The Mesopotamia Ecology Movement is a network of ecology activists and organization working on ecology issues.
Principles, Functioning and Objectives
Approved at the 1st Conference of the Mesopotamian Ecology Movement (MEM) on April 23+24, 2016, in Wan
Principles
* The earth is a whole. It cannot be divided and limited by dominant powers. The Mesopotamia Ecology Movement (MEM) is politically active in Upper Mesopotamia and leads struggles on a pluralistic basis in cooperation with all living beings against each kind of ecological destruction and exploitation.
* The MEM is against the mindset of the patriarchal hegemonic system which deepens the hierarchy and domination with mythological, religious, philosophical and scientific ideologies. It is struggling against antagonisms like man-woman, nature-society, urban-rural, rulers-governed, subject-object, logic-emotion, soul-body and is based on the paradigm of a democratic, ecological and gender liberated society.
* The struggle against the statist and hegemonic system whose institutional and conceptional structures deepens centralism, nationalism, sexism and individualism is considered by the MEM as a ecological-social struggle. The autonomous self organizations of different identities, cultures, religions and social groups are regarded as the basis of democratic nation, confederalism and democratic autonomy.
* The MEM describes local life units as ecological and promotes them against capitalist cities with their cancerous industrialist structures. In this sense, it aims to develop eco-cities as areas of direct democracy and free life where autonomous and local self organization is possible.
* The ecological challenges are treated on paradigmatic level and the development of local as well as global solutions is vital for our existence and future. For that, by means of multi-faced ecological organizations and ecology movements, it is aimed to develop networks between people and the ecological dimension of a social and actual consciousness.
* Because the representative democracy is not insufficient to develop a self organized society in the different areas of life, it defends the building up of assemblies and communes along the principles of direct democracy.
* The ecological consciousness is the foundation of the ethical and political consciousness. Based on that a compatible relation is developed with the nature. The main reason for the ecological catastrophe is rooted in the domination of humans by humans. Due to that the MEM aims a social fabric which allows an equal and free life for everybody.
* As all human beings have human rights, all other living creatures have also rights according to their species and variation. The MEM is against the capitalist modernity that instrumentalizes and commodifies soil, water and air as it wants and destroys them for continuously growing profit and all kind of social, political and economic plans and practices which disconnects people from production. Accordingly the MEM defends the life rights of all creatures.
* The MEM promotes ecological life areas where direct democracy is implemented, people live in harmony with the nature and the energy is produced on local level by clean energy resources. All activities are supported for the ecological transformation of all life areas.
* The MEM rejects all kind of perceptions which see all creatures and elements of nature as resource and a mean of benefit. Instead of objectification of the nature by the current civilization, it works on developing ecological orientated life conditions which allows a compliance between human and nature. For this cause, it supports all kind of suggestions and activities.
* The MEM highlights the impacts of war on the nature and climate, struggles for a world without war and advocates for a peace diplomacy.
* The MEM stands against the historical oppression between gender. It struggles against the reproduction of discriminating social roles and hierarchy between gender.
* The MEM supports the development of economic models based on production, community and solidarity and stays against the mindset of aid which deepens poverty and hunger.
* The MEM rejects the huge mono-cultural agriculture and GDO’s which sterilizes the agricultural production and subjects it to the global companies. It accepts the diversity in the agriculture and sustainability which is crucial for the life and thus for the continuation of this diversity it supports natural models in the agriculture.
* The MEM works for the increase and spread of local seeds.
* The MEM supports small and middle scale agriculture and animal husbandry models which do not dominate the nature.
* The MEM is against the uncontrolled growing of cities and so called “TOKI” models of gentrification. It works for the development of ecological cities and their local ecological transformation as an alternative to cities designed with the capitalist mentality. The aim is to have cities which can supply themselves.
* The MEM stands against urbanization models threatening the rural life and for models aiming an equilibrium between urban and rural areas with a communal self governance.
* The MEM denies monopolist structures which destroys the social and economic fabric and the industry which is based on making profit and competition. For the needs of the society it develops an eco-technology. It rejects all kind of productions not based on the ecological equilibrium.
* The MEM stands against each kind of structure and organization which aims to monopolizes the energy. It supports the development of technologies which are accessible and usable for everybody.
* The MEM has a critical approach on eurocentric positivist intellectualism and rather it cares about solution methods of autochtonous cultures. The information should be spread to many centers.
* The MEM is against destructive hydroelectric power plants, dams and absolutely against nuclear power plants.
