Nationalism And The Kurdish National Liberation Movement

Written by the Kurdistan Information Bureau, Germany
Translated by the Kurdistan Committee of Canada

     There has been an intense discussion recently concerning
nationalism in the Kurdish liberation movement in general and the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in particular. Even leftist
publications like 'Konkret', 'Radikal', and the daily newspaper
'junge Welt' have printed articles over the last few months about
nationalism in the PKK, in which they have accused the PKK of being
"nationalist", "dictatorial", "populist", "anti-democratic", and so
on. These accusations against the Kurdish liberation movement are
nothing new.
     Without getting into the background of these accusations for
the moment, we would like to point out that these criticisms which
are being brought forward against the Kurdish liberation movement
by left-wing German magazines and newspapers contain the exact same
sweeping generalizations which are used against us by the bourgeois
Western press and the Turkish state media.
     This text of ours is designed to show how these critiques of
the Kurdish national liberation movement are very superficial. The
content of these criticisms and the manner in which they are levied
against the PKK make it clear that the authors of these critiques
really know very little about the movement and its publications. Of
course, it should be noted that almost all PKK/ERNK publications
are either in Turkish or Kurdish. The only materials in German are
'Kurdistan Report' and the 'Kurdistan Rundbrief', which certainly
isn't much at all. Perhaps it would be very significant if more
publications of the Kurdish national liberation movement were
translated into German and published, for example the books by PKK
General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan on a variety of different themes.
We are sure that this would clear up several questions.

The PKK Is A Socialist Movement!

     How often must the question be asked, is the PKK a nationalist
movement? This point is raised because the PKK sees itself as a
national liberation movement and it expresses this in its
publications. But what does the PKK mean when it speaks of a
"nation"? How does the German left deal with this concept? We would
like to examine these questions from different perspectives.
     First, it should be stated that the concept of "nation" now
carries with it a great deal of negative connotations, especially
within the German left, because of historical experiences with Nazi
Germany. These assumptions are not necessarily false, considering
the racist-fascist ideology of the Nazis, for whom the German
nation was the embodiment of the highest race to whom all other
nations must subject themselves. Therefore, the "nation" in Nazi
Germany implied reactionary nationalism. Reactionary nationalism,
as a form of bourgeois ideology, arises from the historical
position of the role of the imperialist bourgeoisie. It expresses
itself as national arrogance, in other words by misunderstanding
and despising other nations and glorifying one's own nation and the
imperialist society which is represented in national form. In this
sense, bourgeois nationalism bases itself on capitalist production
relationships on the one hand, namely the exploitation of that
nation's own masses, especially the working class, and on the
exploitation of the nations of the so-called Third World on the
other. Bourgeois nationalism, as it is represented today in
European states, expresses its reactionary nature most clearly in
the exploitation of the "South", in other words the nations of
Africa, Latin America, and Asia. By exploiting other nations (cheap
sources of labour, raw materials, etc.) the bourgeoisie in Europe
can afford to keep the standard of living of its working class
relatively high as well while at the same time creating a strong
middle class. That how the monopoly owners who make up just 2% of
the population are able to maintain their status in the society.
     A socialist national consciousness must be distinguished from
reactionary nationalism, particularly the extreme form which was
practiced in Nazi Germany. The Kurdish national liberation movement
uses the term "nation" to represent a people with a shared
language, culture, history, and territory. In this sense the term
is closely tied to social relations and must be looked at in its
historical context, in contrast to bourgeois concepts of "nation",
in which the nation is separated from the social relations and is
not judged according to its historical creation and development.
That's why the Kurdish national liberation movement places such an
emphasis on the history of Kurdish people and society in its
publications.
     According to the publications of the Kurdish national
liberation movement, the Kurdish people are exploited as a nation.
In his book 'Kurdish Reality Since The 19th Century And The PKK
Movement', which was published by Agri-Verlag in Cologne in January
1994, PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan states the following:

