Cemil Bayık, Co-Chair of the Kurdistan Democratic Communities Union (KCK)
In the first part of Cemil Bayık’s analysis, the focus is on the statist paradigm as the cause of the Middle East conflict, while the analysis in the present part examines the role of religious ideology and liberalism in the Middle East conflict as well as Turkey’s role in it and ultimately the needs in the Middle East to demonstrate the fight for freedom.
Part 2
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, brought back to the agenda by Hamas attacks, is currently the subject of much discussion. Some consider Hamas’s methods to be wrong and condemn them, others also consider them wrong but claim that Israel’s policies are the cause. With intensive disinformation, every argument is focused on the one moment of the Hamas attack, thereby distorting reality.
To curb the influence of the Soviet Union in the Middle East and weaken popular democratic movements, the United States developed a strategy incorporating religious ideology and supported the movements that developed based on such ideologies. This policy was made official in 1977 under the name “Green Belt Project” and was developed by the USA in the following years. The implementation of this policy began on the occasion of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and consisted of developing and supporting movements based on religious ideology with the aim of weakening the socialist and democratic movements. The aim was to weaken Soviet influence in the Middle East. As socialist and democratic popular movements developed, the influence of the USA and NATO in the Middle East declined. The Soviet Union increased its influence in the Middle East by supporting these socialist and democratic movements. In contrast, the USA, NATO and other powers of capitalist modernity resorted to supporting religious ideologies in the Middle East. The spread and development of religious movements in the Middle East took place against this background.
The Al-Qaeda and Taliban movements in Afghanistan, which later became known as radical religious groups, were the organizations supported and established by the US and NATO in this context. Osama bin Laden, as a member of the Saudi royal family, was asked by the USA to set up an organization to influence the population; and he was sent to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban against the Soviets. The Taliban were founded in Pakistan by the CIA, trained and fought in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union, which was eventually forced to withdraw from Afghanistan. The organizations mentioned took over the state administration in Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are the most well-known movements, but all religious movements in the Middle East have been favored, influenced and supported by the US and NATO under this policy. In addition to Pakistan and Afghanistan, movements based on religious ideology have also developed in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt and other North African countries. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the weakening of socialist movements around the world, these religious-ideological movements had fulfilled their task. Therefore, the USA developed the project of “Moderate Islam” in harmony with global capital. Some movements, such as the Taliban, which had seized state power, did not undergo this development process and remained as an independent power, making them a target for the US.
In this context, Hamas was favored and supported by the US and Israel to weaken the Palestinian movement. As is well known, Hamas developed as part of the Ikhwan movement. The so-called Ikhwan al-Muslim, also known as the Muslim Brotherhood, is an organization supported and influenced by the USA and NATO. Like other religious movements, the Ikhwan al-Muslimin has undertaken activities against Arab nationalism and Arab independence movements because of their ties with the socialist movement; their main goal was to prevent the spread of socialism.
These movements did not have a stance against the USA, Israel and NATO, but existed through their support. Hamas was pushed by the CIA and Mossad as an offshoot of the Ikhwan movement in Palestine in order to weaken the Palestinian movement. That was their job. Today, Hamas is in conflict with the State of Israel because its mission has been fulfilled. It is like the conflict between Al-Qaeda or the Taliban and the USA. The religious ideology was promoted by the USA, Israel and NATO with a specific purpose in mind. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the relative weakening of the democratic popular movements, the religious-ideological movements fulfilled their mission and lost the role assigned to them. They can only act in accordance with the policies of the powers with which they are in conflict: the USA, Israel and NATO. Because these movements were favored by secret services, including Hamas. Therefore, Hamas cannot play any role in the liberation and freedom of the Palestinian people, not even in the future.
As part of the “Green Belt Project,” organizations based on a religious ideology were also founded in Kurdistan. As a freedom movement developed in Northern Kurdistan, a religious counter-movement called “Hezbollah” was founded against the PKK and the revolution in Kurdistan. This structure was led by the state itself.
It is known what role this organization “Hezbollah” played and how it massacred thousands of Kurdish patriots. Their structure is still used by the state. Since Turkey became a member of NATO, religious movements have been created and maintained by the state itself. How and for what purpose religious-ideological organizations are founded in the Middle East can best be understood by looking at the situation in Turkey. Religious and ideological organizations were officially organized there under the name “Anti-Communist Associations”. The costs were borne by the CIA. The clique that runs Turkey today, including Tayyip Erdoğan, consists of people who are active in or trained in these organizations. Fethullah Gülen is one of the founders of the anti-communist associations. With the military coup of 1980, the Kemalist ideology was replaced by this ideology. Since then, the movement has no longer been a movement supported and directed by the state, but rather a movement that is directed by the state itself. This context is important to know the development of the religious ideology-based movement in Turkey.
