom. This seemingly naturalist understanding of life had, in its time, ardently accompanied communities into the era of the major religions. Mythologies containing sacredness, legends and epics were the Neolithic era’s fundamental mentality of life. The apparent contradiction between myths and the objective world, however, does not mean that meaningful analyses cannot be construed. It is by all means possible to make substantial commentaries on myths, packed with coherent meaning. In fact, without such commentaries only a limited conception of history can be achieved. Mythology, as a fundamental method, is a vital apparatus in the conceiving of human groupings that have – for the longest period of time – made use of mythical explanation. The scientific method – which is attentively presented as the opposite of the mythological method – has been proven to have occupied itself with the construction of its very own myths.
Preceding religions draped in dogma, and their scientific continuatives claiming to work on universally absolute laws, have seamlessly attempted to discredit the mythological method. It is time for this to be reversed, and thus the mythological method’s eminence be restored. Mythologies, as relatives of utopic thought, are an indispensable form of humankind’s spectrum of meaning and mentality. To exclude utopia and mythology from the human mind is like confiscating water from the body. It should be further understood that, the riches of the human mind – the aggregation of all animate minds – cannot be reduced to a mere mathematically literate analytical organism. This is incongruent with life itself. Just as millions of animate minds are unknowable to mathematics, their aggregation, the human mind, cannot be condemned to mere numeric. Moreover, the very invention of mathematics by the Sumerians was for the calculation of surplus products on the surge at the time. In our day, human logic has almost completely been reduced to function like a calculator. So then, how are we supposed to apprehend the minds of millions of living organisms, the movements of sub-atomic particles or immeasurable astronomic phenomena? It is abundantly clear that mathematics does not contain the ability to make sense of both the universe’s micro and macro domains. At the very least, we must remain susceptible to new methods of meaning so that we do not preliminarily drown ourselves in dogmas.
Animate intuitions cannot be underestimated. All things animate are encoded in these intuitions. It cannot be said that these intuitions are independent of the universe’s micro and macro domains. Instead, what seems closer to the truth is that these intuitions are a fundamental feature of the universe. It is for this reason that the mythological method cannot be deemed worthless in attempts to comprehend the universe. The mythological method may be as valuable, if not more valuable, as the scientific method in contributing to an understanding of the universe.
The transition from the mythological approach to the dogmatic religious approach is a significant phase. This transition is closely linked to the fact that it occupies the mental arena that partnered the hierarchical transition of society. Exploitative and hierarchical social relations require unquestionable dogmas. The ascertaining of dogmas with taboo values such as sacredness, God’s word or immunity are in correlation with the purpose of hiding and/or justifying the hierarchical and exploitative organisation of society and the class interests of the elite strata. Where there is a rigid set of absolute judgements, there is no doubt extensive exploitation and tyranny.
After the mythological era, the religious era constitutes the second longest timeframe of human history. It could be paralleled with written history, or just before or just after. What needs to be contextualised is why religious dogma was a requirement. It is fairly explicit that this approach was a purposefully adopted method. The aim of life and the path to reality, as promoted by religious methodology, can only be fulfilled through the appropriation of – and consequently to live by – the sacred word of an external holiness, existing beyond societal and worldly realms. To avert from the sacred word would result in drudgery and slavery while alive, and then burning in hell in the afterlife. This is the era in which masked gods were constructed. It is easily construable that this constructed god was a synonym for the despot of the time, practicing command and relentless exploitation over society. The extravagant masking of these gods is closely linked to the efforts of distortion applied to the human mind. The very fact that the first despots claimed to be god-kings seems to efficiently prove this point. The subsequent application of the despot’s word as legislation, and the presentation of these words as absolute truths is a widespread feature deployed throughout history. As suppression and exploitation deepened, the dogmatic religious method was made to become the dominant path taken by the human mind; to be more precise, it was to be a constructed social reality. The people’s compliance to the god masked despots’ suffocating enslaving rule was ensured through the application of this method.
The most important aspect of the religious method as a mental habit was its ability to justify the acceptance of enslavement by the masses and to install a rigid fatalism in the mass psyche. Great barbarous wars motivated by deeper exploitation were made possible as a result of this method: To live by the sacred word, in abeyance to god’s command! Without a doubt, this method ensures a major convenience for the administrating elite. Simply put, a herd-shepherd dialectic was formed. Slavery was to be presented as a necessary stage of social development; or a static, inanimate understanding of nature was to make it possible to freeze social reality in order to maintain the status quo. A very passive and objectified understanding of nature and society, coupled with a ruling strata presented as the divine creator of all things was forcibly shown to be the dialectic of life. It will not be an exaggeration to say that this was the mentality and method used in governing the people of the middle ages and in antiquity.