"Due to the increasing influence of the monopolies in the
capitalist economy in the 1970s, the economic exploitation of
Kurdistan was accelerated, because it is well known that one of the
most significant characteristics of monopolies is their tendency to
expand outwards. Turkish monopoly owners were aware of the fact
that they could not compete with imperialist monopolies abroad,
which is why they decided to utilize Kurdistan as an area for
exploitation. They wanted to exploit the country so as to get out
of their economic crisis. In the same way as imperialist countries
solve their crises by exploiting so-called Third World countries,
Turkish monopolies tried to solve their crisis through the
exploitation of the Turkish working class on the one hand and of
Kurdistan on the other. Since capitalism had not previously been
introduced into Kurdistan and since the Kurdish people were denied
any economic, democratic, or national rights, it was easy for the
Turkish monopolies to serve their own interests and colonize the
country. Agriculture and grazing became oriented towards the
interests of the Turkish monopolies and the exploitation of natural
resources was intensified."

     The Kurdish national liberation movement found the Kurdish
society in the 1970s in a strongly feudalistic phase. As the
analysis cited above shows, capital did intrude into Kurdistan
after 1970, yet this did not alter the social relations, which were
already based on exploitation. In Kurdistan, Kurdish feudal lords
collaborated with Turkish capitalists. These people acted as the
Turkish state's strongest supporters in Kurdistan. In the PKK's
'Manifesto', published in 1978, the following is written:

"What's more, the Kurdish feudal lords welcomed these developments,
since the limited exploitation offered to them under a feudal
system was not sufficient, therefore they gladly collaborated with
foreign (Turkish) capitalists in order to increase their share of
the exploitation."

     The Kurdish national liberation movement considers Kurdish
feudal lords to be important targets for attack because of their
collaboration with Turkish capitalists which makes them important
pillars of the Turkish state in Kurdistan.
     Both of the above quotations make it clear that the Kurdish
national liberation movement uses dialectical materialism in order
to analyze Kurdish society and history. This fact alone excludes an
understanding of nationalism in the sense of bourgeois nationalism.
     It should also been made perfectly clear that the PKK is
fighting for the national liberation of the Kurdish people and is
striving towards a socialist society in which people live together
in equality. It should also be noted that, in comparison to other
left-wing Turkish and Kurdish organizations, most workers and
peasants are organized in the PKK.
     The Kurdish liberation movement also makes use of the phrase
"patriotism" on many occasions. For the Kurds, "patriotism" means
recognizing their national identity and resisting exploitation and
repression. This can in no way be compared to German patriotism,
which, again, is connected to bourgeois nationalism.
     Patriotism in Kurdistan is a result of the fact that the
Kurdish people, ever since the beginning of the liberation
struggle, have consistently denied their identity as a distinct
people due to the Turkish state's policy of assimilation and denial
and they have failed to recognize that they are exploited and
repressed as a people. Recognizing one's national identity in
Kurdistan doesn't just mean recognizing a national characteristic
but also recognizing the fact of exploitation, hence a class
characteristic. Because of this, Kurdish patriotism entails both of
these characteristics.
     The fact that other peoples, such as Turks, Armenians,
Assyrians, and others, have fought and continue to fight in the
ranks of the PKK makes it clear that the Kurdish liberation
movement is in no way comparable to a bourgeois nationalist
movement.

