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KCK representatives have repeatedly criticized the Middle East policy of NATO and its member states. What kind of strategy do its leading members USA, Britain, Germany and France pursue in the Middle East?

NATO was founded during the Cold War. The goal of this organization was to find ways to work against the Soviet Union and eventually defeat it. This was the foundation NATO was built on. Its main goal was to spread the system of Capitalist Modernity all over the world and strengthen its hegemony. It was it a completely ideological organization since it predicated itself on the promotion of Capitalist Modernity as a measure against socialism. At the same time, NATO predicated itself on the protection of the interests of the most powerful states. The single most important reason for its foundation was the fight against socialism, the oppressed people, and the forces of freedom and democracy. In the past, it stood against the Soviet Union in order to prevent its influence and progress. At the same time, NATO was also active in various countries against all the local opposition forces that took a stance against state oppression, dictatorships, and fascism by waging a struggle for democracy and freedom. The goal was to prevent the success of these opposition forces, to curb their progress in the respective countries, and to deny them access to power. NATO worked to prevent such developments.

In order to achieve its goal, this organization organized numerous military coups and murders. It killed opposition leaders and targeted all those who represented the forces of freedom, democracy and socialism. It crushed these movements by targeting and killing their leading figures. NATO used oppression, imprisonment, and murder against these opposition forces so that in movements of socialism, democracy and freedom would not develop, grow stronger and gain power anywhere. Thus, NATO wanted to prevent the Soviet Union from increasing its zone of influence. In order to reach these goals, NATO used all kinds of dirty methods. In Italy, for example, they build an organization called GLADIO to prevent the leftist movements from gaining power. In Italy and other countries socialist movements had grown strong and were looking for ways to gain power. GLADIO’s goal was to forestall such developments and they succeeded to prevent them in Italy. NATO founded GLADIO not only in Italy but also in many other NATO-member states and even in some countries that were not part of the organization. GLADIO`s single most important purpose was to carry out murders. By murdering people it spread fear, inflicted pressure, and thus curbed the progress of movements which promoted socialism, democracy, and freedom.

Our movement took a clear stance against NATO policy from the very beginning on. Because NATO`s policy was completely against the oppressed peoples and against the movement of socialism, freedom and democracy. NATO spread terror all over the world. We didn`t only criticize and take a stance against NATO’s policies across the world and regard them as dangerous, but we also criticized NATO’s policies regarding the Kurds and Kurdistan. And we are still criticizing it today. We do so because NATO sided with the Turkish state against our movement. It provided full support for the Turkish state in order to prevent our movement from gaining strength and achieving its goals. The Turkish state has attacked and waged a war against us, it has committed many murders and carried out many massacres. NATO’s support for Turkey has been crucial for making all this happen. It were not solely Turkey’s but NATO’s power and resources that have made all this possible. Since the very beginning, Turkey has fought against our movement and our people with the help of NATO and the European Union. And it still continues to do so today. We criticize NATO policy and will continue to criticize it because it has not yet given up this policy.

It is well-known that after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire a struggle to build a new Turkey was waged. Those who built the Turkish Republic formed an alliance with Britain and made certain deals with them. As a result of these deals, Turkey handed over Mosul and Kirkuk to the system of Capitalist Modernity. At the time, the British represented this system. So what did Turkey gain in return for handing over these areas? The deal was that if Turkey handed over Mosul and Kirkuk, they wouldn’t stop Turkey from continuing its genocidal policy against the Kurds. After it had handed them over to Britain, the Turkish state carried out genocides against many peoples in Turkey. Eventually, they attacked the Kurds with all their might in order to annihilate them. After the deal over Mosul and Kirkuk, the existence of the Republic of Turkey was recognized as a part of the Treaty of Lausanne. After Lausanne and the recognition of the republic, Turkey received even more support for the genocidal policy it had already been pursuing against the Kurds. Turkey benefited from this support and used it to forcefully displace, assimilate and massacre the Kurds – to carry out a genocide against them.

