On Feb 27, Abdullah Öcalan, the long-time jailed leader of the PKK (Kurdish Worker’s Party), released a statement that shocked many. In the statement he called for the PKK to lay down their arms, which could spell the end of the 40-year long armed struggle against the Turkish state, and for the creation of a legal, diplomatic framework to ensure inclusion, rights, and dignity for the Kurdish communities within a democratic Turkish nation. 

In this episode, Ayman Makarem, Israa, and Karena Avedissian are joined by Dîlan who provides a thorough overview of the present moment, situates it within the longer history of the Kurdish struggle, and explores analysis of what this all means - for Kurds and other communities across the WANA region.

As this episode is time-sensitive we are releasing it on Patreon and publicly at the same time.

Dîlan is a reluctant academic and tired organizer. She is interested in alternative historiographies, feminist methodologies, and memory. She considers herself an equal-opportunity hater regarding states and authoritarian power structures, and is a dedicated skeptic of reactionary tendencies in both organizing and academic spheres.

Links:

• https://wjas.org/en/the-foundation/
• https://nudemorg.com/support/
• https://rojavainformationcenter.org/donate/

The Fire These Times is a proud member of ⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: the (newly aired!) Mutual Aid Podcast, Politically Depressed, Obscuristan, and Antidote Zine.

How to Support: on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠ or on ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠. You’ll get early access to all podcasts, exclusive audio and video episodes, an invitation to join ⁠⁠⁠our monthly hangouts⁠⁠⁠, and more.

For more:

• • Ayman Makarem is on Bluesky and Instagram
  • Karena Avedissian is on Bluesky
  • Israa is on Bluesky

• The Fire These Times is on IG and YouTube and has a ⁠website⁠ ⁠

• From The Periphery is on ⁠Patreon⁠, Bluesky, ⁠YouTube⁠, Instagram, and has a website⁠

Transcriptions: Transcriptions are done by Antidote Zine and will be published on The Fire These Times' transcript archive.

Credits:

Ayman Makarem (host, producer, sound editor), Karena Avidissian (host), Israa (host), Dîlan (guest), ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (original TFTT theme design), ⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design), ⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics), Elia Ayoub (episode design).

From The Periphery is built by Elia Ayoub, Leila Al-Shami, Ayman Makarem, Dana El Kurd, Karena Avedissian, Daniel Voskoboynik, Anna M, Aydın Yıldız, Ed S, Alice Bonfatti and israa abd elfattah.

The Fire These Times by Elia Ayoub is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International