The Oslo process was a trap set to liquidate the Palestinian movement
Liberalism has weakened the Palestinian movement. It was promoted within the Palestinian movement by the cessation of struggle and the idea of achieving results through the use of diplomacy, which made the Palestinian movement less effective. While attention focused on diplomacy, many of the movement’s leading cadres were targeted by Israel. The more the struggle receded into the background and the more the movement was weakened by the shooting of cadres, the more emphasis was placed on diplomacy. However, the development that became the Oslo process was a trap that encouraged the liquidation of the Palestinian movement. Unfortunately, the Palestinian leadership fell into this trap and did great damage to the cause. As is well known, Yasser Arafat was locked up in the headquarters in Ramallah and surrounded by people who saw the solution in aligning with the USA. He was then presumably poisoned.
The liberal drift of the Palestinian movement undoubtedly has ideological and political dimensions. After the dissolution of real socialism, movements that were based on left-wing, socialist and Marxist ideology experienced ideological aberrations.
The Soviet Union itself dissolved for ideological reasons without any direct external intervention. In this situation, it was to be expected that the movements that were oriented towards the Soviet Union would develop in a similar way. In fact, socialist and democratic movements worldwide were affected by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Abdullah Öcalan prevented such a drift by the PKK by initiating an ideological change and a paradigm shift. He also took the lead in the fight for equality, freedom and democracy in the new era with his understanding of a non-state socialism based on ecology and women’s liberation by breaking away from the state-oriented paradigm. Undoubtedly, Abdullah Öcalan developed this ideological development on the basis of revolutionizing mentality and gave it an ideological-political framework. Had such a transformation taken place in the Palestinian movement, it would not be in its current situation and state. Now it must be about setting a transformation in motion, overcoming the nation-state mentality and adopting the mentality of the democratic nation.
The Turkish state is the power in the Middle East, which particularly benefits from the existing balance of power in the region and is therefore the most sensitive to changes. It fears that its position could be weakened.
However, this concern is not due to adherence to a principle. Perhaps this approach of wanting to benefit from the existing balance of power can be attributed to all states; However, the potential or opportunity to do so is not the same everywhere and for every state. There are conditions and geopolitical and geostrategic realities in Turkey that favor its opportunities in this regard. Its geopolitical position gives Turkey importance. Since its founding, the Turkish state has made policies based on this position and has sought to garner support for its policies. From this it achieved important results.
First and foremost, it was able to carry out his policy of genocide against the Kurdish population with outside support. The basis of the Turkish state’s policy is the genocide against the Kurds. It built its existence on it. The fact that it can maintain this policy of genocide to this day was in the past and is only possible today with the support of foreign powers, especially the USA and NATO. Foreign powers are undoubtedly providing this support to Turkey because of its geopolitical importance. One of the main powers supporting the Turkish state is Israel.
In fact, Turkey has received so much support from the US and NATO because it has a positive stance towards Israel. The fact that this support continues today is also linked to the continuation of these relationships. Therefore, Israel’s support for the Turkish state is very important.
Israel’s role in the international plot against Abdullah Öcalan clearly demonstrates this importance. Because the international plot is to support the Turkish state in its policy of genocide against the Kurds at the highest level. It was based on a US-Israeli plan that was implemented in coordination with NATO.
In this respect, relations with Israel are very important for the Turkish state. The deterioration of these relations would mean that the support the Turkish state receives from foreign powers would be at risk. The Turkish state’s slowed response to the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and the lack of further steps must be seen in this context. It can be seen that the Turkish state is extremely concerned about the developments, which it clearly expresses. But its reaction is very moderate and weak. This is an expression of the politics and character of the Turkish state. Some people, ignorant of the politics and character of the Turkish state, expected Tayyip Erdoğan to react harshly to the situation. Of course he didn’t. Since special warfare is very developed in Turkey, it is difficult to understand the realities. One of the characteristics of the Turkish state is that it makes heavy use of special warfare and uses its means to influence people’s perceptions. In recent years, especially under the fascist AKP-MHP government, this policy has increased significantly.
