IZMIR - According to PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who sees the understanding of power under the global ecological crisis, "As power is overcome in society, ecological consciousness will develop and as ecological consciousness develops, government will be excluded from society." Ecologist Koray Türkay said that the fear about Ocalan, whom he cited as one of the most important analysts of the idea that shattered capitalist modernity, stems from "the embrace of this idea by humanity."

 

While the ecological crisis is deepening and affecting the whole world, excessive rainfall, floods, storms and tsunamis in the northern hemisphere, and drought in the southern hemisphere are causing more and more devastating consequences on nature and human life every day. While ecological destruction also triggers migration, capitalist modernity, far from finding a solution to this destruction, is taking steps to deepen it. The struggle of ecologists in many parts of the world continues against the approach that increases carbon emission rates, continues the deforestation attack from the Amazon to Europe and the Middle East and increases the use of fossil fuels. 

One of these understandings is the understanding of social ecology shaped around the democratic, women's liberation, ecological life paradigm put forward by PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. This understanding advocates a life with nature, not despite nature, and an ecological perspective. With this agreement, PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan offers the reasons for the crisis as well as ways out.

 

'OUR UNDERSTANDING DOES NOT INCLUDE DOMINANCE ON NATURE'

 

Öcalan explains the reason for today's ecological crisis with the following words: “Our natural environment pays the heaviest price for a technology disconnected from society. The deterioration in nature-society relations develops with the birth of hierarchical-statist civilization. In the natural society stage, which determines the formation style of society, human-nature relations are in a way that allows creative participation. The boundaries of society and nature are not strictly drawn. Interconnectedness based on a deep acceptance of interdependence prevails. Human beings are like children of nature. The expressions 'mother nature, mother earth' date from that period. This relationship contains no hierarchy or domination. A person is extremely respectful to their mother, who nourishes and raises them. The more egalitarian and liberal the society, the more creative the way it perceives and relates to nature. This is what we mean by the nature of society.”

 

ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUS-FREE SOCIETY RELATIONSHIP 

 

Based on ecological consciousness and sensitivity, Öcalan described his exit from the ecological crisis as follows: “Unless the alienation in our view of nature is overcome by a strong mentality and conscience revolution, deviant social development cannot be stopped. This process will work intertwined. As power is overcome in society, ecological consciousness will develop, and as ecological consciousness develops, power will be excluded from society. Thus, society will regain its nature again in a stronger way. The liberation of nature-society relations will be the biggest step towards a free society and a free nature.”

 

ÖCALAN: KURDISTAN'S NATURE IS BEING MURDERED

 

Again, PKK Leader Öcalan made many suggestions on issues such as organic agriculture and ecological society in the meetings he held with his lawyers in Imralı between 2008 and 2014. Drawing attention to the importance of cooperatives, Öcalan emphasized that organic agriculture should be carried out in the communes to be established. Stating that there is destruction of nature, culture and history in the cities of Kurdistan, Öcalan said: “Nature and history are being destroyed, valleys are being destroyed. The beautiful Black Sea coasts and their nature are being destroyed and flooded in the same way. The Mediterranean coasts are also offered to certain capital circles under the name of tourism. All these events are some examples of the destruction caused by capitalist modernity. Capitalist modernity takes people captive by covering these up with four methods: nationalism, sexism, religiousism and scientism. Nationalism is a method used by global finance, we will not fall into this trap, that is why we are against nationalism, there is no place for nationalism in our paradigm. Marches are being held all the way to Ankara against hydroelectric power stations, dams and the massacre of nature as a whole, this is important. I think it would be more correct, biologically, to be within the framework of 'no to nature massacre'.”

 

ROJAVA IS AN ECOLOGICAL REVOLUTION

 

The Democratic Society Congress (DTK), which was founded in 2010 based on the paradigm of "democratic, women's liberation, ecological life", pointed out in its "Democratic Autonomous Kurdistan Model" declaration that the roots of the ecological crisis date back to the beginning of civilization, while the hierarchical state structure broke the bond between nature and life and accelerated the separation from nature. In this declaration, based on Öcalan's ideas, it was emphasized that it was necessary to oppose urbanization that disrupts the eco-balance, and to oppose dam construction that changes vegetation and floods historical places. While DTK put forward this thesis, the "Democratic Autonomous Kurdistan Model" came to life in Rojava. The priorities of the autonomous governments declared in the cities of Northern and Eastern Syria after the civil war that started in 2011 included strong local government, democratic participation of the people and the principles of women's freedom, as well as an ecological society. Article 89 of the Rojava Social Contract, prepared on this basis, stated: "This contract defends the rights of nature with the help of citizens and sees the protection of nature as a moral, national and virtuous duty.

