The Kurdistan observer
Apr 2, 2001
By: Eamad Mazouri
 
Nonviolence, is a word we have heard so many times but never considered its underlined
philosophy and the possibility of its application to our fight for legitimate national rights. We
read about it in India's struggle for freedom led by the great Mahatma Gandhi against the
British colonialism. We read about it in South Africa, when Gandhi tried it first and later his
son. Also, in America's Civil Right Movement. One of the reasons behind this is the fact that
there is a deep rooted perception in us that violence is the only way we can resolve our
differences and problems. It is usually an instinct that prompt us to resort to violence when a
conflict arises.
 
Nonviolence has been described as Passive Resistance or Civil Disobedience. However,
Gandhi refused to characterize his philosophy of nonviolence as either one. He called it
"Satyagraha", this is a combination of two Sanskrit words "Satya" meaning truth and
"Agraha" pursue of. Thus the combined meaning is The Pursuit of Truth.
 
Today there are many nonviolent movement around the Globe seeking social, political, and
economic changes. Like any other philosophy it does not guarantee success. But so does the
armed struggle with far more sacrifices. While it worked in India and the United States it
failed in South Africa.
 
Historically nonviolence had been seen as either as an expression of the religious order
"Christianity" or as a variant on the Stoic philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. But neither ones
teachings provided a method to deal with injustice except through ENDURANCE. In the
face of the horrors of the WWII there was a sense that peaceful means alone are not good
enough. Communism offered an answer expressed by Lenin and Trotsky in which the ends
justified the means. Nonviolence assumes conflict is inevitable because change is inevitable,
and with change comes conflict. Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence assumes that the
"reality" we sense is transitory, that change and struggle is the rule not the exception. This
view in philosophy is old and goes back to Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher who lived
about 535-475 B.C. He taught that there was no permanent reality except the reality of
change. That was illustrated by his Maxim " you cannot step twice in the same water". In
many ways that resemble the essence of Marxism that everything we see is in a state of
constant change. In practical terms there is no difference between Marx's "Material
Dialectic" and Gandhi's thought, though one was rooted in the rejection of religion and the
other was rooted in it. For Marx all history was the process of a "Material Dialectic" between
human race in conflict with its environment. The Kurdish Movement and Nonviolence
 
Many people claim that in order for nonviolence to work it really needs a humane, decent,
democratic, and civilized opponent. And regrettably, we Kurdish people are at the forefront
of this notion. However, we have many reasons to rationalize our stance. The most important
one is that Kurdistan is not occupied by traditional Western colonial powers, but by third
world countries that are ruled by tyrannies and penetrated by corruption and poverty with no
traces of any democratic values except of an infant experimental one in Turkey which has a
long way to go in order to be called democracy. Second, these  countries are very brutal in
dealing with Kurdish problem. They do not tolerate any Kurdish national sentiments.
Therefore it was not unusual for Kurdish liberation movement to dismiss the idea of
nonviolence and resort to armed struggle since the very beginning. Kurdish people used
violence because they felt that their opponent only understand violence.
 
It does not take a genius to find out that as Kurds our sacrifices do not match in any shape or
form our national gains and achievements. We have adopted many philosophies followed
many paths for over a century without even gaining an autonomy in any part of Kurdistan.
Today in the face of the most sophisticated weapons we are helpless. If the Kurdish national
movement continue on armed struggle it will be sheer suicide and  that will bring the total
destruction upon our people and whatever is left of Kurdistan. Don’t get me wrong, I am not
advocating to put a stop to our fight. Simply I am asking Kurdish Leaderships to explore and
consider other methods such as nonviolence. While today's technology has put sophisticated
weapons in the hand of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, it has provided us with means of
struggle we couldn't dream of such as satellite TV and Telephone services and internet
services, just to mention a few.Nevertheless, all these means of support and struggle are only
indicators that the days of armed struggle are over and we have no choice but to resort to
more civilized, effective, and acceptable ways of struggle to the civilized world. Throughout
history it was the less strong side in a conflict who came up with the new ideas and
philosophies that changed the face of the earth. Today it is us Kurdish people who need to
think and seek alternatives and do what is best for our nation. As I write about this I realize
that justice will not  get done by other than Kurdish people themselves. We do it or it doesn't
get done. That doesn't mean there are no individual other than Kurds who are interested in
helping out. But we are the ultimate source of power for a simple fact that nobody and I
emphasize nobody at all has any interest in our freedom as much as we do. It is us or
nobody who have to fight and make sacrifices.
 