The dogmatic method’s most erroneous aspect is rather than the adoption of an animate, self-evolving view of nature, it forcibly insisted on a passive, objectified view of nature in need of a peremptory to determine its future. The most important impact this then has on society is a natural acceptance of its very pacification and an Internalisation of a herd-like administration. This excessively subjective ancient method was to peak in the Middle Ages. The objective world was taken to be incomprehensible, thus deemed non-existent. The world was reduced to a mere temporary station, where eternal and perpetual ideals were the only acceptable way of life. Those who had a good grasp of the existing dogmas and clichés were recognised as scholars and rewarded with the highest titles. This anti-mythological mode of thought has subsequently shaped the course of history, and therefore, is primarily responsible for the currently captive and bridled way of life.
A positive aspect of the religious method is its impact on the development of ethics in society. At this stage, and under the influence of this method, the notions of good and bad have come under significant scrutiny and as a result have been inflexibly categorised in accordance with absolute judgements. The fundamental perception behind this method is its realisation of the flexibility of the human mind, and therefore, its openness to remoulding. This characteristic of the mind, as opposed to other living organisms, is the fundamental basis of ethical development.
Without an application of ethics, socialisation or administration is out of the question. An ethical method is indispensible for the becoming of, and the administration of society. Without dwelling into the pros and cons of ethics, the indispensability of this development for societal comprehension must be clarified. Undoubtedly, ethics is a metaphysical phenomenon, but this in no way makes ethics non-existent or any less significant. We will not be exaggerating too much by saying that metaphysical ethics has the upper hand on the ethics of the mythological period. To think of human sociality without ethics, is enough to bring about the end of the human species along with its ecological environment, just as the dinosaurs did by not leaving themselves a single weed to chew on. Indeed it is due to an ethical demolition that environmental problems have come to such a disastrous threshold.
The dogmatic method is not only evident in the major religions; this method weighs heavily in on classical Greek thought too. The dialectical method, not to mention an objective approach, is seriously lacking in Greek classical thought. The supremacy of Aristotle’s and Plato’s idealism had become a strong foundation for religious dogmatism in the Middle Ages. Plato’s recognition as the greatest philosopher of idealism, or even its creator, had made him a favourite of the prophetical tradition.
The prophetic traditions of the three major religions are well stabilised constituent versions of the dogmatic method. In Buddha, Zoroaster, Confucius and Socrates ethics peaks. Especially in the philosophy of Zoroaster, the duality of good and bad is mirrored by the duality of light and dark. On behalf of humanity, these wise men have introduced higher levels of morality.
The ‘scientific method’ has played a significant role in capitalism becoming a world system. In this approach, led by Descartes, Roger Bacon and Francis Bacon, a clear cut distinction between subject and object is carefully made. In the dogmatic method of the Middle Ages there was not much room for a distinction between subject and object.
The Renaissance led rise of Western Europe, through the Reformation in Christianity and the Enlightenment in philosophy, had opened a new era under the imagery of subjectivity and objectivity. The subjectivity of humanity and the objectivity of the world become the two main factors of life. The dogmatic method, the word of God, along with ethics critically loses significance. To be more precise, the covered kings and the masked gods of the old are replaced by the naked kings and the unmasked gods of the new. The capitalistic mode of exploitation is the main motivator of this transition. The increasing exploitation fuelled by the drive of profit requires the transformation of societal perception through a restructuring of the dimensions of thought. This requirement and necessity is the driving force behind the new ‘scientific method’. Humanity and nature is facing a new era of deepened exploitation and abuse. The societal conscience that was unwilling to accept such abuse was about to undergo reconstruction in parallel with the newly formed dimensions of thought. It is for this reason that ‘method’, as the fundamental route to righteousness, was about to gain a significant functionality. It is well documented that Descartes, in order for a deep transformation, dwells into a major illness of scepticism and eventually seeks asylum in the judgement “I think, therefore I am”. It is also well known that Roger and Francis Bacon work really hard on ‘objectivism’. Descartes opens the door to the individual’s ability to think independently, while the Bacons clear the path for the individual to dispose of the ‘object’ as he wishes.
The concept of ‘objectivism’ in the scientific method is in need of profound reanalysis. Excluding analytic thought, the objectification of the animate and inanimate world, including the human body, plays a significant role in the capitalist exploitation and domination of society and nature. Without the deepening and justification of the segregation between subject and object, the mental transformation required as a basis of modern thought could not have been achieved.
