Kurdish politics in Syria, PYD and the Afrin operation

10:5818/01/2018, Thursday
U: 18/01/2018, Thursday
Zekeriya Kurşun

After the discussions of the Afrin operation started, the same things that were said about Operation Euphrates Shield and Idlib are now being repeated. In fact, some lobbies in Turkey started making comments as in the Barzani issue, which is now forgotten after they spread  effective propaganda. We said it before, and let’s say it again: Turkey does not and will not have any problem with the Kurdish people, wherever they might be. Turks and Kurds, who have co-existed for thousands of years, have

After the discussions of the Afrin operation started, the same things that were said about Operation Euphrates Shield and Idlib are now being repeated. In fact, some lobbies in Turkey started making comments as in the Barzani issue, which is now forgotten after they spread  effective propaganda. We said it before, and let’s say it again:
Turkey does not and will not have any problem with the Kurdish people, wherever they might be. Turks and Kurds,
who have co-existed for thousands of years, have the capacity to continue this for another thousand years. However, they need to get rid of the troublemakers who are involved with so-called parties, groups and other entities who get in between the two nations and represent nobody but themselves.


Recent developments once again show us that those who act with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Syrian affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and other concealed names are
hired terrorist organizations
who act on behalf of those who don’t want stability in the region. However,
Afrin is not a matter of war, it is a matter of the future of the Syrian Kurds and the security of Turkey.
  

Kurdish political movement in Syria

The Syrian Kurdistan Democrat Party (Partîya Demokrata Kurdistan a-Sûriya), which aims to fight for the political, social and cultural rights of Kurds under the roof the Syrian government was established in 1957. The founders of the party are Nurettin Zaza, who was educated in Switzerland and Osman Sabri. It is also known that the party was founded with the help of the Iraqi “Kurdistan” leader Mustafa Barzani. At the time, Kurds who lived in various regions of Syria showed interest in this party. Because its
rhetoric was based upon unity and searching for solutions in the integrity of Syria.

The party, which was exposed to the violent oppression of the Ba’ath regime, couldn’t maintain its integrity and was divided into two in 1965. On the one hand, there was Osman Sabri and Salah Bedreddin, and on the other there was Abdulhamid Haci Dervish representing left and right-wing groups. Interestingly, the division was caused by the leadership conflicts


between Jalal Talabani and Mustafa Barzani rather than the issue of Syrian Kurds. And the most important factor firing these conflicts is
the fact that Marxism has become dominant in the Kurdish movement.
 

What does the Kurdish national congress say?

This messy scene had not changed when the Arab Spring started in Syria in 2011. In Syria, there were 12 parties besides the PYD, some of which were inclined to the left and some to the right. Eleven of those parties had their origin in the Syrian Kurdistan Democrat Party. Despite that, excluding PYD, they stood close to each other in the solution for problems. The Kurdish National Congress (Encûmena Niştimanî ya Kurdî li Sûriyê‎) which gathered in October 2011 was going to call all groups to convene. The congress gathered a total of 250 delegates including activists, independent personalities, youth and political party representatives, members of human rights organizations, social and cultural groups, and journalists. Fifteen parties attended the congress including the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party under the leadership of Abdul Karim Bashar who represented Barzani.


The Kurdish National Congress determined the principles and targets regarding the Syrian revolution and the Kurdish question in this context. Seeing the revolution as a “peaceful attempt,” the Congress stressed the following:    


The Kurdish population in Syria is one of the Syria’s main elements.
Syrian Kurds are an essential part of the historical-national social structure. They demand constitutional recognition as one of the essential components of the Syrian nation. They demanded a democratic and fair solution to their national issue on the basis of national integrity including determining their own fate.”

The congress saw the solution of the Kurdish issue as an important step to democracy, while also adopting the motto that “
Syria belongs to the Syrians.”

Completing their endeavors with this approach, the Congress joined at the main body of the Syrian opposition in March of 2013. They showed unity with the opposition by being present at Geneva negotiations.


In this process, PYD is continuing its negotiations with dark force groups.


Where does the PYD stand?

PYD preferred to keep a low profile during these events among the Kurds after the Syrian revolution. In fact, a Kurdish High Committee was attempted to be founded with the initiative of Barzani in 2012. However, the
PYD, which is receiving orders from Qandil and collaborating with the Assad regime,
opposed this. Representatives of some Syrian Kurds have never seen the PYD/YPG as the representatives of Kurds, just like Turkey. According to them, PYD has been collaborating with Assad since the beginning to prevent the Syrian Kurd movement. Because
PYD does not have any plans regarding the Syrian Kurds
and serves different interests.

The majority of Syrian Kurd activists believe that PYD is being used by other forces just as PKK’s Öcalan was planted by Jamal Assad in Syria to weaken the Kurdish movement and to use him against Turkey.


Lately, this situation has become a reality rather than a belief, and the terrorist organization PYD showed the whole world that they are the mercenaries of the U.S.


The fact that PYD collaborated with the regime first and then turned into the mercenaries of the U.S. shows us that
this group does not represent the Syrian Kurds.
On the other hand, the fact that
the U.S. supports a terrorist organization with the excuse of fighting Daesh also means supporting Daesh indirectly.
Of course it will take a long time for these claims to be revealed with evidences. And of course, Russia’s resistance lies at the other side of this issue.

However, Turkey doesn’t have any time to lose today.
It needs to act right away to ensure border security and the stability of the region.
Armed with heavy weapons, this terrorist organization is waiting to ambush Turkey in its weakest moment. If it fails to take the necessary precautions, Turkey will not only be exhausted but will also face even more severe consequences. 
 
  
  
 

                                                                                                                             


 
 
#Syria
#Afrin
#Turkey
#PKK