They committed all these atrocities and crimes in order to be able to build their Turkish nation state. They considered the existence of peoples like Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Ezidis or Assyrians as an obstacle to the nation-state of Turkey. All those peoples were almost completely annihilated in the region. The many massacres that were carried out against them crushed all their strength. After all these peoples were eliminated, they turned to the Kurds which were the only nation left. They, too, were considered a huge obstacle in the way of the Turkish nation-state. So, with the help of the system of Capitalist Modernity the nation state of Turkey started to pursue a limitless policy of genocide against the Kurds.

Among the many possible reasons behind Turkey’s joining NATO, the primary one was to get NATO’s support for continuing its genocidal policy against the Kurds. The plan was that Turkey would thus be able to achieve its goals and build the Turkish nation-state. Turkey used its NATO membership not only for pursuing its own interests, but also to develop relations with the European Union. It wanted to use both the support of NATO and the EU in order to carry out a genocide against the Kurds and thus achieve its goals. This was the main motivation for Turkey`s joining NATO and developing relations with the EU.

The EU and NATO have always backed the genocidal policy of Turkey and have supported it in all possible ways. They have never done anything against this policy and the massacres Turkey has carried out against the different peoples – especially the Kurdish people – and the democratic forces. NATO and the EU have always looked the other way and have even directly supported Turkey`s policy. They have done so because both the EU and NATO predicate themselves on their own interests which have been closely connected with Turkey for a long time. Because of Turkey`s NATO membership they did not do anything against its genocidal policies. Turkey directly benefited from that and was able to fully carry out its policy against the Kurds. That is also why Turkey is still pursuing this policy today and why both NATO and the EU continue to remain silent. They have directly associated their own interests with Turkey and offer extensive support to this country. Today, Turkey still benefits from all this and continues to pursue its policy against the Kurds.

When we started our struggle for the freedom of the Kurdish people and Kurdistan, we were not confronted solely with attacks by the Turkish state. Besides Turkey, NATO and the EU also stood against us. That is why our struggle has been so intense and why we have paid such a high price during its course. The main reason for this is that NATO and the EU have always sided with Turkey. They have not only protected the borders of Turkey but have also done everything they could to prevent political changes in Turkey itself. They have always wanted to forestall the development of a democratic movement in Turkey. They considered the existence of such a democratic movement contrary to their own interests. In their view, a democratic force in Turkey would work against them. That is why NATO and the EU didn`t want any changes in Turkey`s political landscape as far as democratization was concerned. They provided all support necessary to Turkey to enable it to block the development of a democratic movement and fought as much against the Kurdish movement as they did against the democratic movement. This was what their interests in Turkey necessitated them to do. Turkey benefited from this policy and constantly clamped down on both the Kurdish Freedom Movement and the democratic forces in the country.

It is well-known that a military coup took place in Turkey in 1980. Its goal was to crush the Kurdish Freedom Movement and the democratic forces so that they could use Turkey according to their interests in the Middle East. That is why they organized this military coup. After the coup, America [US official Paul Henze] stated that “our boys have done it”, referring to the military coup in Turkey. With this official statement they showed that America and NATO were the driving forces behind the military coup that had been carried out by Kenan Evren. They wanted Turkey to play a certain role in the Middle East. This military coup mainly targeted the Kurdish movement because they regarded the Kurdish Freedom Movement a major obstacle for their plans. They also considered the democratic forces of Turkey an obstacle. Their goal was to crush them both and thus get Turkey to act according to the interests of Capitalist Modernity in the Middle East. That was their main goal behind the military coup and they have continued to pursue this policy ever since.