While analytic thought is justified as the subject, object is the material element on which all sorts of speculative efforts can be made upon; in other words, represents ‘objectivity’. Great struggles have been given for the sake of this distinction. The struggle between the church and science should not be seen as one of righteousness. The underlying current is a major social struggle. In a sense, on the one side you have the morally sensitive old society, as opposed to the new naked capitalism wishing to rid itself of the ethical burden on its shoulders. In all honesty, The church and science are not the main units of this quarrel either. More generally, it is a quarrel between the historically consistent social values that hinder exploitation and deem it to be sin, against the new capitalist project wishing to remove the ethical bonds of society in order to make it susceptible to exploitation and tyranny. The ‘objective approach’ is the key concept of this project.
Under the ‘objective’ conceptualisation of ‘analytical thought’ no value is free from going under the surgical knife. It is not only human labour, but all animate and inanimate organisms that can be proprietary, and therefore, disposable to the full extent. They can be subjected to all sorts of research and examination and then, accordingly exploited. Apart from distinguished subjects, everything can be mechanised, and so mercilessly exploited and dictated upon. The subjectification of the individual as opposed to the objectified community, citizenship and the nation-state – in other words the unmasked gods – are ‘new inventions’ that are able to create havoc and make life unbearable through the organisation of genocides and the destruction of the environment. The old ‘Leviathan’ has become rabid; it seems as if there is not a single object it is unwilling to suppress or break into pieces. It should be well understood that to perceive of the objective approach as an innocent concept of the scientific method does not only lead to credulous digressions, but also to great disasters and even bigger massacres then that of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages. It must be clearly stated that the objective approach is in no way an innocent scientific term.
Until the ‘scientific method’ itself is not perceived as a tool for the classified division of society, the dysfunctional and bankrupt state of sociology cannot be explained. I must openly state that, the ‘objective scientific method’ is also the underlying reason behind the bankruptcy of the onetime assertive ‘scientific socialism’.
The fact that scientific socialism’s – and all its derivatives – constructed long term social systems were all abolished from within, and the rapidity of the transformation from state capitalism to private capitalism, both grew out of the systemic adoption of the ‘scientific method’ and the notion of ‘objectification’. Otherwise, no one can doubt for a single second the integrity of those who struggled for socialism with great belief and effort.
Scientific structures that attribute a central role to the subject-object distinction are very passionate for their own independence. So much so that they claim to be over and above society’s values. Maybe the greatest deviation in the name of science is hidden in this claim. it may be right to say that that the integration and unification of science and the system of rule in the capitalist era, is incomparable to that of any other previous era. From its methodology to its contents, the world of science is the system’s biggest constructive power, its protective force and its justifier. The scientific method of the capitalist era – and all sciences deriving from it – is the actual provider and pathfinder of the profitable machine along with great wars, crises, suffering, starvation, unemployment, environmental meltdown and population instabilities that come with it. The saying “knowledge is power” is none other than a proud confession of this truth.
Maybe some will say “what is wrong with this?” These types of judgements, draped in innocence, are nothing other than the system’s outspoken natural defence mechanism.
If in our day capitalist modernity is crying out with signs of unsustainability from every parameter of the system, the biggest responsible party for this is the ‘scientific method’ it relies upon. Therefore, it is of vital importance for a criticism of the system to initially be developed against the method the system is founded upon and the ‘scientific disciplines’ deriving from it. A fundamental weakness of all criticisms of the system, including the socialist criticism, is that they too have adopted the very method used in the creation and sustenance of the system. An anti-system movement aiming to criticise a social reality that has been founded upon a specific method, no matter how hard it is criticised using the same method, will eventually be faced with the same fate. It is well known that a used road will always pass through the same villages and towns. This has been the fate of all anti-system movements, including scientific socialism.
I pay specific attention in taking the societal character of the subject-object distinction to be a central concept of my evaluations. This is because these innocent looking concepts are the ontological reasons behind the unsustainability of modernity. Contrary to popular belief, these are not nominal concepts, and they also have nothing to do with scientific development. They possess fixed misconceptions on the understandings of nature and subjectivity, no less than that of the dogmatic method of the Middle Ages. The frank distinction between subjectivity and objectivity has suffocated the ability to comprehend the meaning of life and has taken human life into a more backward state than that of the Middle Ages. The dogmatic method’s efforts in suffocating and depriving human life of freedom, has been taken over by capitalist modernity’s efforts in smashing social life to pieces on intellectual grounds provided by the distinction of subjectivity and objectivity. A deep segregation is being constructed in all areas of life. As a result of the crystallisation of the whole applied by the so called ‘scientific disciplines’, the biggest value lost is the integral and indivisible entirety of societal time and space. There is no bigger tragedy than the exclusion of time and space from societal life, hence the ‘jamming of life’ experienced in our day. We are faced with the worst of fates. Societal cancer is not an allegoric approach; it is a most meaningful systems analysis.