Women In The National Liberation Struggle

     Now we would like to comment on an article entitled
"Kurdistan: What Chances Exist For The National Liberation
Struggle?" which was published in the 12/94 edition of 'Radikal'.
A part of this article was also printed in the 21 December 1994
edition of the leftist daily paper 'junge Welt'. One passage quoted
a statement from the Patriotic Women's Association of Kurdistan
(YJWK) concerning the situation of Kurdish women in Germany:

"The women here (in Germany) have quickly learned that it's not
acceptable for a man to hit a woman, otherwise the police will do
something about it. After the women have quickly learned this, they
use that as an opportunity to act as they wish. But this leads to
the degeneration of these women. Their free environment is often
misused. Chaos in the family grows worse. And if the woman has to
work at a job as well, the situation grows even worse. The women do
everything possible to achieve their so-called equal rights without
ever trying to see clearly if their conduct is right or wrong.
Naturally this ends in tragedy. But the situation is much different
for families with close ties to their country, Kurdistan, and who
recognize that their own liberation is tied to the liberation of
their homeland. These families, who work together with Kurdish
associations and who strive to maintain their identity, culture,
and language, don't have such problems. They have come to realize
that liberation is only possible in a liberated country. This is
true for the liberation of women as well."

The German authors of the critique then state the following:

"It's clear from this that no matter what the circumstances are -
even here in Germany - that national identity counts for more than
the actual social situation."

     He or she is therefore trying to assert that the Kurdish
liberation struggles places more emphasis on national concerns than
on the social situation. This assertion is inherently contradictory
because the social situation of the Kurdish woman as well as the
Kurdish man is directly linked to their national exploitation and
oppression. The national exploitation and oppression of Kurdish
society in the primary reason for the exploitation and oppression
of Kurdish women. And in the regressive and feudalistic Kurdish
society, the woman is oppressed by the man and so she must suffer
from a double oppression. Therefore, the Kurdish national
liberation movement has made the liberation of Kurdish women one of
its priorities. As the problems in the countries of the so-called
Third World show, a society's standard of living depends greatly on
the education of women because women can exert more control over
the birth rate and care better for the education of children, since
caring for children is one of the roles assigned to women in
today's society. Men, of course, carry just as much responsibility
in all of this, but the woman's role is much more important.
     Therefore, a necessary prerequisite for an equal coexistence
of women and men is that they must carry equal responsibilities. It
is also clear that the liberation of women is not just the task of
Kurdish women, but rather it is also the concern of Kurdish men.
European viewpoints have turned the liberation of women into a
"woman's question", something which men play no role in. This is a
typically bourgeois way of approaching the problem. It is
unrealistic to strive towards an equal society if the men and women
can't work together towards this goal.
     But how is it possible to create a Kurdish society where the
women and men can live together in equality? This is a question to
which there has not yet been an universally valid answer. The
Kurdish national liberation movement has dealt with this issue on
both a theoretical as well as a practical level and analyzed the
results. From this came the decision to organize the women involved
in the armed struggle into a women's army.
     The accusations made against the PKK in the 'Radikal' article
can be refuted by the fact that the Kurdish liberation movement is
the only movement in the Middle East which has taken practical
steps to achieve an equal status for women in social life. Women
today can assume leadership positions within the liberation
movement. In this way, women have influence over social
developments. That's why there have been such dramatic changes in
Kurdish society within just a short period of time. Today, Kurdish
men can't just hit women at will or rule over them like kings. In
any case, they have to answer to the authority of the Kurdish
liberation movement. These developments have also led to women
going to join the guerrilla in order to fight for their freedom and
equality.
     The quotation from the YJWK representatives concerning the
situation of Kurdish women in Germany must be seen against this
background. But the quotation is trying to make a further point,
namely that women in Western bourgeois societies have a false
notion of equality. The first part of the quotation is trying to
emphasize the point that women in the Western world have become
"degenerated" to the level of consumer items, and the second part
states that women in the Kurdish liberation struggle are fighting
for the national liberation of the society and, therefore, for
women's liberation as well.
     It's not possible for us to discuss the women's issue in
detail in this article, otherwise we'd become overwhelmed. But the
publications of the Kurdish national liberation movement deal
extensively with this theme from a variety of perspectives. Many
questions are dealt with, for example: What is love? What function
does the family have in the society? What should the relationship
between men and women look like in the Kurdish liberation struggle,
or in the future Kurdish society? Certainly the answers to such
questions are also relevant to people in the West.

