The co-chair of the Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), Cemil Bayik spoke about the worldwide protest movements and the situation in Syria in a special broadcast on Stêrk TV. We publish an excerpt of his contribution in two parts.

People around the world are not satisfied with capitalist modernity. From Chile to Kurdistan to France, people are taking to the streets and demanding their rights. On the other side fascist governments come to power. What do these attacks mean, which are directed against women, the youth and the whole population? How do the resistance movements develop?

Capitalist modernity is in a crisis and is going through a great chaos. It is a crisis of the rulers who have founded states. This system no longer works. It does not solve the problems of humanity, because it lives on these problems. Whoever creates problems cannot invent a solution to them. The peoples of the world are increasingly realizing this. They express their dissatisfaction with this system. After the collapse of the Soviet Union many opportunities have been taken away from people. Although the Soviet system had many faults and shortcomings, it had a great impact on the peoples.

In those days socialism was of great value. All captive and poor peoples were influenced by it. In order to prevent the people from basing on socialism, to prevent the socialist movements from becoming more powerful and to prevent the system of capitalist modernity from being endangered, people were given a few opportunities. After the collapse of the Soviet Union there were merciless attacks on the ideology of socialism. Socialism was supposedly no solution and capitalist modernity was the only solution for the peoples. Great propaganda was spread and the people were gradually deprived of the few rights they had previously been granted.

Today, the peoples are being increasingly made to submit. The masses are becoming poorer and poorer, while the rich get richer and richer. The people see this and show their dissatisfaction. We see this in Latin America, in the Middle East and in Europe. Some governments declare that they have fulfilled some demands and the people are still not satisfied.

The people adopt a stand against the state and power. This is a good development, but there are weaknesses in leadership. Therefore, the resistance movements are not achieving results despite massive protests. The system of capitalist modernity sees this and restricts the rights of the people even further. It uses pressure and violence against the peoples. The people do not accept this. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, socialism could not recover and could not offer the people an alternative. The democratic socialists had previously entered into a relationship with the system and there was nothing more they could have given to the peoples. And the liberals had long been part of the system. This became even more apparent after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

They further strengthened their alliance with capitalism. Those in power stood behind their system and supposedly wanted to solve the problems. People were deceived by this promise which was, however, only a question of consolidating the power. That's why conservatives and fascists come to power all over the world. In this chaos the socialist movements must play their role. But they are weak and they cannot stand as an alternative. The conservatives draw strength from this and stay in power. But the peoples can no longer be deceived, because the base of the socialist movements is becoming more and more stable. The time of the ruling class is coming to an end. Mankind is currently in search. Rebêr Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] has also said that the time of the peoples begins. The socialist movements have to solve their unsolved problems immediately. They must develop an alternative to capitalist modernity for humanity.

What stage has the Third World War reached in 2019? In spring, the peoples of Rojava and Syria put an end to the so-called "Islamic State". With the occupation of Turkey, the state of war in Syria has deepened. In which direction is the war in Syria moving?

The ongoing Third World War will continue and deepen. The states used to fight this war with other forces. They have helped allied groups. This war was almost over, but now the states themselves are on the ground and have entered the war. In the meantime, the states are fighting this war. This change came about in the Third World War. In Syria, a great fight has been waged against the ISIS. The ISIS has been dealt a hard blow and its territorial rule has been ended. That is why Turkey itself entered the war. Organisations like the ISIS are emerging in the Middle East because the problems are not being solved democratically.

It is said that the ISIS is defeated, but this is not true. It is not even true at a military level. The ISIS continues to exist militarily, politically and socially. The system of capitalist modernity has created the ISIS. As long as this system and the states in the Middle East exist, such organisations will continue to exist. There is nothing that capitalist modernity can give to the Middle East. It is a great danger and harm to humanity and the Middle East. In the Middle East, everyone is fighting for their own profit, that is why the war will continue.

The U.S. and Russia are at the top of the warring states in the Middle East. Both pursue their own interests. Turkey is also pursuing its own interests. It profits from the contradictions and is at the same time a member of NATO. It also has relations with the EU. Turkey has invaded Syria, from Afrin via Serêkaniyê [Ras al-Ain] to Girê Spî [Tal Abyad]. It has occupied these areas and wants to expand the war in Syria by settling its Islamists. Because the Islamists have not fulfilled their purpose, Turkey itself has entered the war. It's common knowledge that Turkey brings problems everywhere. Where the Turkish state is, there is no peace and stability, but war and chaos. This is also the case in the areas of Syria occupied by Turkey. Turkey is against the Kurds and against democracy. The reason for the invasion of Syria is the desire to destroy the Kurdish achievements and to prevent the Kurds from gaining status.

If the Kurds were given official status, a democratic situation would be created in Syria. That would also have a great effect in Turkey. AKP and MHP would not be able to keep themselves in power. They prevent a status for the Kurds in Syria in order to stay in power, to destroy the Kurds and to create a new Ottoman Empire.

Tomorrow: The positions of the major powers in Syria and the opinion of the KCK on the talks between the Syrian regime and the autonomous administration of northern and eastern Syria