Monthly evaluation

On the ground in Rojava, not much has changed over March. The situation still seems fragile. The more the time goes, the more negotiations and agreements are falling short on their implementation, it becomes more clear that women liberation is the core of this revolution. It is something we already knew as it is often emphasized, but it is becoming very clear once again. As political and military lines are changing due to "integration", it is the women's movement that helps to remember where are the fault lines and main contradictions located. The discussions about YPJ are the most clear example of it.

For all those forces who those who try to impose their authority, the question of women's freedom, together with the proposal of all nations coexisting together with ethnic and cultural autonomy, is still a problem. It questions their legitimacy, it poses a danger to the program of the Syrian state, as well as to the ongoing regional projects of Israel, US and Turkey. It is a reminder about the real ongoing struggles and the eventuality of renewed war. The military structures of SDF, as well as the civilian bodies of the Autonomous Administration, continue their resistance, navigating the contradictions and conflicts as they come.

One thing is sure, the Syrian civil war is not over yet: there are constant militarized attacks on minorities, there is Assadist underground insurgency, there are powerful Arab tribes who won't accept external domination, there is Israeli intervention in the south, there are Druze who advocate for independence from Syria... And there are also entire battalions of religious fundamentalists, who after more than a decade fighting for an islamic state with al-Qaeda or ISIS, see now themselves integrated in the new Syrian army. Many of them are comfortable as they rise the ranks of state power, but others are disappointed to see the new Syrian government shaking hands with US, Russia and Israel. That is creating a perfect ground for ISIS, which is on the rise again.

Syria is far from any sort of resolution and peace, and on top of all that the new regional war, unleashed by the attacks of Israel and US against Iran, are making things even more complicated. Kurdish forces are trying to keep distance with this war, not just in Syria but also in Iran. Revolutionary forces are working to build up a political alliance with other forces opposed to the Islamic republic, mainly other Kurdish parties but not only. They are not rushing into the war, knowing from experience that war itself won't address the political and ideological struggle that is needed for a real transformation of society.

Still, iranian drones are not only exploding on US bases, but also on critical infrastructure all around middle east. Several locations on the Kurdish regions in Iraq are suffering attacks, including kurdish revolutionary territories close to the iranian border. KRG authorities don't have the capacity to stop iranian dornes, and even the house of Maseud Barzani has become a target for the Shahed drones.

Another sidetrack of this war is how it is serving as excuse for Turkey to stall the peace process started in Bakur. It gives them the perfect smoke cover to simply delay any steps for democratization, leaving the steps taken by the revolutionary movement made in this last year unanswered. Still, many kurds continue working tirelessly for such a peace process. In Öcalans recent message for Newroz, emphasis was put on action, on making the struggle practical. A key term coming up in this regard is the commune, thus efforts of grassroots decentralized self-organisation of society. But when it comes to the Turkish government, seems clear they prefer to wait, leaving doors open to consider what will be more beneficial for them based on the results of the war on Iran.