Because a climate of oppression has been created, fueled by nationalism, chauvinism and fascism, these conditions are not openly and adequately discussed. Turkish public opinion and Turkish intellectuals are very inadequate in this regard. The intensive use of special warfare and propaganda is a result of this and at the same time an indicator of the low value placed on society. Society in Turkey is not informed about this and cannot free itself from this situation.
Now much of society will think that Tayyip Erdoğan cares about the future of the Palestinian people and is committed to them as if he were in Gaza himself. But it is the activities of the Special Warfare Center that make the public think this way. This is seen and presented as a success by those in power, but in reality it is not a success for a society, but a defeat.
Israel’s policy against Palestine is a strategy pursued by NATO
The Turkish state was founded at a time when the world was divided into two poles and the two poles were moving closer to each other (1). It has benefited more than any other state from this constellation. During the state founding process it acted politically and benefited from both blocs.
As the antagonism between poles intensified in the 1930s and World War II began, the Turkish state took its place in the bloc of capitalist modernity led by the United States and later taking shape as NATO. When NATO was founded, Turkey became a member of this organization. As is well known, NATO became the power that determined world politics and developed corresponding strategies. The founding of Israel was also strategically favored by the Western powers. NATO is the center where all Middle East policy is shaped. So Israeli policy towards Palestine is a NATO strategy and is supported by NATO. Without the support of the US and NATO, Israel would not be able to pursue this policy. Just like the policy of genocide against the Kurds, the policy of genocide against the Palestinians would also be unthinkable without the support of NATO. As you can see, the Turkish state and Israel are surprisingly similar in many ways. Turkey benefits from interstate contradictions, both because of its geopolitical location and because it is a member of NATO. Therefore, Turkey does not want the contradictions between the states to weaken, because that would weaken its own position. One of the contradictions that Turkey benefited from was that between the United States and the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, Turkey benefited greatly from this contradiction. It implemented its policies with the full support of NATO.
This support continued even after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Because the world entered a new process, World War III, and NATO continued to exist despite the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The international plot against Abdullah Öcalan is also an expression of support for Turkey. At the same time, this was also a return for the Turkish state’s actions within the framework of the policies of the USA and NATO. Because all interventions in the Middle East took place within this framework. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, this policy was pursued as part of the Third World War. Since Turkey acts in accordance with US and NATO policies, it continues to receive their support. On the other hand, Turkey benefited greatly from the Russo-Ukrainian war. Because this war increased the contradictions between states. Relations between the USA and Russia and between Russia and Europe are tense. On the one hand, Turkey has benefited from these tensions as a NATO member; on the other hand, it has received economic and political support from Russia by maintaining its relations. Although it seems contradictory, Russia has supported the Turkish government despite its NATO membership. The reason is the given conditions and its own situation.
One of the contradictions from which Turkey benefited the most was the contradiction between Israel and the Arab states. As is well known, after the founding of the State of Israel, one of the most important dimensions of the Middle East policy of the USA and NATO was the security of the State of Israel. One of the most important pillars of this policy was the presence and support of the Turkish state. In fact, Turkey was one of the first states to recognize Israel. The official policy of the State of Israel was the genocide of the Palestinian people and the establishment of a state based solely on Judaism. This is also a policy of the USA and NATO. The role of the Turkish state was to support this policy of Israel in the Middle East. On the other hand, such a policy meant the beginning of an endless Jewish-Arab war.
Since the immigration of Jewish people to the Palestinian territories, this conflict-ridden situation has continued to this day. Current events are of course part and continuation of these developments. The Turkish state has benefited immensely from this conflict-ridden situation between the Israeli state and the Arab states. By siding with Israel, it has received support from Israel, the US and NATO. It has even occasionally received support from Arab states in conflict with Israel.
Undoubtedly, the Turkish state carried out the policy of genocide against the Kurds with all this support. It has already entered into these relationships in order to receive the appropriate support. This genocide is also the reason why the Turkish state joined NATO. Whenever there are events in the world or in the region that strain political relations, some, usually among those in power, say that Turkey could or should leave NATO. These statements are unfounded. The Turkish state will never leave NATO. It knows very well that it cannot carry out it policy of genocide against the Kurds without NATO. Everyone knows that.
After the Turkish state attacked Rojava, the Israeli attack on Gaza began
The Israeli attacks on Gaza and Palestine since October 7, 2023 have revealed the hypocritical reality of the Turkish state and the AKP-MHP government in many aspects.
