In an interview published on Tuesday, Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Executive Board member Duran Kalkan noted Russia’s setbacks in achieving its strategic objectives and contrasted these with significant gains for America, particularly in its increasing influence over Europe.
The KCK executive member provided a detailed analysis of the geopolitical landscape in 2023 and outlined the Kurdish liberation movement’s objectives for 2024, in a series of interviews published by the Kurdish umbrella organisation.
Kalkan sees the war in Ukraine not just as a conflict between Ukraine and Russia but as a proxy war involving the United States and NATO. This conflict, in his view, has led to a shift in Europe’s dependence on American economic and military strength. Kalkan argues that Russia, while trying to address its own strategic objectives through the war, has suffered various setbacks, unlike America, which has gained significant results, notably its increasing influence over Europe.
Regarding the Hamas-Israel conflict, Kalkan’s perspective is that the conflict represents a struggle over the establishment of energy routes, which are part of the greater geopolitical disputations. He suggests that the conflict was escalated by actions guided by Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with the intent to sabotage an energy route being organised under the leadership of the USA.
In Kalkan’s analysis, the positions of Turkey and the Kurdish liberation movement within the geopolitical landscape are defined by their respective roles and interactions with global and regional power dynamics.
Kalkan suggests that Turkey’s actions, particularly those under Erdoğan’s leadership, have resulted in Turkey being marginalised within the broader geopolitical context and losing its strategic position and advantages it once held.
In contrast, Kalkan positions the Kurdish liberation movement as a key player in countering regional conflicts and systemic challenges. He stresses the growing influence of the Kurdish freedom struggle over other oppressed groups, indicating that the Kurdish movement has inspired a broader push towards liberation. He particularly highlights the global resonance of the Kurdish women’s liberation movement and its slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” (Woman, Life, Freedom).
Kalkan further elaborates on the role of Abdullah Öcalan in resolving the Kurdish question and the broader implications for the democratisation of the Middle East, noting that revolutionary, progressive and democratic forces in the world clearly see “that the solution lies on Imrali [and] that the power of [the] solution is Rêber Apo (Abdullah Öcalan).”
Additionally, he criticises the existing political alliances in Turkey, calling for the formation of a new democratic alliance to effectively challenge the status quo.