I am not proposing a new method. This however, does not mean I am proposing to get rid of methodology. I am well aware of human tendencies, not to mention the animate and inanimate nature’s accordance to certain laws and methodical movements. I highly value means and methods. But I am also aware of the fact, and therefore must clearly state, that the insistence on deterministic aspects of methods and laws have greatly hindered developments and denied freedoms. I do not believe in the existence of a lawless universe lacking in method. However, I also do not believe that the universe is based on a mathematic equation as the mechanism of Descartes seems to suggest. I have deep suspicions regarding mathematic logic and nomothetic laws. I am able to draw many comparisons between the Sumerian clergy – the inventors of this logic – and the scientific mentality of our day. My belief is that both represent the same civilisation.
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The national question is not a phantasm of capitalist modernity. Nevertheless it was capitalist modernity which imposed the national question on society. The nation replaced the religious community. However, the transition to a national society needs the overcoming of capitalist modernity if the nation is not to remain the disguise for repressive monopolies. As negative as the over-emphasis of the national category in the Middle East is, as severe would be the consequences of neglecting the collective national aspect. Therefore the method in handling the issue should not be ideological but scientific and not nation-statist but based on the concept of the democratic nation and democratic communalism. Theseconcepts are the fundamental elements of democratic modernity. Over the past two centuries nationalism and the tendency towards nation-states have been fuelled in Middle Eastern societies. National issues have not been solved but rather have been aggravated in all areas of society. Instead of cultivating productive competition, capital has enforced internal and external wars in the name of the nation-state. The theory of communalism would be an alternative to capitalism. In the framework of democratic nations, which do not strive for power monopolies, it may lead to peace in a region which has only been the field of gory wars and genocides. In this context we can speak of four majority nations: Arabs, Persians, Turks, and Kurds. I do not wish to divide nations into majority or minority as I do not find this to be appropriate. But due to demographic considerations I shall speak of majority nations. In the same context we may also use the term minority nations.
1. There are more than twenty Arab nation-states which divide the Arab community and damage their societies by wars. This is one of the main factors responsible for the alienation of cultural values and the apparent hopelessness of the Arab national question. These nation-states have not even been able to form a cross-national economic community. They are the main reason of the problematic situation of the Arab nation. A religiously motivated tribal nationalism together with a sexist patriarchal society pervades all areas of society resulting in distinct conservatism and slavish obedience. Nobody believes that the Arabs will be able to find an Arab national solution to their internal and cross-national problems. However, democratisation and a communalist approach might provide such a solution. Their weakness towards Israel, which the Arab nation-states regard as a competitor, is not only the result of international support to Israel by hegemonic powers. Rather, it is the result of strong internal democratic and communal institutions within Israel. Over the last century, the society of the Arab nation has been weakened by radical nationalism and Islamism. Yet, if they are able to unite communal socialism, which they are not strangers to, with an understanding of a democratic nation, then they may be able to find themselves a secure, long-term solution.
2. The Turks and Turkmens form another influential nation. They share a similar understanding of power and ideology with the Arabs. They are strict nation-statists and have a profound religious and racial nationalism engraved in them. From a sociological point of view, the Turks and Turkmens are quite different. The relations between Turkmen and Turkish aristocracy resemble the tensed relations between Bedouins and Arab aristocracy. They form a stratum whose interests are compatible with democracy and communalism. Their national problems are quite complex. The power strive of the nation-state, distinct nationalism and a sexist patriarchal society prevail and create a very conservative society. The family is regarded as the smallest unit of the state. Both individuals and institutions have taken in these aspects. Turkish and Turkmen communities struggle for power. Other ethnic groups are subjected to a distinct policy of subjugation. The centralist power structures of the Turkish nation-state and the rigid official ideology have prevented a solution to the Kurdish question until today. Society is made to believe that there is no alternative to the state. There is no balance between the individual and the state. Obedience is regarded as the greatest virtue. In contrast to this, the theory of democratic modernity offers an adequate approach to all national communities in solving their national problems. A community based project of a democratic Turkish confederation would both strengthen its internal unity and create the conditions for a peaceful coexistence with its neighbours. Borders have lost there former meaning when it comes to social unity. In spite of geographic boundaries today’s modern communication tools allow for a virtual unity between individuals and communities wherever they are. A democratic confederation of the Turkish national communities could be a contribution to world peace and the system of democratic modernity.