One of the institutions that took part in Rojava's democratic revolution was the Mezopotamya Ecology Movement (MEM). The movement has grown into a full-fledged network of “ecology councils” that are active in every canton in Rojava, as well as in neighboring Turkey. Again, autonomous governments continue to set an example to this world with ecological agriculture and eco-villages, as well as planting hundreds of thousands of trees in cities whose nature was greatly damaged by the war.

 

'CAPITALIST MODERNITY ACCELERATED DISAPPEARANCE'

 

Ecologist Koray Türkay evaluated the ecological perspectives and contributions of capitalist modernity and PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in isolation in Imralı since February 15, 1999.

 

Stating that capitalist modernity does not have an ecological perspective, but has an understanding of turning all ecological habitats into cash, Türkay noted that capitalist powers are forced to take some measures from time to time in line with the consequences of the extremes of the climate crisis. Emphasizing that capitalist modernity is responsible for all these excesses, Türkay said: "The destruction they have caused has reached irreversible levels. The problem caused by carbon emission rates has caused the melting of glaciers, which has caused the waters to rise and the fresh water resources to decrease. Floods, storms, drought and extreme drought events that have never been encountered before are happening all over the world. It emerges by eliminating the possibilities for life to continue. This situation will lead to hunger, poverty, migrations and wars caused by migrations. Humanity has only one starting point. To eliminate capitalist modernity and implement a need-based production and consumption relationship within the framework of social ecology with a democratic, communal, decentralized understanding of management."

 

UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL ECOLOGY

 

Stating that there is a social ecology perspective put forward by Öcalan against this understanding, Türkay noted that the biggest feature that distinguishes this perspective from other approaches is the distinction between first nature and second nature in historical reading. Stating that the first nature is the period before the agricultural society and the second nature is the period that begins with the transition to settled life, Türkay said: “The second period describes a period in which humanity transitioned to a settled life, followed by industrialization, which brought nature destruction to terrifying levels, and capitalist modernity and irreversible climate extremes. For example, the biocentric perspective attributes the problem to humans and sees humanity as the cause of the disruption of ecological balance. But social ecology places the work in capitalist modernity and tells where the ecological destruction began by describing the past and making a political reading not only through class contradictions but also through the male-dominated understanding. It reveals the reality that humanity has the potential to eliminate ecological destruction and establish a life in peace with nature. He revealed another perspective through the rejection of the perspective that only finds the problem and does not say anything clear about its solution.”

 

'THE IDEAS EXCEEDED THE LIMITS'

 

Stating that an experiment was carried out in Rojava with this understanding, Türkay said that Rojava is the only hope of humanity that does not surrender to capitalist modernity. Noting that the idea of democratic modernity established here has spread beyond borders from Australia to Canada, from New Zealand to almost all cities in Europe, Türkay continued: "The defenses of the Leader (Abullah Öcalan), social ecology and democratic modernity are read all over the world. If these are being done, it is an effort to spread the Rojava idea to all over the world and this effort has reached a certain stage. The more humanity protects Rojava, the more it will actually protect its own hope of a libertarian, democratic and ecological life."

 

'ÖCALAN'S FREEDOM IS CONNECTED WITH ECOLOGICAL LIFE'

 

Noting that Öcalan, who spread these ideas, was subjected to an isolation that has no other example in the world, in which the basis of international law was eliminated, Türkay pointed out that Öcalan was one of the most important owners of the idea that would change life on a democratic, women's liberation and ecological basis. Stating that this idea is the salvation of all humanity, Türkay said: "The physical freedom of the Leader is critical and important for ecological life. The Leader is one of the most important analyzers of an idea that shatters capitalist modernity. Therefore, what they fear is that this idea will be embraced by humanity. Therefore, we need to fight for the freedom of the Leader in order to raise the possibility and hope of an ecological, women's libertarian, democratic life. The emergence of ecological life and social ecology and the freedom of the Leader are directly connected to each other.

 

MA / Tolga Güney