Mustafa Karasu from the Executive Council of the KCK (Community of Kurdistan Societies) assessed the current situation against the background of the current escalation of the war by the Turkish state. In this ANF interview, he addressed the regional and geopolitical context of the attacks.

The chaos in Iraq caused by a political vacuum have deepened. How does this relate to the attacks on Shengal and the Medya Defense Areas?

The chaos and political vacuum in Iraq have deepened. Due to the weakness of democratic consciousness in Iraq, political stability based on a democratic political mind-set cannot develop. The nationalist and sectarian approaches deepen the political fragmentation. The fact that Iraq has become a battleground for many foreign powers is an important factor at the origin of this situation. With no determined and effective democratic political force emerging, people have lost faith in politics. In fact, almost 80 percent of people do not vote. This is not only the case in Iraq, but also in South Kurdistan. The KDP, which won the most seats in parliament in South Kurdistan, actually received only 15 percent of the votes of the population of South Kurdistan. The current government in Iraq does not represent the will of the people, so it is very weak.

The Turkish state uses the weakness experienced by Iraq. It used the KDP and the KDP used it as leverage in Iraq. Iraq is conducting its current policies under threats and blackmail from the Turkish state and the KDP. For this reason, Iraq does not raise its voice against the Turkish invasion of the Medya Defense Areas and takes steps in Shengal to please Turkey and the KDP.

Turkey and the KDP also benefit from US concerns about Iran, gaining support for their Iraq policy. Under the influence of the US, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi remains silent about the Turkish attacks and, at the request of the KDP and Turkey, is sending its forces to Shengal to eliminate the self-government. In short, the situation in Iraq provides an environment favourable to Turkish occupation and KDP collaboration. In any case, the KDP does not conduct its policy on the basis of relations with Iraq, but with Turkey.

Some promises may have been made to the KDP, but the KDP's hostility towards the PKK runs as deep as the Turkish state's hostility towards the PKK. Like the AKP-MHP government, the KDP sees its future linked to the elimination of the Kurdish freedom struggle. The KDP is now a formation that only acts in the interests of one family. There is no Kurdish thing for them; it has become a force that sees the Kurds only as a means to its own advantage. For them, Kurdish identity has become a political bargaining chip. Colonial Turkey has been in contact with the KDP since the 1960s to keep the Kurds under control.

The more the Turkish state comes under pressure, the more the KDP takes part in the war. It prevents the flow of ammunition and food to guerrilla areas. It cuts off the paths between the guerrilla forces, restricts freedom of movement and prevents aid. The KDP is now going even further and is trying to tighten the siege ring and conquer some guerrilla areas for Turkey.

The current situation is one of world reconfiguration and energy wars. So what is this about?

The US, Great Britain and NATO are supporting the Turkish state in the elimination of the PKK. The fact that a bounty was put on our friends Cemil Bayık, Murat Karayılan and Duran Kalkan shows that somehow these murders were intended to be the next step of the international conspiracy. Those who issued the assassination order against these three friends will, of course, give their full support to the Turkish state. The Turkish army uses all NATO resources. In that sense, our war is, in a way, a war against NATO. The Turkish state's criticism of the US and NATO from time to time is intended solely to convey the impression that the war is being waged under its own steam. The Turkish state actually wants these forces to take part in the war against the Kurdish people, the PKK and the guerrillas. If the Turkish state did not receive NATO and US support, it would not be able to continue this war and would be defeated in a short time. Without this support, the Turkish regime will collapse. The regime could not stand up to the democratic forces and the freedom struggle of the Kurdish people.

In short, Turkey continues to be of great importance to international powers, albeit not as it did during the Cold War. Although the US, NATO and UK interests in the Middle East are not as strong as they used to be, relations with Turkey are still considered important and the Turkish state is supported. Capitalist modernity should not be expected to be correct, conscientious and just in its politics. We shouldn't complain about this behaviour, instead we should fight hard and let these dirty alliances fail. Since the conditions of World War III do not correspond to the Cold War era, the Kurds will be successful in their struggle. This will happen regardless of the support the Turkish state receives. The Kurds can create a free Kurdistan and a democratic Middle East. It is also clear that the Kurds have made significant progress and won the support of the peoples of Europe and the world. This support makes it difficult for the Turkish state and it has great problems getting all its wishes from Europe and NATO.