3. The Kurdish national society is very complex. Worldwide, the Kurds are the biggest nation without a state of their own. They have been settling in their present settlement areas since the Neolithic Age. Agriculture and stock breeding as well as their readiness to defend themselves using the geographic advantages of their mountainous homeland helped the Kurds to survive as a native people. The Kurdish national question rises from the fact that they have been denied their right to nationhood. Others tried to assimilate them, annihilate them, and in the end flatly denied their existence. Not having a state of their own has advantages and disadvantages. The excrescences of state-based civilisations have only been taken in to a limited extent. This can be a benefit in the realisation of alternative social concepts that go beyond capitalist modernity. Their settlement area is divided by the national borders of four states and lies in a geo-strategically important region, thus providing the Kurds a strategic advantage. The Kurds do not have the chance to form a national society through the use of state-power. Although there is a Kurdish political entity today in Iraqi-Kurdistan, it is not a nation-state but rather a parastatal entity. Kurdistan had also been home to Armenian and Aramaic minorities before these fell victims to genocides. There are also smaller groups of Arabs and Turks. Even today there are many different religions and faiths living side by side there. Also there are rudiments of clan and tribal culture while almost no presence of urban culture there. All these properties are a blessing for new democratic political formations. Communal cooperatives in farming and also in the water economy and the energy sector offer themselves as ideal ways of production. The situation is also favourable for the development of an ethical political society. Even the patriarchal ideology is less deeply rooted here than in the neighbouring societies. This is beneficial for the establishment of a democratic society where women’s freedom and equality are to form one of the main pillars. It also offers the conditions for the creation of a democratic environment-friendly nation in line with the paradigm of democratic modernity. The construction of a democratic nation based on multi-national identities is the ideal solution when faced with the cul-de-sac that is the nation-state. The emerging entity could become a blueprint for the entire Middle East and expand dynamically into neighbouring countries. Convincing the neighbouring nations of this model shall change the fate of the Middle East and shall reinforce the chance of democratic modernity to create an alternative. In this sense, the freedom of the Kurds and the democratisation of their society would be synonymous with the freedom of the whole region and its societies.
4. The Persian or Iranian nation’s contemporary problems can be found in the interventions of historical civilisations and capitalist modernity. Although their original identity comes from Zoroastrian and Mithraic tradition, these have been annulled by a derivative of Islam. Manichaeism,which emerged as a synthesis of Judaism, Christianity, Mohammedanism andGreek philosophy, was not able to prevail against the ideology of the official civilisation, Islam. Hence it has converted the Islamic tradition into Shi’ah denomination and adopted it to be its latest civilisational ideology. Presently there are efforts made to modernise itself by passing the elements of capitalist modernity through its Shi’ah filter. Iranian society is multi-ethnic and multi-religious and blessed with a rich culture. All the national and religious identities of the Middle East can be found there. This diversity is in strong contrast to the hegemonic claim of the theocracy, which cultivates a subtle religious nationalism and the ruling class does not shrink back from anti-modernist propaganda whenever it serves their interests. Revolutionary and democratic tendencies have been integrated by the traditional civilisation. A despotic regime skilfully governs the country. The negative effects of American and European sanctions are not negligible here. Despite strong centralist efforts in Iran, from the grass-roots already some kind of federalism exists. When elements of democratic civilisation and federalist elements including Azeris, Kurds, Baluchis, Arabs, and Turkmens intersect, the project of a “Democratic Confederation of Iran” can emerge and become attractive. Women’s movements and communal traditions will play a special role here.