In order to isolate the Kurdish Freedom Movement and thus deal a heavy blow to it, NATO murdered Olof Palme [Swedish Prime Minister]. It murdered him and later put the blame on the PKK in order to stop it from gaining influence. They used the murder of Olof Palme to put the PKK on the terror list and developed a policy accordingly. They have pursued this policy to date. Additionally, NATO targeted the Pope in Italy in order to legitimize the Turkish military regime of Kenan Evren. With this attempted assassination they wanted to legitimize the system they had built in Turkey and thus prevent anybody from taking a stance against it. They wanted to win the support of everybody for their system in Turkey. As an organisation, NATO has been developed to target the peoples,the socialist movement and the movement for democracy and freedom. It has taken its shape accordingly. NATO has absolutely nothing to do with democracy.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO underwent some internal changes. At the time, it could have also changed its policy regarding Turkey, the Kurdish Freedom Movement and the democratic forces in the country. NATO introduced changes in its policy regarding many countries all over the world. It also dissolved GLADIO, the organization it had built to carry out murders. But despite all this, NATO neither dissolved GLADIO in Turkey nor changed its policy for the country. Instead, NATO continued the policy it had been pursuing since its very beginning. Why didn’t they make changes? They weren`t able to do so because of the dirty relations they had developed with Turkey. Turkey benefited from this situation and increased its attacks on the Kurdish movement and the movement for democracy and freedom. Actually, NATO could have changed its policy. But its own interests didn`t allow it to do so. Because it had established very dirty relations with Turkey. NATO had pursued a very dirty policy together with Turkey both within the country and abroad. That was why NATO was not able to just give up its policy. If they had done so and had stopped supporting Turkey, Turkey could have leaked all their dirty relations and deeds. That was what NATO was afraid of. This fear and their own interests did not allow NATO to change its policy in Turkey against the Kurds.

It is well-known that NATO has intervened in a lot of countries on the grounds of human rights and democracy. But it does not really defend human rights or humanity. They don`t intervene for the sake of democracy but simply use this as a justification for pursuing their own interests. By talking about human rights and democracy they just want to deceive everybody. They use these justifications for carrying out their interventions aimed at securing their own interests. NATO wants to constantly increase its ability to pursue its own interests in the countries where it intervenes.

Turkey carries out all kinds of attacks against the Kurds and the democratic forces. But NATO remains silent. If the things that Turkey does to the democratic and socialist forces and especially to the Kurds had happened in any other country, NATO would have intervened immediately. But when it comes to Turkey they not only avoid interventions but close their eyes and ears. They simply claim not to have seen or heard anything. But in fact they secretly provide Turkey with all kinds of support. Based on their support Turkey is able to pursue its policy against the Kurds and the democratic forces.

A lot of European states are NATO members and one major task of NATO is to protect Europe. It is NATO which defines Europe’s policy for Turkey and the Kurds. This policy determined by NATO constitutes the basis for how Europe deals with them. Today, Turkey has taken control of many Kurdish cities in Rojava. It has occupied these areas and continues to change their demographics. But Europe remains silent. Turkey attacks Sinjar, Mexmur and the Medya Defense Zones [in South Kurdistan]. But Europe remains silent. In Turkey itself Kurds are faced with a very dirty policy. Turkey carries out a genocide against the Kurds and puts heavy pressure on the democratic forces. But Europe remains silent. Why doesn`t Europe do anything? Because it is NATO that determines the European policy towards the Kurds. NATO provides support to Turkey for its policy against the Kurds. That is why Europe remains silent and closes its eyes.

Among the NATO member states Germany has taken over the responsibility for protecting Turkey. This task was given to Germany by NATO. Germany, on behalf of NATO, defends Turkey against the Kurdish Freedom Movement and the movements for democracy and freedom. That is also the reason why Turkey can pursue its dirty genocidal policies. Without this support by NATO and especially Germany, Turkey would not be able to pursue this policy.

Historically speaking, the Middle East and Europe have always been closely connected to each other. They have been very close to each other and have thus greatly influenced each other. This is why both NATO and the USA – the leading force within NATO – focus a lot on Europe and the Middle East. They do so because they want to protect Europe and Israel. Natural resources and oil are not the only reason why the USA and NATO focus so much on the Middle East. They constitute just one reason out of many. The USA and NATO want to establish their hegemony over the Middle East. They want to establish full control over the natural resources in the Middle East and at the same time protect Israel and Europe. This is the main reason for the USA`s constant interventions in the Middle East.

