STRUGGLES
Struggles-for-autonomy-in-Kurdistan
Struggles-for-autonomy-in-Kurdistan
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the process ofdemocratic autonomy. The Ecology Assembly has branches in Amed, Wan and<br />
other cities, and the HDP [party] is supporting us. Also, within democratic autonomy, we<br />
think about the freedom and independence ofwomen. This is a main focus for us.<br />
CW: Do you have a hierarchical structure in the Ecology Assembly?<br />
Hierarchical structures don't exist here. We believe in autonomy. We don’t have a general<br />
secretary. We just have spokespeople. We are not separating genders, and we accept all<br />
people as humans. We don't just believe in the importance ofhuman lives; we believe in<br />
preserving the existence ofnon-human life forms too.<br />
CW: You've done a lot ofactivist work around Hasankeyfand the devastating impacts ofthe Ilısu dam.<br />
[The Ecology Assembly helped to organise World HasankeyfDay in 2015].<br />
ecological struggles in bakur<br />
Yes. We have tried to raise awareness to the world media. There are different movements<br />
working together against dams. We're working together with The Black Sea Revolution<br />
Movement and the Initiative To Keep HasankeyfAlive.<br />
Hasankeyfis not just an ecological issue. Cultural genocide is being committed. Hasankeyf<br />
has an ancient history and we have to conserve this history. Ifit’s not conserved, our<br />
traditions and culture will vanish.<br />
85% ofthe Ilısu dam is finished so we have very little time left. We need a<br />
worldwide awareness-raising campaign. Hasankeyfisn’t just an issue for<br />
Kurds, it’s an international issue because ifthe dam is completed, it shows<br />
that capitalists can do whatever they want.<br />
Groups around the world can take action against the Ilısu dam. Internationally, we have big<br />
support from Germany.<br />
CW: Should people protest against companies involved in the dam?<br />
We are thinking about protesting against one company called Malamira. And we'll protest<br />
with people in Germany and Austria about the Austrian company, Andritz [see p214 ofthis<br />
book for more information]. But we need more international support. Ifpeople in Europe<br />
were to protest outside the offices ofbig corporations, it would be more successful than ifwe<br />
do it here. We're trying to increase the civil protest movement as much as possible, but we<br />
don’t want to harm anyone.<br />
We would be pleased ifdelegations from Europe would come here and join our protests<br />
against the Ilısu dam. And in general, it would be great ifpeople would come over and make<br />
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