5. The Armenian national question contains one of the greatest tragedies that the progress of capitalist modernity has brought about in the Middle East. The Armenians are an ancient people. They shared much of their settlement area with the Kurds. While the Kurds lived primarily on agriculture and animal husbandry the Armenians engaged in arts and crafts. Just like the Kurds, the Armenians cultivated a tradition of self-defence. Apart from some short episodes the Armenians never successfully founded a state. They rely on Christian culture which gives them their identity and their faith in salvation. Because of their religion they often suffered repression at the hands of the Muslim majority. Hence, the emerging nationalism bore fruit with the Armenian bourgeoisie. Soon there were differences with the Turkish nationalists, eventually ending in the genocide of the Armenians by the Turks. Apart from the Jews, the Armenians are the second-largest people who live primarily in the Diaspora. The foundation of an Armenian state in the west of Azerbaijan, however, did not solve the Armenian national question. The consequences of the genocide can hardly be put into words. The search for the lost country defines their national psyche and is at the heart of the Armenian question. The issue is aggravated by the fact that these areas have been settled into by other people since then. Any concepts based on a nation-state cannot offer a solution. There is neither a homogenous population structure there nor any clear borders as is required by capitalist modernity. Confederate structures could be an alternative for the Armenians. The foundation of a democratic Armenian nation in line with the paradigm of democratic modernity promises the Armenians an opportunity to reinvent themselves. It could enable them to return to their historical homeland in the cultural plurality of the Middle East. In the event that they renew themselves under the Armenian democratic nation not only shall they continue to play their historical role within Middle Eastern culture, but shall also find the right path to liberation.
6. In modern times the Christian Arameans (Assyrians) also suffered the fate of the Armenians. They too are one of the oldest people in the Middle East. They shared a settlement area with the Kurds but also with other people. Like the Armenians they suffered from the repression of the Muslim majority, paving the way for European-style nationalism among the Aramean bourgeoisie. Eventually the Arameans too fell victim to genocide at the hands of the Turks under the leadership of the fascist Committee of Unity and Progress. The collaborationist Kurds lent a helping hand in this genocide. The question of Aramean national society has its roots in civilisation but has also become complicated with Christianity and the ideologies of modernity. For a solution there is a need for a radical transformation of the Arameans. Their real salvation may be to break away from the mentality of classical civilisation and capitalist modernity and instead embrace democratic civilisation and renew their rich cultural memory as an element of democratic modernity in order to re-construct themselves as the “Aramean Democratic Nation”.
7. The history of the Jewish people also gives expression to the overall problematic cultural history of the Middle East. The history of expulsion, pogroms and genocide amounts to balancing the accounts of civilisations. The Jewish community has taken up the influences of the old Sumerian and Egyptian cultures as well as those of regional tribal cultures. It has contributed a lot to the culture of the Middle East. Like the Arameans they fell victim to the extreme developments of modernity. Against this background, intellectuals of Jewish descent developed a complex point of view towards these issues. However, this is nowhere near enough. For a solution of the problems as they exist today a renewed appropriation of the history of the Middle East is needed on a democratic basis. The Israeli nation-state is at war since its foundation. The slogan is: an eye for an eye. Fire cannot be fought by fire, though. Even if Israel enjoys relative security thanks to its international support, this is not a sustainable solution. Nothing will be permanently safe as long as capitalist modernity has not been overcome. The Palestine conflict makes it clear that the nation-state paradigm is not helpful for a solution. There has been much blood-shed; what remains is the difficult legacy of seemingly irresolvable problems. The Israel-Palestine example shows the complete failure of capitalist modernity and the nation-state. The Jews belong to the culture bearers of the Middle East. Denial of their right to existence is an attack on the Middle East. Their transformation into a democratic nation just as for Armenians and Arameans would make their participation in a democratic confederation of the Middle East easier. The project of an “East-Aegean Democratic Confederation” would be a positive start. Strict and exclusive national and religious identities may evolve into flexible and open identities under this project. Israel may also evolve into a more acceptable open democratic nation. Undoubtedly though, its neighbours must also go through such a transformation. Tensions and armed conflicts in the Middle East make a transformation of the paradigm of modernity seem inevitable. Without it a solution to the difficult social problems and national questions is impossible. Democratic modernity offers an alternative to the system that is unable to resolve problems.
8. The annihilation of Hellenic culture in Anatolia is a loss that cannot be compensated. The ethnic cleansing arranged by the Turkish and Greek nation-states in the first quarter of the last century has left its mark. No state has the right to drive people from their ancestral cultural region. Nevertheless, nation-states have shown their inhuman approach towards such issues again and again. The attacks on the Hellenic, Jewish, Aramean and Armenian cultures were exacerbated while Islam spread through-out the Middle East. This, in turn, contributed to the decline of Middle-Eastern Civilisation. Islamic culture has never been able to fill the emerging void. In the 19th century when capitalist modernity advanced into the Middle East it found a cultural desert created by self-inflicted cultural erosion. Cultural diversity also strengthens the defence mechanism of a society. Monocultures are less robust. Hence, the conquest of the Middle East has not been difficult. The project of a homogeneous nation as propagated by the nation-states furthered their cultural decline.