The USA is the leading force of Capitalist Modernity on a global scale. They want to protect this system and guarantee its survival. Therefore, they target everything that represents a threat to this system. They fight against every movement that develops in opposition to this system and wants to build alternatives to the current system – no matter where in the world. They consider this their responsibility. They consider it their duty to play this role because they are the leading force of the current system and are thus expected to protect it. The Middle East strategy of the USA is based on what I have just elaborated on, because the Middle East constitutes the basis of the whole world.

Whoever wants to establish hegemony over the world needs to gain control over the Middle East. Today, an alternative to the hegemony of the USA and the system of Capitalist Modernity is developing in the region. And they consider this dangerous. That is why the USA attacks this alternative and tries to destroy it. The aim is to prevent the collapse of its own global hegemony. Historically, the forces who wanted to establish global hegemony have always given the Middle East an central role. Without controlling the Middle East nobody is able to establish and protect its global hegemony. This explains why the USA has intervened in the Middle East. Another reason is the fact that there is a huge alternative to Capitalist Modernity developing in the Middle East – more concretely in Kurdistan. Therefore, this system carries out interventions, one after another, in the Middle East and Kurdistan.

Another major force that focuses a lot on the Middle East is Britain. Historically, Britain has always worked on establishing its hegemony from the Middle East all the way to India. It made a lot of moves to this end. It did so because, before the USA, Britain represented and led the system of Capitalist Modernity. As the leading force of this system Britain made it its goal to control the area stretching from the Middle East to India. The Middle East is home to a very rich and powerful culture, namely the Islamic culture. In order to establish its hegemony over the Middle East, Britain predicated its policy on the establishment of a political Islam, an Islam that is willing to collaborate. Drawing on political Islam, Britain aimed at gaining control over the Middle East and all the way to India. Therefore, it has always promoted political Islam in the Middle East according to its own interests. Britain was well aware of the fact that it would not be able to achieve its goals without intervening in the Middle East on the basis of promoting political Islam. This was the kind of policy it used to pursue up until the Second World War.

However, after WW II, Britain had lost a lot of its strength. That was why a change took place within the system of Capitalist Modernity and among its leading forces. Now, the USA took over the position of Britain. From then on, the USA has taken over the tasks Britain had – until then – been carrying out worldwide for the system of Capitalist Modernity. Ever since, the USA has been responsible for this policy. Britain knows the Middle East and its conflicts very well. In fact, Britain itself has created a lot of the conflicts that exist in the Middle East today. Additionally, the interests of Britain and the USA overlap a lot. So, no matter how much Britain has passed on the leadership of Capitalist Modernity to the USA, it is still the essential force which determines and runs Middle East policies. It presents these policies to the system and the USA. The USA does not develop its Middle East policies without consulting Britain. This arrangement is necessitated by the interests of the USA. Therefore, Britain plays a major role in developing and running the Middle East policy of the USA. We can say that they pursue this policy together. While Britain is the force that plays the central role in developing Middle East policies, the USA and Israel are the ones who put these policies into practice. They share their tasks and take measures together. Both the USA and Britain have always predicated the development and protection of their hegemony in the Middle East on political Islam. By relying on political Islam they have managed to achieve their goals in the region. All these policies have nothing to do with democracy. They have nothing to do with the interests of society and with a democratic Islam. These forces don`t predicate themselves on such values. The only thing that is important for them are their own interests. By using political Islam they want to weaken and eventually crush the peoples struggle and the movement for socialism, democracy and freedom.

As an alternative to this policy, our leader Abdullah Öcalan has developed a strategy for the Middle East: the strategy of democratic Islam. The system of Capitalist Modernity predicates its strategy for the Middle East on political Islam. Our leader Abdullah Öcalan has developed the strategy of democratic Islam against it. The KCK predicates itself on this strategy. This is the basis of our approach to the Middle East and of our struggle. As far as Islam is concerned the KCK predicates itself on a democratic culture. Promoting democratic Islam does not mean that we intend to fight against Jews or Christians. The very opposite is true: The KCK seeks to find practical ways for Muslims, Jews and Christians to live together peacefully. We aim at promoting a democratic culture within Islam. By promoting democracy and a sense of community within Islam, we aim at solving the conflicts that Capitalist Modernity and its regional collaborators have instigated between the diverse peoples and religions. Our goal is to enable them to live together peacefully in the Middle East.

