Lections from Rojava

Abdullah Öcalan has been imprisoned for 25 years on the island prison of Imrali, with the last three and a half years spent in complete isolation. This talk from 1st of October in GT22, Maribor with Dr. Müslüm Örtülü (Kurdish center of Public relations - Civaka Azad) sheds light on the abduction and imprisonment of Öcalan and the torture practices of the Turkish state, linking Öcalan’s situation to the broader policies against the Kurdish people. Furthermore, in response to his imprisonment, it discusses the paradigm of Democratic Confederalism as Öcalan’s proposition for a democratic solution, that has been put into practice in Rojava and other parts of Kurdistan.

#149: Rojava, lection 4 - Free Öcalan

The topic of our podcast this time was the liberation movement and revolution in Rojava, the northern Kurdish region of Syria. We discussed the alternative political system they developed on the basis of self-governance and direct democracy. And the liberation of women, which is a crucial part of the social revolution in this area.

Guests:
 > Petra Meterc, film critic and translator of the book Revolution in Rojava
> Anja Zalta, professor of sociology at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana
> Marta Gregorčič, sociologist and researcher of liberation movements around the world
> Beliban zu Stolberg, researcher at the project Potential States

Moderator: Žiga Brdnik
Sound: Boštjan Eržen

Thanks for the support and help to: Arne Zupančič, Petra Meterc, Fundation Sonda, City of Women,  Radio YoureUp, Moment Maribor, community GT22, City Municipality of Maribor and Radio MARŠ for airing.

MariborIsTheFuture 88: Rojava, lection 1 - Democratic Autonomy and Liberation of Women

As part of our lections on international liberation movements at the IntimateCinema in GT22, Maribor we hosted two members of the Internationalist Commune of Rojava. Kris and Marlene spent 2,5 and 1 year in the northern part of Syria where the Kurdish liberation movement is organising the multiethnical and multireligous society on the basis of radical democracy and democratic confederalism. They shared their experiences and knowledge on this really important political experiment - that inspired us also a lot, because it opens a real alternative to the neoliberalised democracies in the West.

Moderator: Žiga Brdnik
Sound: Boštjan Eržen

More about the commune: https://internationalistcommune.com/

Thanks for the support and help to: Arne Zupančič, Fundation Sonda,  Moment Maribor, Radio YoureUp, community GT22, City Municipality of Maribor and Radio MARŠ for airing.

MariborIsTheFuture 89: Rojava, lection 2 - Internationalist Commune of Rojava

After the end of the global action week for Rojava and against Turkish fascism that was happening from 1st till 8th of November, we called to the Rojavan city of Kamishli to speak with Şoreş Ronahî, a member of the revolutionary youth movement and the Internationalist Commune of Rojava. Şoreş as a youth activist is active in several cities and villages in Rojava, and is thus acquainted with the current situation on the field. He also helps to organise the international campaign #RiseUp4Rojava, that joins several organisations and comrades from all over the world in the solidarity with Rojava and other parts of Kurdistan. The network is fighting against Turkish fascism and to defend the revolution with international actions, civil disobidience and international anti-imperialistic, anti-fascist and anti-capitalistic cooperation.

Po koncu globalnega akcijskega tedna v podporo revoluciji v Rožavi in proti turškemu fašizmu, ki je potekal od 1. do 8. novembra, smo v rožavsko mesto Kamišli poklicali Şoreşa Ronahîja, člana tamkajšnjega revolucionarnega mladinskega gibanja in Rožavske internacionalistične komune. Şoreş je kot del revolucionarne mladine aktiven po številnih rožavskih mestih in vaseh, zato je dobro seznanjen s trenutno situacijo na terenu. Hkrati je tudi soorganizator globalne internacionalistične kampanje #RiseUp4Rojava, ki poteka ob pomoči različnih organizacij, podpornikov in podpornic iz različnih držav, delujočih v solidarnosti z Rožavo in drugimi deli Kurdistana in proti turškemu fašizmu. Slednjemu se zoperstavljajo z različnimi mednarodnimi akcijami, državljansko nepokorščino in povezovanjem v anti-imperialistično, anti-fašistično in anti-kapitalistično zavezništvo. 

Vprašanja / Questions: Kolektiv Živelj
Bral / Read by: Jan Podbrežnik, Radio MARŠ
Zvok / Sound: Janez Šali, Radio MARŠ

Zahvale /Thanx: Živelj, Radio MARŠ, Internationalist Commune of Rojava, Društvo za razvoj filmske kulture, Ustanova fundacija Sonda, GT22, Mestna občina Maribor.

MariborIsTheFuture 104: Rojava, lection 3 - RiseUp4Rojava (in english)

Maribor Is The Future je interdisciplinarni umetniški podcast, ki nastaja v skupnosti GT22 in z njeno pomočjo. Dotika se področij filma, gledališča, intermedijske umetnosti, izobraževanja, teorije in dobrih praks. Redno je predvajan tudi na Radiu MARŠ, ponavadi ob ponedeljkih ob 21. uri.

Maribor Is The Future is an interdisciplinary art podcast created in the GT22 community in Maribor and with the help of its members. It touches on the fields of film, theater, intermedia art, education, theory and good practice. It is also regularly broadcasted on Radio MARŠ, usually on Mondays at 9 pm.

http://gt22.si/
http://radiomars.si/