9. The Caucasian ethnic groups also have social problems which are not insignificant. Again and again they have migrated into the Middle East and stimulated its cultures. They have unquestionably contributed to its cultural wealth. The arrival of modernity almost made these minority cultures disappear. They too, would find their adequate place in a confederate structure.
Finally, let me state again that the fundamental problems of the Middle East are deeply rooted in class-based civilisation. They have exacerbated with the global crisis of capitalist modernity. This modernity and its claim to dominance cannot offer any solutions nor a long-term perspective for the Middle-East region. The future is democratic confederalism.
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TO THE PRESS AND PUBLİC
1. On January 21 the occupier Turkish state army's reconnaissance plane made flight on our media area intensive reconnaissance flight.
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On Thursday 5 December 2013, The Guardian published an editorial article on the occasion of Nelson Mandela’s death. The article included a significant(!) comparison between Mandela and some other names like Jawaharlal Nehru, Aung Sang Suu Kyi, and me. As long as they approach the issue with a hegemon’s mindset, the potentates will certainly continue to make such comparisons among those figures wining the affection of their peoples. However, any comparison has its own inner problems.
The time of the struggles, varying geographic and political conditions and even the characteristic differences between the figures will render such comparisons problematic. First of all, for me, being remembered together with a leader for whom all the world shed tears shows the extent to which our struggle line has taken universal dimensions. It also demonstrates the fact that our case couldn’t be explained as a struggle only against an unjust treatment.
Writing on the capabilities of a leader with exemplary methodsof struggle and negotiation just after his death needs some more pondering on the history and politics of risk-takers, in order to get a better understanding of the conditions of those who haven’t been afraid of struggling in the front line throughout history.
There are clear-cut differences between the front-line strugglers and deskbound analysts. The greatest difference is to witness the death of your comrades and your people, live the experience moment to moment, and do right and wrong. Restricting the esteem and dignity of such an important leader with ‘the prison’ is a beleaguered approach which holds in contempt the self-realized political struggle of a people with over 40 million population voluntarily approving this leader as the representation of their own will. How objective and just would it be to turn a blind eye on the national identity the Kurdish people have achieved after a 40-year-long freedom struggle, and on our peace efforts for a democratic solution to the Kurdish question.
Comparing me with Nelson Mandela in your article, you had referred to me as “feared and worshiped”. Here, not only can I see more easily the writer’s desire to be the state chronicle of a history which tramples on the world’s oppressed, but also I discern the codes of the purposive enmity harbored against both of the compared figures, whose only resource for facing the enslaving, massacre and denial policies are their own self-belief.
It is too evident to need proof that a person who has spent the last 14 years of his life in a prison-island alone and under solitary confinement can be a “source of fear” only for those who have put him into chains. The chains speak for themselves ….
In reply to those who, instead of analyzing the fear spread by the hegemons, are busy giving advice and teaching lessons to those struggling against these hegemons, I should say, in all modesty, that Dear Madiba and me have more parallels than contrasts.
Everybody knows that the ordeal succeeded in facing the Apartheid regime was an accomplishment of not only the South African people, but at the same time of the leader in whom they had unsuspectedly confided their fate. No matter their numbers, the many ludicrous comments made on Mandela’s credibility come from the quarters which adopt a remote and trivial approach to the ‘struggle of the oppressed’ rather than making a close and reasonable analysis.
The self-organization processes of the communities subjected to suppression and discrimination would differ from the common practices, especially when they begin to make a true analysis of the notion of capitalist modernity. Traditionally, the organizational options of ‘the book’ are already known. But time proceeds forward and circumstances change, in company with historical determinism. Changing conditions will bring about changes in the behavior and attitude of individuals and organizations, either captive or free. When it comes to the PKK, instead of bringing about pragmatic progress, these changes have led to the political and ethical progress for a movement which has transformed itself on the basis of the struggle for democratic modernity and the developing direct democracy examples in
the world.
The 12 september 1980 fascist coup followed by many organized coups against our community as well as the international conspiracy act against me and our movement share one thing in common with other interferences in other struggles of the oppressed; and that is the silence of the international community in the face of these interventions. Despite the progress in the international democratic standards in the 21st century, due to the state propaganda characteristic of the international conspiracy, the dehumanization of the struggling leaders held captive still continues, based on poor intellectual standards.
How odd it is that a credible newspaper in Britain has not noticed the recent democratization progresses that we have made in Mesopotamia. As far as the approach is concerned, I hope it to be only ‘odd’, not more. Looking at the general approach of the article, what I see is not only the “oddness”; rather, every line is a dead giveaway to a hierarchic and ‘from above’ viewpoint.