The fact that the Turkish media keeps the issue so high on the agenda is partly due to the need to cover up this hypocrisy. As you will remember, the Turkish state carried out a major attack on Rojava, using the attack in Ankara (2) as a pretext. Before the attack, the foreign and defense ministers publicly stated that Rojava’s entire infrastructure was now in their sights. And then the attack on Rojava was begun. During the air raids, every type of underground and above-ground structure was bombed and hit. These included dams, power plants, hospitals, schools, settlements, grocery stores, oil refineries, workshops, factories, etc. Dozens of people lost their lives. The attacks are still ongoing. In fact, the Turkish state has been carrying out these attacks for years. The difference is that this time they were more intense and violent. Five days after these attacks by the Turkish state, the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip began. While the Turkish state is taking such a stance towards Rojava, Tayyip Erdoğan stated without blushing that the attacks on the Gaza Strip should stop and the places should not be attacked from the air. However, what Tayyip Erdoğan is doing is no different from what Netanyahu is doing. In many ways it’s even worse. But why is the Turkish state concerned about the situation in Gaza, and how can it express this unchallenged in public when it is conducting an operation that slaughters the Kurds?
Everyone has to ask themselves these two questions and find the right answers
Only then will the truth about the Turkish state, the AKP-MHP government and Tayyip Erdoğan be revealed. The situation of public opinion in Turkey will then also be understood.
The only reason why the Turkish state is concerned about the situation of the Palestinians, which has been aggravated by the attacks of Hamas and whose consequences for the region cannot be foreseen, is the possibility of the emergence of new balances of power which could endanger its policy of genocide against the Kurds. The Turkish state cannot bear the thought of this possibility. Such a situation would be extremely problematic, especially for the AKP-MHP government, which has based its entire existence on the genocide against the Kurds. In this respect, this possibility worries them very much. Contrary to its portrayal on television and other media, Turkey otherwise does not care about the suffering of the people of Gaza and Palestine, the loss of Palestinian lives and the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes. It is the requirement of state policy to hide the real concern and thus obscure it. This dirty form of politics has increased with the AKP-MHP government. Almost everything is distorted in Turkey, even small things.
This makes society incapable of recognizing the truth. This is the way fascism rules society. In reality, the Turkish state is concerned with the policy of genocide against the Kurds. If the Turkish state sees that the current situation and its consequences do not endanger the policy of genocide against the Kurds, that it can benefit from the new developments or that a corresponding offer is made to it, it will lose this fear. In such a situation, Turkey would work towards further development of the conflict and war situation.
This has always been the attitude of the Turkish state. The Turkish state definitely does not want an end to the Arab-Jewish conflict in the Middle East and a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As tensions between Israel and the Arab states decreased in recent years and agreements were reached between them, the Turkish state was extremely concerned about this. It accused the Arab states of betraying the Palestinian cause. The Arab states have not taken a stance that serves the Palestinian cause.
But the Turkish state’s concern is not with the Palestinian cause, but with the diminishing contradictions in the Middle East and the resulting waning support for its policy of genocide against the Kurds. The renewed tensions do not worry the Turkish state. If it knows that a situation will not harm its policy of genocide against the Kurds, then it works to escalate the situation. Therefore, we should not doubt that the Turkish state and the AKP-MHP government work towards exactly that.
Only on the basis of Kurdish reality can the truth in Turkey be revealed and understood
Since the bombing of Gaza began, criticism has developed that the AKP-MHP government is not sincere on the Palestine issue and is deceiving society. This criticism is voiced by some Turkish intellectuals and journalists. There is no doubt that this criticism is correct, but because it ignores the Kurdish reality, it is inadequate and does not have the necessary impact.
Unfortunately, due to the influence of nationalism and government pressure, the truth cannot be fully understood and expressed. That is why no positive developments can be initiated in Turkey. It is clear that the Turkish intellectual, left, socialist and democratic movements are inadequate in this regard. This also applies to the area of democratic politics, because it is also their responsibility to develop it. The truth in Turkey can only be revealed and understood by taking into account the Kurdish reality. Even if the truth is spoken, it will have no effect and no result. Even saying from morning to night that the AKP-MHP government, Tayyip Erdoğan and the religious movements in Turkey do not care about the Palestinian cause will not have a significant impact on society. Because reality remains hidden. Anyone can pretend to support the Palestinian cause by wearing a thousand and one masks. The way to prevent and change this is to represent the cause of the Kurdish people, criticize and question the state and the AKP-MHP government on this basis. If the fascist leader Tayyip Erdoğan says that the bombing of Gaza must stop, Turkey would have to say with a loud voice, “Then why are you bombing Rojava?” If that were said, then the government’s mask would fall, Turkish society would understand reality and be able to assess the situation accordingly. This is what is not happening in Turkey but is necessary.