* The MEM struggles against interventions into demographic structures of settlements and is against to all which damage environmental and history. It stands against plans and practices which destroy nature, historical constructions and all kind of activities which damage the social memory culture.
* The MEM carries out activities to spread the ecological consciousness. For these objectives ecology academies, publications, conferences, forums and neighborhoods assemblies are initiated.
* The MEM carries out activities in the preventive medicine and with natural medicine subjects.
Functioning
* For the MEM each individual is valuable. All ideas, positions and solution proposals shared in face-to-face meetings or via communications tools like phone or email will be taken into consideration, brought to the agenda and discussed independently of the background of the respective person or organization.
* Although Upper Mesopotamia is the focus region of the MEM there is no geographical limit for its activities. The MEM consists of individual participants, collectives, cooperatives, associations, social movements and other civil society organizations which join the activities by their own decisions.
* There is no prioritization between activists. It is important that all decisions are taken consensus-based. If not possible, decisions may be taken by the majority.
* The MEM cooperates with collectives, cooperatives, associations, social movements and other civil society organizations which are not members, but interested in same issues.
* All activities are transparent, can be questioned and are carried out on the basis of social ecology. All subjects are discussed transparently in the meetings and communication media and the results are published to all activists.
* The council, coordination and commissions of the MEM are elected at the general conference which is organized every second year. The members of the conference are elected by the provincial councils based on gender co-representation.
* The council of the MEM and all organs are established according to the co-representation of genders. The co-speakers of the MEM are elected by the coordination and change every 6 months. The general conference is organized annually, but every second year the council and coordination is elected.
* The MEM establishes commissions for science, law and various campaigns if considered necessary.
* At the conferences short and long term plans are decided. The coordination of the MEM is mainly responsible for their implementation.
Objectives
As a requirement of the bond to the territory it is aimed to get organized, build up solidarity and develop effective protests against those constructing and planning dams, destroying natural habitats of human beings, many endemic plants and animals, deepening desertificating in Mesopotamia by changing the climate, destroying nature by mining projects, polluting the air and making the soil infertile.
Consequently the MEM develops and supports alternative solutions against the imposition of capitalism.
- The MEM rejects completely the competitive and paid education system that alienates people even to their mother tongue and request people to bow to the rulers. It supports a liberating system wherein people can share their knowledge mutually and their interests and tendencies are taken into account. To do that, it creates resources and spaces to realize such prepared study projects in this sense.
- Instead of a health care system where you can get service as long as you have money and which causes new diseases due to a poor diagnosis process and does not produce medicine, the MEM supports for all people a consumption of food and beverages whose ingredients are known and free of hormones and a life assuring a clean environment and thus minimizing the factors causing diseases. It projects hospitals where natural methods are applied and herbal products are used, a a face to face interaction will be implemented by the employees in order to enhance the motivation of the patients and the relationship between the patients and the staff.
- The MEM defends that construction of concrete causes each kind of illnesses. Thus it supports ecological compatible and cheap construction materials which allows practicable and affordable solution for housing questions. It develops projects for such kind of constructions and life areas and makes suggestions to municipalities, trade unions and different associations. The MEM encourages and organizes various housing cooperatives. It supports proposals of ecological solutions and projects for the urban transformation projects of modern states and capitalism.
- The MEM supports the use of renewable and sustainable energy sources which cause no ecological destruction, threaten the habitat of living beings and does not contribute to energy policy which raises the consumption. In this sense it supports initiatives on local level.
- By means of doing social studies, the MEM reveals the exclusion of people behind the mask of modern society with its assimilating character. It displays the multilingual and multicultural history of Mesopotamia and struggles against the perceptions making us intolerant to each other.
- The MEM designs methods of ecological struggles against poverty; organizes and encourages campaigns and projects to be implemented.
- The MEM believes that each territory should be governed by those communities and individuals living at place. Thus, the creating of assemblies by people who aim to govern their streets, villages and neighborhoods based on their life styles and needs.
- The MEM supports an approach of municipalism which does not ignore the relation between nature and human beings in Mesopotamia. It backs the necessity of efforts for a another planning, education, environmentalism at local level, energy production, science and health care.
- The MEM consider a collaboration with the relevant units of municipalities as important and engage itself in this sense.
- The MEM defends the access to clean water, clean air, affordable housing and organic food as a basic right for all humans. It discusses and develops solutions upon these issues. It struggles against the pollution of air, water and soil by means of specific actions and methods.
- The MEM performs studies and activities for building up of an ecology institute, carries out permanently educational activities and engages itself for having lessons on ecology at schools.