STRUGGLES

democratic confederalism in kurdistan
Another issue is that ofthe reverence for the
figure ofAbdullah Öcalan. In almost every
interview we carried out about democratic
confederalism people would say that their
ideas come from their leader. This habit of
deferring to Öcalan runs counter to the
ideas that the grassroots have the power to
shape society themselves. As Zaher Baher
puts it:
“For some time, Abdullah Öcalan, in recent books
and text messages, has denounced and rejected
the state and authority. But until now I have not
heard that he has rejected his own authority and
denounce those people calling him a great leader
and who work hard to give him a sacred position.
Öcalan’s attitude cannot be correct unless he also
rejects his own authority and leadership.” 16
We have heard that some ofÖcalan's own
work, which is thus far only available in
German, does discuss critically his role as
leader. We have not seen a translation of
these writings. But the issue isn't only about
whether Öcalan rejects a leadership role. It
is that he is treated as a leader by many
within the movements for democratic
confederalism. This is particularly striking
in the women's movements where, on the
one hand women say that they are for
women's selforganisation, and on the other
say that their ideas come from Öcalan.
We believe that the most useful solidarity
with the developing movements toward
democratic confederalism is not to either
reject all ofthe positive steps being taken
because ofthe movement's imperfections,
or to only talk positively about them. Rather,
we should remain a supportive and honest
friend to the movement, a friend who does
not shy away from taking action in
solidarity with those fighting for a better
40
society, but who is also not afraid to speak
honestly, openly and critically.
Grassroots movements
with the capacityto
change society
The movements for democratic
confederalism in Rojava and Bakur are a
place where anti-capitalist, feminist, antiauthoritarian
and anti-state ideas are
flourishing. They have the capability to
transform the reality ofsociety for millions
ofpeople. These changes are being made by
people at a grassroots level, who are
inspired by the ideas ofthe revolution, not
by politicians or government institutions.
The establishment ofcommunes and
assemblies in Bakur and Rojava has
empowered people to make decisions over
many areas oftheir lives which were
previously controlled by the state. For
example, since the establishment of
communes in Rojava there have been
creative attempts to construct new methods
ofdealing with problem behaviour. As
described above, each commune has a truth
and reconciliation commission to deal with
problems that arise in the community. For
more serious incidents, such as murder,
there is a 'people's court' at the district level,
with judges elected by the commune, that
hears the case. These judges still have the
power to send people to prison, but, Ercan
Ayboğa, a Kurdish activist from Bakur who
has visited Rojava, told us in 2016:
“There are still prisons in Rojava but the number
ofprisoners is very low. For example, in [the town
of] Serekaniye the number ofprisoners is 20
compared to 200 in Assad's time. The courts try
to avoid sending people to prison. They try to use