Germany, too, develops and promotes its own policies in the Middle East. Historically, Germany became an imperialist state at a very late point in time and entered the Middle East pretty late. It entered the region based on its alliance with the Ottoman Empire because Britain and France had already taken over all the other parts of the Middle East. There was no other way left for Germany. Its only way to enter the Middle East was to form an alliance with the Ottoman Empire and base its regional policy on Islam. Ever since, Germany has predicated its Middle East policy on this kind of strategy. It has always protected both Turkey and the Islamist movements. Germany has also played a major role in the development of the `Milli Görüs` [National Vision] Movement in Turkey. Germany did not only predicate itself on the promotion of an Islamist movement in Turkey but also developed relations with many Islamist forces all over the Middle East and protected them. By doing so, Germany sought to increase its influence on the states and the peoples in the region, establish a stable foundation for its Middle East policy and establish its regional hegemony.

So Germany has always predicated its regional policy on the alliance with the Ottoman Empire. This is also the reason why Germany has always looked after Turkey. It is a logical consequence of both Germany`s own interests and the task it has been given by NATO, which is to protect Turkey against the Kurdish Freedom Movement. Germany has always supported and protected Turkey. Its aim has been to prevent the Kurdish Freedom Movement from growing stronger and thus from posing a danger to Turkey, Germany and NATO.

It is well-known that during the last years a lot of problems emerged between Turkey and various other states. But only the relations between Turkey and Germany remained unaffected. The German-Turkish relations have actually been very strong during the last years. Whenever Turkey faced serious problems, Germany provided support for the country and thus helped it to get out of its difficult situation. Even when certain Mediterranean states wanted to take measures against Turkey, Germany intervened and prevented it thus protecting Turkey.

Germany has always been the primary partner of Turkey`s genocidal policy against the Armenians, Greeks, Ezidis, Assyrians, and Kurds. This is the historical role Germany has played. It has always taken part in the genocide policy of the Turkish state. And it is still pursuing this policy together with Turkey today. Germany provides all kinds of support to Turkey and Turkey uses this support for carrying out the Kurdish genocide. Germany`s strategy is completely directed against the Kurds. It is totally in line with the occupation policy of Turkey and with NATO. Until today, there has not been a single change in this policy of NATO. Germany has also not changed its policy because it pursues it not only for the sake of its own interest, but also on behalf of NATO. That is why the relations between Turkey and Germany are so strong and strategic. Germany is the major force that protects the power system in Turkey. If it weren`t for the German support, the Turkish system of power would not be able to remain on its feet for a single day. And it would not be able to carry out its policy of genocide in North Kurdistan, Rojava and South Kurdistan. Therefore, Germany is also responsible for this Turkish policy. It is guilty. It is important for everybody to understand this.

France is another power that focuses a lot on the Middle East and plays a decisive role in the region. Ever since the 19th century, France has pursued its own Middle East policy. It has strong relations both in Africa and the Middle East. Many citizens from countries in these regions actually live in France and France uses them for its policies in Africa and the Middle East. It predicates its African policy mostly on Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. When it comes to the Middle East the same is the case for Lebanon and Syria. France wants to establish its hegemony in Africa and the Middle East by pursuing a special policy for these states and their citizens.

There are some differences between the Africa and Middle East policy of France and the policy of the USA, Germany and Britain. The USA, Britain and Germany predicate their policy in these regions more on political Islam. This actually means that they predicate their regional policies on a version of Islam that is typical of the Islamic State (IS), Al-Nusra Front, and similar forces. The USA, Britain and Germany try to benefit from these forces in order to reach their goals. But France predicates its policies mostly on the forces which follow Western culture. It considers these kinds of forces close to itself, establishes relations and tries to pursue its Middle East and Africa policy based on relations with them. This is the kind of role and importance that France has in the Middle East and Africa.

But no matter how deep the contradictions between France on the one hand and the USA, Britain and Germany on the other hand might be, France always takes the role of these countries into consideration when it pursues its policy in the Middle East and North Africa. It always takes the interests of these countries into consideration. It does not want to completely undermine their interests. So, no matter how great the distance between the policies of France and those countries might be, France always takes their interests into consideration when it works to achieve its own in the region.