Turkey wants to use a mutual agreement to crush the freedom struggle of the Kurdish people. Europe is making concessions to Turkey to get its demands for a pipeline. A concession would give Turkey even more influence. We also follow this process; we need to uncover these dirty deals. Everyone should know that it is clear that such a pipeline directed against the Kurdish people's freedom struggle will not be safe.

Erdoğan repeated his threats to invade Rojava. Why does the AKP-MHP government want to launch a new invasion attack?

The fascist AKP-MHP government sees the freedom of the Kurds in Rojava as a threat to their colonial system. The regime fears that if the Kurds achieve a free and democratic life in Syria, it could set an example for North Kurdistan. This is the only reason for the attack. There is no such thing as a security issue. Rojava does not threaten Turkey's security. Turkey threatens the security of Rojava and Syria, not the other way around. It is also responsible for the fact that the problems in Syria have still not been solved. The AKP-MHP regime threatens political stability not only in Syria and Rojava but throughout the Middle East. Rojava is a threat to fascism, not Turkey's security.

It is shameful to hear NATO, the US and Europe say they understand Turkey's security concerns. The whole world sees that Turkey is destroying the security and life of entire peoples by attacking Rojava and Syria. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their country due to Turkey's attacks. Turkey is changing the demographic structure; it is committing genocide. Instead of seeing these things and opposing Turkey, the US, NATO, Europe and Russia legitimize and encourage the invasion by saying that they understand Turkey's security problem. They only do this because they are out for their own political advantage. The accomplices of these attacks were primarily the US, Europe and NATO. When Afrin was occupied, it was mainly the Russians. The US and Russia are aware of Turkey's weakness in relation to Rojava and Kurdistan, so they try to carry out their interest in politics on the backs of the Kurdish people.

Erdoğan's political style is considered the style of a jackal. He acts opportunistically and in the short term. That might work sometimes. But such forms of politics, which are not based on a general policy and strategy, always harbour the danger of turning into the opposite, and this often happens.

The AKP-MHP regime is trying to keep itself on its feet by creating a success abroad that will influence Turkish society and politics in its favour. In 2021, the Turkish state attacked the Medya Defense Areas, without success. In view of the daily heavy blows from the guerrillas, this occupation operation is now also being questioned in Turkey. When Erdoğan realized he could not succeed, he decided to use the Ukraine crisis to invade Rojava. He intends to eliminate the Kurdish achievements in Rojava and to use this domestically. The AKP wants to go into the new elections with an occupation of Rojava. However, the peoples of Northeast Syria will resist to the utmost based on the lessons learned from the occupations of Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî. A new offensive means a permanent, long-lasting war. The AKP-MHP government will lose as a result of such a war and the peoples of Northeast Syria, but also the peoples of Turkey and the Middle East, will see gains. The Turkish occupation will also be swept away from the areas already occupied. A new attack will certainly lead to such a result.

How would you rate the developments in NATO after the start of the Ukraine crisis and Turkey's attempts to blackmail Finland and Sweden?

The NATO accession of Sweden and Finland during this period serves to put pressure on Russia. Russia is not a threat to Sweden and Finland. Although Russia is currently under pressure, the entry of these two countries into NATO has been put on the agenda as a result of the policy of bringing all of Europe under the NATO umbrella. In a way, NATO is being turned into a European security alliance. It seems that these questions have already been discussed in advance. When Russia's intervention in Ukraine took place, these two countries' accession to NATO was accelerated. Since the admission of a member to NATO must be by consensus of all countries, Erdoğan, as a political jackal, tries to take advantage of the situation. Although there are rules such as consensus by all members, there is no tradition of rejecting and blocking majority approval. In such a situation, it would only be natural for that member to be expelled from the alliance. No alliance can be left to the discretion of a country.

But Turkey, believing it is indispensable, can resort to such blackmail. It wants to enforce a few things here. But the main issue is the arms embargo in some European countries, including Sweden. Some military equipment is not sold to Turkey. On the other hand, the Turkish state wants to get better cameras and other sensitive equipment for its drones, which it boasts so much about. This is the main reason why the Turkish government wants to make Sweden and Finland the subject of a deal. It does not want to force Sweden and Finland, but also the European countries, the US and Canada, to lift the arms embargo. It's also about the F-16. It turns out that people are willing to make compromises in this regard. Actually, dirty deals are happening. This fact must be exposed and the democratic forces in Europe, the US and other countries must be mobilized. European countries and other states should not support the AKP/MHP regime's attack on democracy and genocide against the Kurdish people by supplying arms to Turkey.