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Kurds wary of new Syrian opposition leader, does he really
represents Syria’s Kurds? |
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Kurds wary of new Syrian opposition
leader, does he really represents Syria’s Kurds?
12.6.2012 |
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The new president of the Syrian National Council,
Abdelbasset Sayda, a Kurd, speaks during a news
conference in Istanbul June 10, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Ekurd.net
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June
12, 2012
LONDON, — On Sunday, the Syrian National
Council (SNC) chose Abdelbasset Sayda, a Kurd and
member of the council executive, as its new leader.
Sayda replaces Burhan Ghalioun who resigned last
month.
Kurdish organizations have been critical of Sayda,
and fear a repetition of the past. Kurdish activist
Heyam Aqil told Rudaw, “They are foolish, those who
think that Sayda really represents Syria’s Kurds. He
is another puppet used by the Muslim Brotherhood.”
The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), one of the
biggest Kurdish political parties in Syria, is seen
as having ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
and has always been critical of SNC for being close
to Turkey.
Regarding Sayda’s appointment, PYD’s foreign
representative Alan Semo told Rudaw, “He has a good
chance as a result of [being a] compromise
[candidate] and the conflict between the secular
(George Sabra and Islamist Muslim Brotherhood), but
unfortunately he hasn't got the support of Syrian
Kurdish movement. We hope he can convince the SNC to
accept the Syrian Kurdish reality.”
Voice of America reported that Sayda’s supporters
say he will appeal to liberals, Islamists and
nationalists in the opposition coalition.
Heyam Aqil, the London representative of the Kurdish
Democratic Party Syria, which is part of the Kurdish
National Council (KNC), another main Kurdish player
in Syria, told Rudaw that ordinary Kurds on the
ground and the Local Coordination Committees think
Sayda follows the Turkish agenda and the Muslim
Brotherhood uses him to say that they have a Kurdish
voice amongst the SNC.
“The KNC leadership are not content with Sayda's
stance on the SNC solution to the Kurdish issue. He
represents himself only,” Aqil said.
Although she is not sure if Sayda is an Islamist,
she says he never protested against the SNC stance
towards the Kurds and gets support from the Muslim
Brotherhood. “[Sayda is] a Kurd who does not fight
for Kurdish rights. Kurdish demands are not among
his list of priorities and [he] lacks support from
Syria’s Kurds. I do not think it matters who will
become the head of SNC since the decision makers are
always giving orders from behind the scenes.”
Despite this, Aqil acknowledged that this is a smart
step for the SNC. “Electing Sayda is irrelevant to
minority rights. It is a smart step by the SNC to
deceive people and elect a Kurd affiliated with the
Muslim Brotherhood and Turkey.”
Sayda did however protest statements former SNC
leader Ghalioun made to Rudaw last April, when he
said a Syrian Kurdistan does not exist. In response,www.ekurd.net
Sayda said that Ghalioun did not represent the SNC,
and that Kurdistan is a “historical geographical
territory.” He emphasized that Kurds realize they
are part of Syria and work on this basis. “But
[saying] that there is no such thing as Kurdistan is
flagrant ignorance of the realities of history and
geography, which is not acceptable at all.”
The biggest Kurdish youth group in Syria, the
Kurdish Youth Movement (TCK), also a member of the
KNC, opposes Sayda and was angry that he did not
leave the SNC during the Syrian opposition
conference on March 27 in Istanbul. In a statement
on March 28, they claimed Sayda had joined the ranks
of the enemies of Kurdish people by not withdrawing
from the SNC, as other Kurdish political parties
did.
In April , Khaled Derek, criticized Sayda on a pro-PYD
website , suggesting that the nationalist position
of the SNC showed they were a “copy of the Baath
regime,” and if they took power they would “strip
Kurds of all their rights.”
During the Friday protests in Amude, Kurds raised
banners against Sayda, claiming he did not represent
them since he is against political decentralization,
which the Kurds support.
A Kurdish activist from Syria, who wished to remain
anonymous for security reasons, told Rudaw that the
Kurds see him as a “merchant for the Muslim
Brotherhood, since he obeys them and does not listen
to the Kurdish street. They try to use him to calm
the Kurds, but this does not work because we know
what kind of person he is. They try to use him to
show the West and the media that their council is
democratic and respects minorities, while they do
not respect them.”
But according to Middle East Online, the nomination
of a Kurd will also help the SNC prove it has broad
appeal within Syria's diverse ethnic groups after
they were criticized for not representing the
minorities living in Syria. The SNC has always
emphasized that they are not against Kurdish rights
and are in favor of decentralization, but has not
convinced other Kurdish political parties active in
Syria.
By Vladimir van Wilgenburg
Copyright ©, respective
author or news agency,
rudaw.net
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