The USA, Britain, Germany and France are the states that have pushed the Middle East into a great chaos and have thus turned the region into a primary problem for everybody. These four states have created huge conflicts in the Middle East. They have spread war and have thus made life hell for the peoples of the Middle East. The policy of these states is the foundation of all the region`s problems. No matter how often they claim that they want to solve all these problems, they are just lying and trying to deceive everybody. Because they are the ones who have created these problems themselves. Those who have created a problem won`t be able to solve it. These states have absolutely no interest in getting the problems of the Middle East solved. They consider this against their own interests. Conflicts, war, crisis and instability are the tools for promoting their interests. That is why they promote instability and war in the region.

Our leader Abdullah Öcalan has developed a policy against the policies of these states. And he has shared it with the peoples of the Middle East. By developing his alternative to the system of Capitalist Modernity he has provided the peoples of the Middle East with a very effective tool. Relying on this tool, the peoples of the region can educate and organize themselves. They can increase their struggle against Capitalist Modernity and its collaborators and thus achieve their desired results. The peoples of the Middle East are neither happy with their current governments, nor with the international states. They are actively looking for alternatives. They want to rescue themselves from all the oppression, wars, and conflicts in order to be able to live a democratic, free and peaceful life.

The system of Capitalist Modernity has created proxy groups like IS, Al-Nusra etc. to achieve its own goals in the region. They have done this using the name of Islam and the identity of Arabs. Their aim was to destroy the alliance between Kurds and Arabs. For it is the Kurdish-Arab alliance that will democratize the Middle East. Capitalist Modernity has created these proxy groups in order to prevent this alliance from becoming a reality. The states of Capitalist Modernity have established the necessary basis for the development of groups like IS, Al-Nusra etc. Our leader Abdullah Öcalan has put it this way: “Groups like IS and Al-Nusra developed in the dung these states have spread in the Middle East.” The states want to use these groups for their own interests.

Against this, our leader Abdullah Öcalan has developed a political line that aims at enabling the peoples, religions and cultures of the region to live together: Democratic Nation and Democratic Islam. Today, as we can see in Rojava, a lot of peoples, religions and cultures live together in friendship by relying on this political line. This has become a model. Everybody has seen this and has realized that only the approach of our leader Abdullah Öcalan offers solutions to the problems of the Middle East and of humanity.

The KCK considers the peoples of the world and the international democratic forces its strategic allies. The states are waging massive attacks against societies and their democratic forces worldwide. What kind of strategy is necessary for their united, global struggle for freedom and democracy?

The KCK does not predicate itself on the power and state system because the KCK`s goals are democracy, freedom and equality. Those who want to achieve this cannot make concepts like power and the state the goal of their struggle. Therefore, the KCK has instead declared the system of Democratic Confederalism its goal. It draws on a democratic and organised society in order to achieve it. This is the basis on which the KCK wants to build and promote the system of Democratic Confederalism. In this way, it seeks to solve the problems that the Kurds, the Middle East, all peoples and humanity are facing today.

The Kurdish people, the peoples of the Middle East, and humanity as a whole will only be able to protect themselves against the power and state system and it oppression by building the system of Democratic Confederalism. This system will enable them to resist against the state, power and oppression. Thus, they will be able to protect themselves and achieve their goal of freedom and democracy. Apart from Democratic Confederalism there is no other system that can meet the demands of the peoples, the forces of democracy and freedom, and socialists.

Today, the system of Capitalist Modernity has reached all corners of the world and has thus established its global hegemony. The global system established by Capitalist Modernity constitutes the main problem for all oppressed peoples, democratic forces, and forces of socialism. None of them can claim that this system does not affect them or does not constitute a problem for them. The exact opposite is true: The current system has a devastating effect on society, the social fabric and the human. It destroys human life and humanity. That is why today everybody is concerned with finding a way to escape from this system. Everybody is looking for a way out. And this is exactly what our leader Abdullah Öcalan has developed and shared with everybody: an alternative to the current system. So that all oppressed peoples, forces of democracy and freedom and socialist forces can resist against Capitalist Modernity and achieve their goals.

