KRG to use international relations to help Syrian Kurds
Syrian Kurdish politicians seek to unify their ranks and form centers of power to push their claims for international consideration by raising the profile of Syrian opposition groups. The Kurds in Syria strive for national recognition, economic equality and self-rule.
A number of Syrian Kurdish leaders held a conference in Erbil on 28-29 January to bring together leaders in exile with a delegation of the Kurdish National Council in Syria. The KNCS was founded on 26 October 2011 after the Kurds lost hope in their claims to be taken into consideration by other Syrian opposition groups.
Demonstrations demanding the end of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's regime started on 26 March 2011 and still continue.
"Syria is now passing through a crucial time. Signs show an essential change is near. So we need to unify the Kurdish household inside and outside the country," stated KNCS Chairman Albdulhakeem Bashar speaking to The Kurdish Globe in an interview on the sidelines of the conference.
The leaders studied possible stages after the fall of Assad and sought ways to contain security gaps and to protect public establishments, particularly in the Kurdish-dominated areas, said Kawa Azizi, a member of the conference and a leader in the Kurdistan Azadi (Freedom) party. He also explained they have taken into consideration how to offer health services and how to govern locally if the government falls.
The meeting also gave the Council an opportunity to listen to opinions of the leaders living outside the country, according to Azizi. The leaders in exile will work within four organized committees, each based in Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Arab Gulf countries, Europe and the Americas.
Unity
Azizi and some other conference attendees complained that other Syrian opposition groups do not take Kurds, demands in consideration. Therefore, the Kurdish politicians decided to form the KNCS to negotiate their claims instead of working individually within different groups.
"Without unity what can we do? We face pressures... in the north is Turkey and in the south the central government as well as other external interferences. But when we are tight together, no one can penetrate our ranks," said Aziz, urging the Democratic Union Party also to join their ranks. This party, locally known as the PYD, is believed to be near Turkey's banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). According to him, the KNCS is still trying to involve the PYD in the Kurdish coalition that gathers 11 political parties as well as more than 200 independent political figures.
With the start of the demonstrations, Kurdish political actors joined different Syrian opposition groups, such as the Syrian National Council, the Damascus Declaration Alliance, the Syrian National Coordination Board and others. When the Council was founded, it decided to freeze activities of its members in Syrian opposition groups, protesting their stance for not recognizing the Kurds, rights.
Kurdish leaders, attempts in these groups have not yet "led to any understanding or any agreement that satisfies the Kurds, rights and ambitions," said Bashar who also heads the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) in Syria, known locally as Parti.
Kurdish demands
Syrian oppositions preparing to succeed Al-Assad have not yet shown readiness to give in to Kurdish demands. Three of the top demands, as declared by the KNCS, are constitutional recognition to the Kurdish rights; abolishing discrimination policies against the Kurds, such as Arabizaion operations; and a democratic solution for the Kurds to allow some form of self-determination.
The KNCS chairman stated that the Syrian opposition groups have been acting condescendingly toward the Kurdish demands and he warned that adopting this stance does not serve the revolution and it will prolong the regime's stay in power.
"I hope the Syrian opposition acts logically so all Syrians are partners in this country. They are not the owner of Syria, as the Baath claimed to be, we must protect the Syrian border together but everyone enjoys equal rights," he added.
However, negotiations continue between the Kurds and other Arab opposition groups at the current time. A KNCS delegation headed by Hameed Darwish met on 23 January with the Syrian National Council Chairman Burhan Ghaliun in Cairo. "We offered our suggestions once again but their answer was negative," said Bashar. Syrian opposition groups have stated earlier that they will lift pressure on the Kurdish people but will not meet any of the demands raised by the Kurdish parties.
The Syrian National Council, founded on 23 August 2001 in Istanbul, aspires as the Syrian government in exile. Of all Syrian opposition groups, it is the most supported by the international community.
"Syrian opposition groups look for centers of power," Bashar said, placing part of the blame on a lack of unity. He hopes the unity his Council achieved by gathering leaders inside and outside Syria will add to their power. Another important point was holding this conference in Erbil, said Bashar adding, "It basically showed the support of KRG leaders to the rights of the Kurdish people. This is a lot of power for us."
KRG support
Head of the Kurdistan Region presidency office, Fuad Hussein, asserted KRG's support for Syrian Kurds. "We encourage them to unite their ranks,KRG will also employ its international relations for the benefit of their demands," said Hussein.
"It is a national, political and humanitarian duty for us to support them, or any Kurd," said Hussein, pointing out Erbil's hospitality for the conference as a part of their support. "Our policies are against no one. We just support the rights of our people and this does not have any effect to our relations," said Hussein, denying their support hurts anyone's interests.
At the opening of the conference, Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani expressed the Region's support for any decisions the conference made. He conditioned his support on the unity of Syrian Kurds.
"You must keep aside narrow party interests until situations become clear in Syria," said President Barzani, warning the Syrian Kurds that sticking to party interests and internal disputes could lead them to losing the opportunity, "and also, then, we will not be able to help you."
Barzani also noted the Syrian Kurdish unity was somewhat fractured by the PYD's refusal to attend. It was the only Kurdish party to boycott the conference.
In a statement on Feb. 1, Kurdistan Region presidency denied the PYD accusations. "All political parties were invited to the conference, including the PYD. The conference was discussed with them before they reneged on participating in it," reads the presidential statement, adding that only the PYD knows the reason for its boycott.
"It is not logical for that great number of political parties to take part in an event to cause a fracture of the Syrian Kurdish unity," reads the statement addressing a question to the PYD. "How could they ignore such an intention?"
Arabization and poverty
In early 1965, the Syrian Baath authority began building the so-called Arab Belt -- a 300 km long, 10-to-15 km wide area of land -- to settle Arab families in Kurdish regions. The belt starts at the Iraqi border in the east and continues parallel to the Turkish border. In following years, more Arabs, mostly from Al-Riqqa and Halab provinces, were settled in the Kurdish-dominated province of Al-Hasaka. Many Kurds were displaced to the southern deserts and many were deprived of agricultural lands.
Kurds in Syria mainly live in the northeastern Al-Hasaka province and in parts of northern Halab, particularly in Ifrin and Kobani. Many of them also live in large cities, like Damascus and Halab.
According to Kurdish sources, Kurds made up around 70% of Al-Hasaka Province before the demographic changes; the rest were 15% Christians whose population declined because of emigration and nearly 15% Arabs. Although no accurate census tells the current Kurdish population, Arabs now make up the majority in the province because of the Arab belt and employing Arabs in the Kurdish towns, complains the KNCS chairman.
In 1962, Syria held an extraordinary census in Al-Hasaka Province and later stripped 120,000 Kurds of citizenship, whom the government claimed had entered Syria from neighboring countries, mainly Turkey, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
Kurds without citizenship reportedly now number 300,000. They do not have the right to travel, higher education, property ownership or employment. Kurdish sources say Syria has around 3 million Kurds.
A more important issue for Kurdish political activists is that the Kurds suffer economically, although their agricultural production is high. Jazira (Al-Hasaka) alone produces 55% of the country's grain. Syria also produces 300,000 barrels of oil and 2.3 million cubic meters of gas daily.
"The Kurdish people live in terrible poverty. Poverty was 55% four years ago, now it is almost 80%," said Bashar.
© The Kurdish Globe 2012
