Syria's Kurds move towards autonomy with announcement of transitional government

[Bahoz]

The main Kurdish party in Syria has announced plans to create a transitional government in the areas dominated by Kurds in the north-east of the country.

The move is the clearest sign yet that Syria’s Kurds are moving towards a long-held ambition of autonomy in the areas they inhabit.

The Democratic Union Party (PYD) – the largest Kurdish party in Syria – made the announcement following a meeting in the northern city of Qamishli that involved Christian and Arab groups from across the Kurdish-dominated areas of north-east Syria.

The plan calls for the creation of a parliament of 82 members elected from three cantons across the region, which will each have their own local assemblies.

“This administration will be democratically elected and we think it will be integral in the future for democratic Syria,” a PYD spokesman told The Independent.

The plan is due to be implemented within six months, and has the blessing of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government across the border in Iraq.

Although the spokesman said the administration was a temporary solution to run the Kurdish regions of Syria while the war was ongoing, he added that it would continue to be managed autonomously regardless of who eventually emerges as the victor.

“The Kurdish people will govern themselves democratically alongside other ethnic minorities in the area. It will not be affected by whoever will run Damascus. Assad cannot enter our area again. We are protecting our area. We are not attacking anyone.”

The Kurds in Syria have walked a cautious line since the beginning of the country’s civil war nearly three years ago. They have long sought to carve out an autonomous north-eastern region similar to one in northern Iraq, which has complicated their role in the conflict.

The PYD has publicly expressed support for the revolution against Bashar al-Assad, but the largest Kurdish fighting force – the People’s Protection Units (YPG) – has yet to be involved in any major battles with government forces, most of whom withdrew from Kurdish areas in the early stages of the conflict.

The YPG has largely played a defensive role in the war – protecting the areas in which it is dominant but not seeking to gain extra ground.

In recent months, it has fought fierce battles with various Islamist rebel groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra. After being pushed back in some areas, YPG forces last week regained the ground they had lost.

The clashes came just a week after Kurdish fighters seized the Yaarubiyeh crossing on the Iraq border from jihadists.

 

[Bahoz]

PYD; The new transitional government aims to create a system like the one in Switzerland with independant Cantons. The Kurdish areas will be split into 3 cantons; Efrin, Kobane and Cizre. Each of these three cantons will have their own parliaments and in time they will also send their representatives to the common Kurdish parliament.

 

[xenon54 out]

Looks like Al Assads tasting their own medicine now.
Hafez al Assad used PKK to split Turkey and chickened back when Turkey threatened with war. What an irony isnt it?

Oh and @Bahoz, say thx to Hafez al Assad he gave Turkey the reason to support kurds in Syria.

Salih Müslim: Türkiye Kürtlerin varlığından rahatsız değil
- Dünya Haberleri - Radikal

Bütün oluşumların, herkesin yer alabileceği Kürtlerin, Türkmenlerin, Arapların içinde yer alabileceği siyasi bir çözüm buluncaya kadar bir geçici bir yönetim kurulması fikriydi. Bunu anlattık görüşmelerimizde."

Görüşmelerde karşılıklı bir anlayış olduğunu vurgulayan Müslim, “Türk yetkililer 'bu sizin hakkınızdır' dediler. Biliyorsunuz sınırdaki çatışmalardan kaynaklı halkımız çok perişan bir durumdadır. Şimdi söz de verildi. Türkiye halkımıza her bakımdan yardım edecek.

 

[Bahoz]

Syrian Kurds declared an interim administration in northeastern parts of the country (Rojava) on Nov. 12, further solidifying their geographic and political presence after driving out radical Islamist rebels.

Long oppressed under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his father before him, Kurds view the civil war as an opportunity to gain more autonomy - like their ethnic kin in neighbouring Iraq.

Control over Syria's northeast, where Kurds predominate, had in recent months swung back and forth between them and mainly Arab Islamist rebels, who strongly oppose what they suspect are Kurdish plans to seccede.

But a Kurdish militia prevailed earlier this month, and at a meeting held in the Syrian city of Qamishli on Nov. 12, a committee of Kurdish and other groups said it was now time to set up an administrative body to run the region.

"In light of the current circumstances which Syria is going through, and in order to fill an administrative acuum ... we see is as utmost necessity to reach a transitional, pluralistic, democratic administration," said a statement sent to Reuters.

The statement said they were committed to the unity of Syria and asked world powers and neighbouring countries to back the new administration, which they said had won the support of different political groups and minorities in the area.