There are two ways to do this: First, all socialists, forces of democracy and freedom, and all those who want to fight against oppression, fascism and dictatorships can organize themselves and struggle together in their own country as a united democratic front. On this basis all these different forces can build such an alliance, such a broad democratic front. Thus, they can increase their struggle against power, dictatorship and fascism and achieve their goals.

However, this alone is not enough and does not lead to all the desired results. The system of Capitalist Modernity has established its power and hegemony everywhere in the world. Therefore, it is necessary to lead a struggle against the current power system in each country and at the same time build a global alliance of all those who struggle for socialism, democracy and freedom. Building such a broad democratic front on a global scale is necessary if we want to be able to fight against the system of Capitalist Modernity. This is what we are expected to do considering the current situation humanity finds itself in. If all forces of freedom and democracy and all socialists, if all women movements and youth movements build such a broad global alliance, they will be able to share their experiences with each other. They will be able to support each other. Together they will become a huge force. This will enable them to fight against Capitalist Modernity, protect themselves, increase their struggle and achieve their desired results. You cannot fight successfully against the system of Capitalist Modernity, against the state, and power only by waging isolated struggles in every single country. This won`t lead to the desired results. We need to struggle in each single country and at the same time lead a united global fight.

By analysing the current situation of the world, our leader Abdullah Öcalan has developed a formula for all oppressed peoples, the women movements, youth movements, the democratic forces, and socialists. What exactly is this formula? It is the formula of ‘democracy + state’. This is the formula that everybody can base their struggle on. And when the time is ripe, they will be able to achieve the power of the people on this basis. This will happen more and more in the future, for the current global developments increasingly provide the necessary conditions for it. Based on these developments, it is possible to lead a struggle according to the formula `democracy + state`. Thus, it will be possible to strengthen the peoples movements and the movement for freedom and democracy.

If you want to build socialism it is not enough to only struggle on the basis of alliances with socialist forces. This alone does not lead to the desired results. In addition, you need to build an alliance of all those who feel uncomfortable with the state and power system and who want freedom and democracy instead. You need to predicate your struggle on a democratic culture. On this basis, it will be possible to promote and build socialism. Without establishing a strong democratic culture and without changing our mentality, personality and society on this basis it is impossible to build socialism. These are the preconditions for achieving socialism. That is why it is necessary to build a democratic movement, promote democracy and build an alliance on this basis in each country and also on a global scale. It is necessary to make this our goal: building a ‘Global Congress of Democracy’. This congress will then provide the basis for the struggle for freedom and democracy. It is our proposal to lead this struggle on the basis of Democratic Confederalism. We propose that everybody leads this struggle on the basis of democratic socialism.

In order to be able to achieve your goal of freedom, democracy and equality it is essential to predicate your struggle on women`s freedom. If you fail to do so and don`t make it the basis of freedom, you will never be able to achieve your goal of freedom and democracy. In this case we won`t be able to promote Democratic Confederalism or build democratic socialism which we have made our goal. It is also important for everybody to predicate their struggle on an ecological society. Only if we do so will we be able to achieve our goal.

Our leader Abdullah Öcalan has developed a paradigm for the Kurdish people, all peoples of the Middle East and for humanity as a whole. With this paradigm they can solve their problems connected to freedom, democracy and equality. He has shared it with everybody. We need to understand this paradigm well and spread it everywhere. So that everybody gets a chance to understand and use it for achieving their specific goals.

The practical struggle for the goals of freedom, democracy and equality needs to rely on ensuring women`s freedom and building a democratic-ecological society. This is the alternative to the system of Capitalist Modernity. Everybody who wants to fight against Capitalist Modernity, save humanity from its current dangerous situation, and allow it to live based on human values needs to predicate her/his struggle on this paradigm.