However, first we have to learn more about this nonviolence philosophy and the possibility
of its application to our cause. In order for us to adopt and follow this movement we have to
grasp it as a whole and abide by its strict rules and that is the hardest part for us who got so
used to armed struggle. First, we have to search for the truth. the search in this path is both
external and internal. It requires tremendous sacrifices. It means moving from greed,
selfishness, possessiveness. It means loving and respecting the others, becoming
compassionate and understanding. It means to be true to our faith, values, and cause. We
have to promote and apply the principles of nonviolence to prevent violence and resolve our
conflict through peaceful means. The more people become possessive the more they have to
secure their possessions generating feelings of jealousy and the desire to resort to force and
violence. Life is not fair as Gandhi said. That is the reality of life. To bring about changes to
eliminate injustice carries in itself a load of pain, suffering, and sacrifices. We have  a rich
experience there. Through nonviolence we can stay true to our cause when we face
our opponents and we will not shy away from our national demands for freedom and
independence of Kurdistan. When we fight we might lose a battle because we cannot win all
the time, but we will win the war. By following nonviolence we will save our people the
catastrophic consequences of war while achieving our national goal at a much lower
sacrifices. Gandhi gave Indians a pride in themselves and courage and audacity to face the
British fearlessly with their bare hands. He showed them how to defy the unjust laws while
constantly demanding their national rights. Another element of nonviolence is that we have
to remember  it means seeing and living through the full truth of the process of oppression
and still be able to see your opponents as humans you will have to negotiate and deal with
when this whole conflict is over. Kurdish people will have to change. We should not hate our
opponent, because hate generate hate. Political dialogue and peaceful means are the answer.
 
By following nonviolence we are giving our opponents two options to choose from instead of
one. They must choose between violent repression or negotiate. Unfortunately, nonviolence
does not mean violence will not be used against us. It only means we will not use violence.
 
Nonviolence works through organized efforts, such as "sit downs, sit ins, boycott, peaceful
demonstrations etc." By doing so we are causing a disruption in the existing social order of
that country. Nonviolence works because it will change the way our people think of
themselves. It gives them pride and confidence. At the same time, nonviolent tactics absorbs
the pain and sufferings by  behaving always with dignity, we compel the opponent to see us
in new ways. Unlike armed struggle which is usually limited only to young and healthy,
nonviolence struggle empowers all the people, old, young, weak, strong, educated and
illiterate with no exception.
 
By following nonviolence methods we can win the hearts of Turks, Arabs, And Persians.
When we stand our grounds and suffer in dignity without retaliation just like Gandhi did,
accepting blows but not inflicting them, by doing so we are forcing our opponent to see us as
human beings. Then they start to question their own behavior. We have to realize that for
years their governments have reduced Kurdish people in their eyes to sub-humans or lower.
It is our job to tell them the truth and open their eyes. One of the other powerful characters of
nonviolence is, it unites us while it divides  our opponents. By following the principle of
nonviolence we will be united in our cause. Because we are eliminating the weapons that our
opponent have been using for decades to divide us, while  it
divide the other side. Therefore by adhering to NV we are actually turning the table on them
for the first time in our history. We get their people to question their government's behavior
in dealing with the Kurds.  They want to see us as an object while we insist on treating them
as unique individuals who do not deserve to die or be killed.
 
To follow and apply the nonviolence philosophy we need to change our mentality and start a
new beginning all over Kurdistan. We should not give our opponent the satisfaction of
hating us and killing our people. We have to prove to them that we are human beings
capable of thinking and exploring other methods of struggle while insisting on our national
rights that will put their crimes on every TV screen in everybody's living room all over the
world.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com