The dominant force on the ground in Syria's Kurdish areas is the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which has a well-trained militia and is affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PYD's growing clout has also dismayed some fellow Kurds, who accuse it of being in league with al-Assad and seeking to replace his authoritarian one-party rule with its own. PYD representative Mohammed Reso said some Syrian Kurdish parties had refused to sign up to the plan.

PYD did not keep its promise: Davutoğlu

In his first remarks after the declaration of the interim administration, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu accused the PYD of "not keeping its promise."

"We told them to avoid a de facto administration declaration that could divide Syria. We told them to put a distance between themselves and the [al-Assad] regime," Davutoğlu said during a live interview on private broadcaster NTV on Nov. 12.

He criticized the Kurdish group for adopting an "ambivalent" posture. "The most serious mistake that the PYD is making is to put under pressure on the other Kurdish opposition groups in [their] controlled areas. We receive a lot of complaints from Kurds [in northern Syria], and we hope that they will change this attitude," Davutoğlu added.

PYD leader Saleh Muslim had visited Turkey twice in a brief period in July and August as the open conflict between Kurdish milita groups and jihadist rebels mounted, causing a refugee outflow in Rojava. He reportedly discussed with Turkish officials the PYD's plans to form an autonomous administration that had triggered concerns in Ankara.

 

[Bahoz]

The meeting of the Constitutional General Council of the Interim Transitional Administration took place on 12th Nov 2013 in the presence of around 100 attendees representing 35 parties and civil society organisations.

Also present were independent national figures from different communities of the region including Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians and others.

Names of the parties and organisations who participated in the meeting:

1 - Syriac Union Party.

2 - Syriac Youth Union.

3 - Syriac Cultural Association.

4- Syriac Women's Union.

5- Syriac Academics Union.

6- National Coordination Committee .

7- Syrian National Bloc.

8- Arabic National Commission.

9- Communist Labor Party.

10- Kurdish Leftist Party.

11- Kurdistan Democratic Party.

12- Kurdish Democratic Left Party .

13- Kurdish National Democratic Gathering in Syria.

14- Kurdish Peace Democratic Party.

15- Kurdistan Liberal Union .

16- Kurdish Syrian Democratic Party.

17- The Star Union . 18- Syrian Women 's Initiative.

19- Human Rights Activists of Western Kurdistan.

20- Civil Peace Committee .

21- Democratic Union Party (PYD).

22- Shoresh Organization of Women.

23- Management of the Diplomatic Relations of Western Kurdistan.

24- People's Council of Western Kurdistan.

25- Kurdistan Democratic Party in Syria.

26- Organization of the State for the Society and Citizenship.

27- Sarah Organization for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

28- Syria's Future Youth Gathering .

29- Communist Party of Kurdistan.

30- Movement of Democratic Society.

31- Supreme Kurdish Council.

32- Center of the Strategic Studies.

33- Kurdish Students Konfedrassion.

34- Revolutionary Youth Movement.

35- Young Woman Revolutionary Movement.

 

[Bahoz]

The announcement of an interim administration that aims to carve out an autonomous Syrian Kurdish region was only "provisional" until there was a viable solution to Syria's civil war, Saleh Muslim, head of the main Syrian Kurdish group Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), has said.

Kurds declared an interim administration in northeastern Syria after a meeting of a committee that included representatives from the PYD and non-Kurdish groups in the region on Tuesday.

Long oppressed under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his father before him, Kurds view the Syrian civil war as an opportunity to gain more autonomy -- much as their ethnic kin in neighboring Iraq have regarded the turmoil there. Control over Syria's northeast, where Kurds predominate, had in recent months swung back and forth between them and mainly Arab Islamist rebels, who strongly oppose what they suspect are Kurdish plans to secede.

But with a string of military gains across northeastern Syria, Kurdish militias linked to the PYD are consolidating their presence.

"About 3,000 of those Salafists have been killed. At the beginning they were strong, but now they aren't so strong," Muslim, whose son was recently killed fighting Islamists, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. "We have found no allies and paid for our own bullets."

Muslim said the PYD had received aid, money and weapons from the Iraq-based Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) as well as Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey.

When asked if the recent successes could embolden Syrian Kurdish forces to go beyond majority-controlled Kurdish areas, Muslim said they had no desire to head to Damascus to help topple Assad, but would aid all those in areas where Kurds and Arabs lived together.

