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Turkey’s Role in Syria Fractures Kurdish
Parties
23.11.2011
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November 23, 2011
Some Syrian Kurdish parties are fractured over
Turkey’s role in bolstering the
opposition and are concerned that Kurdish rights may
not be embraced if the regime falls.
Ten Kurdish political parties formed a coalition --
the Kurdish National Council -- last month which
supports the removal of the regime and federalism
for Syrian Kurds but not all parties joined the
group. The council is part of the Syrian National
Council, which many Kurds have boycotted over
concerns that the body is pro-Arab.
Abdul-Hakim Bashar, secretary of the Kurdish
Democratic Party in Syria, which is part of the
council,
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Syrian dissidents holding a meeting in Cairo in
support of the Arab League's decision to suspend
Syria from the league. Photo AFP |
described the Arab League’s decision to suspend
Syria as a “turning point” and said a delegation
from the Kurdish council is expected to hold
discussions with the Arab League in Cairo soon.
He told Rudaw from Qamishli, “The decision is a sign
that the end of the regime is near.”
The Kurdish delegation is also expected to meet with
the Syrian opposition groups to demand Kurdish
rights, including the right to create a federal
region in Syria.
Some Kurdish political parties have refused to join
the Kurdish National Council including the Syrian
Democratic Union Party which has close ties to the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which demanded that
the council oppose any foreign intervention in
Syria.
The Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) and others
are part of the National Coordination Association
for Democracy in Syria, which is close to the Syrian
regime.
“There is no such thing as an absolute unity,”
Bashar said. “There is always a difference of
opinion.”
“We no longer follow Damascus’s decisions. We as the
Kurds in the National Council will make decisions
together.”
Bashar cautioned, however, that the divisions
between rival Kurdish groups are running deep.
“We’ll try to keep normal relations with them or at
least not oppose each other,” he said. “Our agendas
and opinions are very different. It’s impossible for
us to be able to work together at this moment. We
have concerns about their relationships with some
sides.”
Mustafa Osee, a senior leader of the Syrian Kurdish
Freedom Party which is a member of the National
Council, said, “If all the Kurdish parties aren’t
united, at least most of them are part of the
National Council.”
Osee hopes that all parties will eventually join the
council and said the boycott by some Kurdish parties
of the body won’t be “an obstacle to regime change
in Syria. Today the Democratic Union chooses to take
the Syrian regime’s side,www.ekurd.net
but at the end of the day it will fight for Kurdish
rights.”
“We support regime change in Syria because this
regime has been implementing racial discrimination
against the Kurds in Syria and has denied the Kurds
rights for the past 40 years,” he added. “We will
work to create a civil, democratic, and secular
government in Syria which believes in power transfer
through a democratic process.”
Turkey, which has hosted the Syrian opposition, has
emerged as a mutual foe of Damascus and the PKK,
which has fought Turkey for decades for Kurdish
rights.
Salih Muhammad, leader of the PYD which is close to
the PKK, defends his party’s position against
foreign intervention in Syria’s affairs.
“Foreign intervention in Syria will open the door
for Turkey, and that’s only in the best interest of
Muslim Brotherhood,” he told Rudaw. “We frankly told
the Arab League that we oppose any foreign
intervention to change the regime in Syria.”
Muhammad dismissed claims that his party is against
other Kurdish opposition groups.
“The claims that we are trying to distance ourselves
from the Kurdish opposition are baseless,” Muhammad
said.
“We, as the opposition, struggle for Kurdish rights
and other parties who claim to be opposition can
struggle under the National Council. PYD’s opinions
and attitudes are different from the other Syrian
Kurdish parties.”
Muhammad said that Turkey is trying to push for the
Syrian Muslim Brotherhood to run Syria if the regime
falls. Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party
has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
“We won’t support any foreign intervention from
Turkey or other countries,” he said. “The Muslim
Brotherhood, which is the main party of the Istanbul
Council (Syrian National Council), openly supports
the intervention of Turkish army in Syria and we’re
opposed to it.”
Muhammad said the Kurdish National Council must
openly denounce its support for Turkish intervention
in Syria.
“If the attitude of the Kurdish parties changes
regarding this issue, undoubtedly we’ll join the
Kurdish National Council without conditions,” he
said. “We won’t work with anyone who supports
Turkish intervention in Syria.”
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