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In Syria, Kurdish Groups Divided Over
Taking Up Arms Against Assad
28.10.2011
By Reese Erlich
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Though the regime made an early effort not to anger
the minority group, the killing of a top Kurdish
leader has led some groups to support violent
resistance
October
28, 2011
DAMASCUS, Syria,— The assassination of a
major Kurdish opposition leader has highlighted
sharp political divisions among Kurds here, raising
questions about what role this ethnic minority will
play in the protests wracking their country. Mish'al
Tammo was
killed on
October 7 when masked men pulled him out of a house
in Qamishli, where he was meeting with other
activists, and shot him dead.
Opposition activists immediately accused Syrian
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Photo: theatlantic.com |
authorities of carrying
out the hit, though the government of President
Bashar al-Assad denied responsibility. Tens of
thousands of Kurds
demonstrated
during Tammo's funeral in the northeastern city of
Qamishli.
Tammo was a leader of the Kurdish Future Movement
Party, one of three Kurdish parties calling for the
overthrow of Assad. The nine other Kurdish parties
have not officially participated in the
anti-government demonstrations.
The dispute among Kurdish political parties is part
of a wider division among Syrian Kurds. Many worry
that that Islamist opposition parties, should they
come to power, would be worse for them than the
current government.
Mohammad Farho, a Syrian Kurdish commentator and
activist living in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan region,
told me, "Kurds are afraid of the Arab opposition
parties because their agenda is not clear."
Kurds make up about 8 percent of Syria's 22.5
million people. Though Kurdish language and culture
separates them from Arab Syrians, many have
assimilated into Syrian society.
Assad's government considers the Kurdish-dominated
northeast of the country strategically important
because it borders Turkey and Iraq -- and because it
contains most of the country's limited oil supplies.
The government also fears that Syrian Kurds,www.ekurd.net
like Kurdish groups in neighboring states, might
seek independence. All Syrian Kurdish parties
currently reject separatism, however, instead
demanding greater rights within Syria.
Kurds have long faced government discrimination
here. Some 300,000 have been denied full
citizenship, fueling anger against the government.
Schools are forbidden to teach the Kurdish language
and Kurdish businesses have been forced to adopt
Arabic names. Under pressure from the current
protest movement, Assad recently restored
citizenship to many of the effected Kurds and
promised further reforms.
When mass demonstrations broke out seven months ago,
and the military attacked such Arab cities as Homs,
activists say the government shrewdly decided not to
attack majority Kurdish areas.
"The regime tried to neutralize Kurds," explained
Hassan Saleh, leader of the Kurdish Yekiti Party.
"In the Kurdish areas, people are not being
repressed like the Arab areas. But activists are
being arrested."
Younger Kurds have defied their traditional party
leaders, however. Hundreds demonstrate each week,
demanding the overthrow of President Assad.
After seven months of frustrating protest and
government violence, some Kurds now call for western
military intervention to topple the government.
Others plan to smuggle arms from nearby Iraqi
Kurdistan to engage in armed self-defense.
Can Med, a leader of the Democratic Union Party,
told me that he calls for limited foreign military
intervention to protect civilians and topple Assad.
He says his party is also preparing for armed
struggle.
The Democratic Union Party is affiliated with the
PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) in Turkey, which the
U.S. labels as a terrorist organization. The PKK
describes itself as a legitimate national liberation
group.
"If you want to get arms in the Middle East, it's
easy," said Med. "We can do that."
But armed resistance and foreign intervention are
still controversial topics within Syrian Kurdish
communities. "I don't back such calls," Hozan
Ibrahim told me. He is a spokesman for Local
Coordination Committees of Syria and now lives in
Germany. "It's the call of people under fire, so
they need someone to rescue them. Unfortunately some
feel that the regime can't be removed without armed
action either from inside or outside."
Activists inside Syria report that Kurdish
participation in demonstrations increased recently
as fierce government repression spread in other
parts of the country -- and particularly after
Tammo's assassination.
"As the number of deaths increased, the number of
demonstrations grew," said Ciwan Yusuf, a spokesman
for the Sawa Youth Coalition.
Under current conditions, Yusuf does not favor
foreign military intervention, he said, worrying
that it would result in many deaths and that foreign
powers could ultimately impose undemocratic leaders
on Syria.
As an alternative, he urged Western powers to help
find neutral countries for opposition leaders to
meet and to increase economic sanctions against
Syrian government officials.
Kurdish activists, like those throughout Syria, face
difficult times in the months ahead. Government
repression continues unabated. Some in the
opposition movement are increasing violent attacks
on government targets in a desperate attempt at
regime change. For the moment, neither side seems
able to win a decisive victory and Syria's turmoil
seems likely to continue for some time.
Reese Erlich, a
freelance reporter and the author of several books,
has covered the Middle East for 25 years.
This article was supported by a grant from the
Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Copyright ©, respective
author or news agency,
theatlantic.com
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