"We are willing to go to places where we are living together. It is not our job to go to areas where there are no Kurds," he said.

Muslim said about 30 percent of Syria's oil wells were under Kurdish control, but none were currently producing any oil, and there were no immediate plans to bring them into operation.

The Kurdish gains indirectly benefit Assad and his Shiite Muslim allies, as they mean more territory slipping out of Sunni Muslim rebel hands two-and-a-half years into the revolt against Assad's rule.

No contact with Assad
Despite allegations that his party had cooperated at some level with Assad, Muslim said there had been "no contact."

"I don't think Assad would accept autonomy for us because even until the last minute he refused."

Syrian Kurds number over 2 million of the total of more than 38 million Kurds in Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq -- a people often described as the world's largest ethnic group without a state.

Rising Kurdish assertiveness in Syria puts Turkey in a tough position as it tries to make peace with the PKK. Muslim said Turkey had not warned his group to stop its advances in Syria, but was trying to interfere. "They are trying to divide the Kurds by bringing certain [Kurdish] parties into the [opposition] Syrian National Coalition [SNC]," he said. "They are just trying to keep the Kurds from representing themselves."

Syria's Western-backed SNC opposition agreed on Monday to attend planned peace talks in Geneva on condition Assad played no part in a transitional government. Assad has rejected any precondition that he step down.

Muslim said he would only be ready to join the Geneva talks if there was a separate Kurdish delegation.

 

[Algeria]

Looks like Al Assads tasting their own medicine now.
Hafez al Assad used PKK to split Turkey and chickened back when Turkey threatened with war. What an irony isnt it?

Oh and @Bahoz, say thx to Hafez al Assad he gave Turkey the reason to support kurds in Syria.

Salih Müslim: Türkiye Kürtlerin varlığından rahatsız değil
- Dünya Haberleri - Radikal

Not really. PYD and the regime are kind of allies now, but who ever wins the civil war will not accept Kurdish autonomy, so this of course only temporary.

 

[Bahoz]

Not allies. Allies is the wrong word. PYD is merily protecting the mainly Kurdish areas. If Assad attacks it, they will hit those soldiers attacking. If FSA attacks it, they will hit those soldiers attacking it. There is no reason for PYD to pick an ally, since, as you said yourself, none of the sides are accepting Kurdish autonomy. Luckily, neither the moderate FSA nor Assad forces have declared war as such against Kurds. Mainly Al Qaeda groups and radical elements of FSA have.

Anyways, this is not an autonomy as such. It is an interim government. There is a difference though.

 

[Bahoz]

Salih Muslim; The people of Rojava has worked hard for this interim government. They have worked worked very hard to liberate land day by day. In addition to this, the people have worked out new democratic reforms. All this work belongs to the people. The regional powers do not accept the people's wish for democracy.

 

[xenon54 out]

Not really. PYD and the regime are kind of allies now, but who ever wins the civil war will not accept Kurdish autonomy, so this of course only temporary.

No its not teporary.

“The Kurdish people will govern themselves democratically alongside other ethnic minorities in the area. It will not be affected by whoever will run Damascus. Assad cannot enter our area again. We are protecting our area. We are not attacking anyone.”

 

[Bahoz]

Yes, the government is temproary. It is an interim government. It is only temporary until elections are held in the Kurdish areas.

 

[xenon54 out]

Yes, the government is temproary. It is an interim government. It is only temporary until elections are held in the Kurdish areas.

So the autonomy is not temporary? Thats what im saying, syria is now divided.

 

[Doritos11]

Not temporarely they are seperatists, though the other Syrian groups don’t accept it so it means nothing on the ground.

 

[Bahoz]

Not temporarely they are seperatists, though the other Syrian groups don’t accept it so it means nothing on the ground.

I beg to differ. They are not seperatists. They include all ethnic groups. And we could care less what SNC has to say about it. PYD wanted to join SNC for TWO YEARS. Their only demand was recognition of Kurds in the constitution. SNC could not guaranteee this.

 

[Doritos11]

I beg to differ. They are not seperatists. They include all ethnic groups. And we could care less what SNC has to say about it. PYD wanted to join SNC for TWO YEARS. Their only demand was recognition of Kurds in the constitution. SNC could not guaranteee this.

I know they include different groups, but we both know their goal is Kurdistan, so I guess we can say seperatists. At least, all Kurds in the west are seperatists, I never met one that isn’t in the west, the ones in the middle east are a little different.