The PKK's Vision Of Socialism

     As we stated above, the PKK is a socialist movement. Now the
question arises as to what the Kurdish national liberation movement
defines socialism to be. This question is significant, particularly
since we are living in a period directly following the collapse of
real-existing socialism. We would like to stress the evaluation of
PKK General Secretary Abdullah Ocalan, who wrote an article
entitled "The Ideological-Political Questions Of Socialism And The
Solutions Which The PKK Would Bring About" in the November 1994
edition of the magazine 'Serxwebun'.
     In reference to the development of consciousness in
individuals, religion, and morality, the General Secretary of the
PKK writes the following:

"There are important stages in the development of consciousness. I
would like to briefly discuss this. At the beginning, human
consciousness was very underdeveloped and displayed primitive,
regressive thought. This was expressed in the form of witchcraft,
magic, and religion. Both magic and religious tendencies are the
beginning stages of consciousness. Religion is a form of
consciousness, but it's a very underdeveloped stage of rational
discipline, as we know today. But religion has always existed and
it always will. The same is true for witchcraft and magic. The
causes of these phenomena are closely linked to the existence of
humanity. Can a human being be explained in an entirely rational
manner? Can all of his or her actions be based on reason? These are
philosophical questions. There are several theories concerning all
of this and they all develop on a scientific foundation. But it
seems unrealistic to suppose that dreams, dogma, and religion will
one day all disappear. These are part of human nature. Human nature
requires us to make space for dreams, dogma, and religious values,
as well as for ethics and morality. If a certain type of moral code
is not developed then it's not possible for humanity to develop
further or exist any longer. The crisis of socialism is likewise
connected to morality. The fact that real-existing socialism failed
to deal with questions of religion and morality was the major cause
of its collapse."

     This evaluation makes it clear that Ocalan has deeply examined
questions of socialism, in particular how they relate to human
psychology. According to Ocalan, people can't simply be made to
conform to a dogmatic scheme. He makes it clear that certain
peculiar aspects of humanity, for example dreams and religious
values, can't simply be abolished. According to Ocalan, the
contemporary socialist movement must seriously concern itself with
these issues and find a solution.
     In the same article, Ocalan writes:

"Along with the general scientific ideology, which developed in the
time of capitalism, there is also the socialist ideology. To
separate this form of socialism from the other kinds, it should be
referred to as scientific socialism. Why scientific? The 19th
century was the age of science and there was not a single field
which science did not affect. This development also had an impact
on the social sciences as well. Socialism, therefore, is an
expression of social sciences. That's why it should be called
scientific socialism, or, in other words, that's why socialism is
scientific. Socialism considers itself to be the most scientific
ideology ever. There are several reasons for this, the main reason
being that it is closely linked to the working class. The ruling
classes are forced to lie and to distort reality, but the working
class has to be realistic, that is, scientific. The working class
has no reason to lie so as to exploit people. That's why the
working class has an inclination towards science. (...) People
naturally seek Utopias. But Utopias don't come about on their own.
That's why it's not possible to conceive of socialism without
conceiving of a Utopia. In the end, all ideologies are Utopias and
socialism needs to be such a Utopia as well. Real-existing
socialism tried to overcome this, it sought to create socialism
without a Utopia, without practicing morality, and therefore it
collapsed."

     Ocalan clearly distances his brand of socialism from real-
existing socialism, as it was practiced in the Soviet Union, for
example. The General Secretary of the PKK advocates scientific
socialism, one which deals with all questions facing humanity,
including morality, science, culture, the question of women,
democracy, protecting the environment, and so on. According to
Ocalan, this is the only way scientific socialism can provide an
alternative to the capitalist system.
     In any case, according to the General Secretary of the PKK,
scientific socialism is a Utopia which we can all strive to create.

(Translated from 'Agitare Bene' #75, March 1995)

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2487 Kaladar Ave. Suite 203		Fax: (613) 733-0090
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