Therefore, the KCK predicates itself on the strategy of building relations and alliances with the oppressed peoples, peoples in general and the oppressed class. This is the KCK’s approach and perspective regarding the challenges humanity faces. The KCK does not consider states its strategic partners. It predicates its alliances on relations with the peoples, women, the youth, oppressed peoples and those who struggle for socialism, democracy, justice, and freedom. The KCK builds alliances with all of them. Because freedom and democracy are the KCK`s goals, it predicates its struggle on women`s freedom and a democratic-ecological society. Our leader Abdullah Öcalan has said “The 21st century will be the century of women”. This is what we completely predicate our everyday struggle on.

The KCK pursues a strategy of `peoples` diplomacy` in order to build and maintain relations with peoples and democratic forces from all over the world. What kind of relations does the KCK seek with the international democratic forces?

We are a people that has been divided into many parts. Our people is being subjected to a policy of genocide. We resist and struggle against this policy. It is our goal to overcome our division, rescue our people from the genocide policy, and live a free and democratic life in our country. That is why we predicate our struggle on the paradigm of our leader Abdullah Öcalan. Based on this paradigm we educate and organize ourselves and lead our struggle. We think that, apart from the paradigm of our leader Abdullah Öcalan, there is no other solution for the problems of our people. And we think that this is also the case for the whole Middle East and for humanity.

His paradigm is based on women`s freedom and a democratic-ecological society. This constitutes the basis of our struggle. Therefore, we try to inform everybody about the paradigm of our leader Abdullah Öcalan. So that everybody can understand this paradigm and our struggle based on it. On this basis, we want to build and strengthen our relations with the oppressed peoples of the world, intellectuals, authors, artists, with those who resist against fascism, dictatorships and the policy of Capitalist Modernity and those who struggle for democracy, freedom and socialism. We want to build alliances with them and struggle together against the policy of Capitalist Modernity. It is our goal to build an alternative to the system of Capitalist Modernity based on the paradigm of our leader Abdullah Öcalan and wage our everyday struggle accordingly. We wish for everybody to lead this struggle according to their own capabilities, knowledge, ideology and circumstances.

There are lot of experiences we and all forces of socialism, democracy and freedom can benefit from. The practice of the Soviet Union constitutes a major experience for all of us. What did the Soviet Party and the policy of the Soviet Union rely on? They had influence on everybody, no matter how small or big. They wanted everybody to accept them as the centre and to act according to this centre. Everybody knows what this policy eventually led to. It is absolutely not our intention to regard ourselves as the centre of everything. Nor do we want others to do so. We don’t foresee a system in which some give themselves a central role and expect others to serve them. On the contrary, freedom and democracy are the tenets on which we establish relations with others. We establish relations based on equality. We have no such approach as differentiating between minor and major forces. For us, everybody is equal. For us everybody has the right to struggle according to their own circumstances, ideology, organization and understanding. We would never impose ourselves on anybody. We would never accept the imposition of the will of one force over others. Imposing oneself on others can never be part of free, democratic and socialist relations. These relations can only be based on equality. We wish for this kind of culture to develop and grow in the future.

Everybody who fights against the system of Capitalist Modernity can do so based on their own ideology, organization and form of struggle. They can predicate themselves on what they believe in and lead their struggle accordingly. Everybody needs to be able to organize and express themselves freely. Based on this kind of culture relations characterized by equality can develop. This serves the peoples of the world and humanity as a whole. It serves the struggle for freedom, democracy and socialism. We don`t consider any other types of relations appropriate. We understand relations that are not based on equality as harmful to democracy, freedom and socialism. This is how we approach our alliances and relations. This is the way we have established relations until now. And we will continue to do it this way in the future.

There is a great variety of ideas. If these ideas establish relations it is of course possible for them to influence each other. But it is a completely different issue if they try to impose themselves on each other. Neither do we impose our ideology or organization on somebody else, nor should anybody try to impose themselves on others. We also don`t allow others to impose their will on us. It is important for everybody to not accept any impositions [on their will and decisions]. There needs to be a completely democratic basis. Based on this, it is possible to establish free relations. Thus, everybody can organize and express themselves freely and continue their struggle. This supports everybody, makes everybody stronger and thus guarantees everybody`s success.