The consequences of the situation that has arisen are now being intensively discussed worldwide. However, these discussions are far from showing the fundamental causes of the problem and the ways to solve it. The discussions are mainly about the outcome and what might happen after the war. However, it is clear who wants what. So everyone will strive to carry out its will; the one with the greatest social, economic, political and military power is more likely to achieve its own goals. That’s easy to say and not a false statement. But if you ask yourself whether all this can solve the existing problems, the answer to that will be negative. We have seen that the balance of power in the Middle East is very delicate. In such a phase of the Third World War, playing with the constellations in the Middle East and the intention of war can lead to an unpredictable course of the conflict. The scenarios proposed are worrying in this sense. The goal of the State of Israel is clear. It wants to push the genocide against the Palestinians further with every step. It is clear that it is trying to take advantage of the current conditions. It is currently conducting an intense bombardment against Gaza, but it is not known whether it will limit himself to this.
The USA and Great Britain have brought their warships to the Middle East. These are the largest war fleets in the world. Additionally, the US government has committed enormous resources to this situation. According to their own information, an unprecedented amount of funding was requested and approved by the US Congress. It is also stated that a significant part of these funds will be used for the war in Ukraine. Iran and the structures it has created in Lebanon and Syria that are close to Iran are the target. The contradictions with Iran are well known. On the other hand, China has interfered in politics and the constellations of forces in the Middle East in recent years. China played an important role in the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement, which is considered very important. It is obvious that the US does not like this situation. Russia is involved in a war in Ukraine.
There has never been a lack of war in the Middle East. Now a basis has been created that will strengthen it even further. The Turkish state is already trying to exacerbate the problems and create a conflict-ridden constellation in order to advance the genocide against the Kurds. It is now widely known that it wants to invade Rojava and eliminate the order there, that is, the system of democratic autonomy. The goal of the Turkish state is not limited to occupying Rojava and liquidating the Rojava Revolution. His goal is to drive the Kurds out of Rojava. It also wants to drive out the Kurds who are resisting in other parts of Kurdistan and continue to fight for the freedom of Kurdistan. In this way it wants to achieve its ultimate goal, the genocide of the Kurds. It wants to use the situation that has now arisen to do this.
The solution is the development of the democratic nation
This is the situation in which capitalist modernity finds itself. It has never taken any other path than the intensification of the war. Therefore, peoples must organize themselves and develop their struggles according to this reality. Of course, it is not the states that will solve the problems, but the democratic social struggles. There is no way to solve the problems in the Middle East with the state and nation-state mentality. The root of all today’s difficulties in the Middle East, especially the Palestinian and Kurdish “question”, is the state-fixated mentality and its nation-state variant. The solution can only lie in overcoming this mentality and developing the democratic nation. This is a method of life and solution that is based on the democratic system of society by overcoming all types of monistic understanding of the nation state. What is needed in the Middle East is the development of such an understanding of life and solution. When Abdullah Öcalan introduced the concept of the democratic nation, he did so to solve the problems of the Middle East.
Therefore, we must think about and fight for the solution of the “Palestinian question”, which is one of the most fundamental problems of the Middle East, through a democratic nation.
The Kurdish people have been fighting for their freedom for decades. With the fight against the international conspiracy and the new mentality and paradigm developed by Abdullah Öcalan, it has now taken this fight to the international level. The struggle of the Palestinian people in particular and the struggle for freedom and democracy in the Middle East and throughout the world can lead to greater unity and solidarity between the struggles for freedom and democracy, which will lead to a real solution to the problems.
The democratic struggle of the Jewish people against the official state mentality is also very important. Despite the beating of the drum for war and genocide, it is extremely important that this idea and this struggle develop among the Jewish people. Added to this is the struggle of the other peoples of the Middle East.
It will be possible to develop a perspective of democratic nationhood and the brotherhood of peoples and to overcome the problems through solidarity and common struggle.
This article is part of the Palestine Series which is a digital series of articles focusing on the Palestinian question. More upcoming articles will be published on the website. Follow us on X and Instagram to keep updated.
References
1. After the October Revolution, the end of the civil war and the founding of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union gradually concluded various international treaties over the course of the 1920s, including with Western countries.
2. PKK attack on the Turkish Interior Ministry in Ankara on October 1, 2023