Here, those opposing peace are accusing us of starting negotiations, are dehumanizing me in the eyes of the new generations and defaming our movement which has adopted peace and settlement as its main principle. They are running and organized activity to blacken the reputation of our efforts for democratic modernity. How odd it is that racist notions and old propaganda rhetoric which have even lost their reputation in Turkey are still being repeatedly
covered in the international press.
The only topic to be discussed after Mandel’s demise should be the Apartheid, a regime which history would remember only with shame. Nobody would keep a memoir of Apartheid and its leaders; nobody would shed tears for them; whereas Mandela has become a shining star for the peoples of Africa. Our historical mission is to ensure the ever brilliance of this star for the peoples of the Middle East. The friendship developed on the basis of principled and political integrity between the peoples’ movements and particularly our movement, relies on the changing dynamics and the horizontal nature of their policies. To believe that these laws of goodwill and friendship have been developed on the basis of fear can only be explained by having no knowledge about the metamorphosis eras the Kurdish political movement has undergone and failing to observe its democratic inner reflections of the peaceful and negotiating perspective of this movement.
Likewise, negotiation and struggle are both important processes in determining the future of peoples’ movements and those leading these processes are figures winning the confidence of the peoples, not ‘feared’ ones. If not so, it wouldn’t be possible for these movements to be represented both in the parliamentary system and the local politics , as it wouldn’t have been possible to succeed in the years-long armed struggle.
My recommendation to the editorial board of The Guardian is to do more research and analysis on the role of the women in our political movement and the resulting transformative effects. Then, they would certainly encounter such an infinite experience so as to take off their colonialist hat, though ashamedly.
Abdullah Ocalan
The Prison Island of Imrali
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TO THE PRESS AND PUBLİC
1. On january 19 the occupier Turkish state army's reconnaissance plane to reconnaissance flight on our Media Defence Areas Avaşin between 7:30 and 21:00.
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TO THE PRESS AND PUBLİC
1. On January 18 the occupier Turkish state army's reconnaissance plane flight on our areas Metina between 7:30 and 11:30, Gare between 11:30 and 21:00 and Zap between 16:30 and 18:00 o'clock.
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TO THE PRESS AND PUBLİC
1. On January at 12:30 the occupier Turkish state army's cobra helicopter attack to our area Hacıbeg River and Geniş Tepe near Şemdinli/Hakkari and shoot for long time.
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TO THE PRESS AND PUBLİC
1. On january 11 the occupier Turkish state army's reconnaissance plane to reconnaissance flight on our Media Defence Areas Xakurke area at 3:00 o'clock until 12 january noon at 11:30 o'clock. İt was made intensive reconnaissance flight.
2. On January 11 the occupier Turkish state army's reconnaissance plane to reconnaissance fligh on our Media Defence Areas Metina at 2:30 o'colck until 19:00 o'clock. Next day at same area between 7:00-9:00 hours occupier Turkish state army's reconnaissance plane made reconnaissance flight.
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TO THE PRESS AND PUBLİC
1- On 2 January the occupier Turkish state army's reconnaissance plane to reconnaissance flight to on our area Haftanin in between 8:00 -9:00 o'clock.
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History has demonstrated that whenever the Kurdish people reach an awareness of their national democratic identity, they become the target of ruthless attacks and massacres. Thus, in December 1978, defenceless Kurdish children were the target of fascist contras in the Maraş massacre. At Roboski the massacre was carried out by a savage war apparatus. When we launched the process of resolution we wished to confront all the painful incidents in our recent and distant past, in addition to developing democracy and freedom.
This quest for justice is so important that it could be the beginning of a confrontation with past sorrows in our history,"The state and government should not fear the consequences of this confrontation and abandon its attitude of obstruction. Only last week the European Court of Human Rights condemned Turkey for the massacres of Kuşkonar and Koçağlı, which for years the authorities blamed the PKK for. As long as the state persists in its denial international public opinion and the peoples of Turkey will continue to see it as the perpetrator of massacres. Therefore, justice regarding this massacre could make a significant contribution to the search for peace.
We are aware that this quest for justice is social, not individual. We must also realise its historical importance. Our people will not abandon the families of Roboski. The government should commence its confronting of realities as part of the process in Roboski. The women of Roboski who have taken possession of the cause of our slaughtered sons have monumental significance for peace. I once again send my condolences to the people of Roboski.
ABDULLAH ÖCALAN
28.12.2013
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