Hopes and concerns: Syria’s new government strikes deal with Syrian Kurds
Rauf Naqishbendi | Exclusive to iKurd.net
After the revolt against the Assad government began in 2011, the Kurds took advantage of the opportunity created by the withdrawal of government forces from vast areas of Syria’s northeast. The main Kurdish-led force now controls about 25% of Syria.
An autonomous authority runs the day-to-day affairs of the region. Kurds had a sigh of relief, at last, free and tearing off the shackles and cast off the chains of repression, as they have been treated less than slaves by the Assad dynasty’s authorities.
Syrian Kurds were deprived of their birthright, they couldn’t own properties under their name, and they had to register under the name of other citizens, mainly Arabs. They were forced to speak and study the Arabic language. The Syrian constitution even labels Kurds as equivalent to Israelis, both labeled “a danger to Arabs. The Kurds in Syria have been treated similarly to that of the Kurds in Turkey.
Given the inhumane discrimination Kurds in Syria suffered for more than half a century, they take their recent achievements as a powerful force in Syria to be reckoned with, with pride and making their utmost effort to maintain it. Should they do less, the old dark days of oppression and discrimination will be revisited. For Kurds in Syria to succeed they need to be unified under the SDF’s leadership, they have been unified, and the only group that has gone astray has been Barzani’s affiliate named Kurdistan National Council, ENKS.
But the irony here According to the Middle East Form, ”Barzani never recognized Rojava, the region’s self-governing entity, and shut the Semalka border crossing between Iraqi Kurdistan and Rojava to comply with Turkish demands.”. “Barzani’s statement is both astute and cynical, as he aligns himself with Turkey’s agenda and seeks a leading role in the future of Syria. He hopes the Kurdistan National Council (ENKS) under his influence can serve as an alternative representative (to SDF) of Kurds in Syria.”.
However, the ENKS, an agent of Barzani’s clan, doesn’t have enough support to threaten the SDF’s authority, for Barzani’s clan are despised and abhorred by Kurds everywhere in greater Kurdistan for Massoud Barzani, and his father have a history of being an agent of external forces, named Saddam Hussain, CIA, Sha of Iran, and Turkey. They are abominable in the sight of the Kurdish nation. Should the SDF have a chance, they should eliminate ENKS and their followers for they are an instrument of the Turkish regime.
The existing influences that can shape the Syrian Kurd’s future are determined by three influential factors as follows:
Second is the United States: During the first term of President Donald Trump, he sold Kurds to Turkey, and hundreds of thousands of Kurds were displaced. The decision to pull out American troops from Turkey was not a foreign policy plan but rather Trump’s self-interest and his business relationship with Erdogan’s family (see Sunday Times, Wednesday, November 13, 2019, an article titled “Trump and Erdogan’s sons-in-law take place of diplomats”.
So far Trump hasn’t ordered American troop withdrawal and neither has he made any statements to reflect Erdogan’s wishes to abandon Syrian Kurds. According to US News, Erdogan is visiting Washington next month. Undoubtedly, Erdogan will plead with Trump to withdraw his help to Kurds, and Trump’s answer will be the most historical event for Syrian Kurds. It must be noted that Trump says too much, makes too many threats, and at times doesn’t follow up on his threats, he is unpredictable and is a money worshiper and power freak. The US is supporting Kurds to eradicate ISIS, which will perpetuate for should ISIS be eradicated, there will be another fanatic group to threaten the region.
Third the new Syrian Regime: as reported by CNN on March,11, “Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa announced the deal on Monday, saying the agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is aimed at “ensuring the rights of all Syrians in representation and participation in the political process and all state institutions based on competence, regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds.”
President Ahmad al-Sharaa is a product of ISIS and Al-Qaida and indoctrinated with extremely radical Islamic principles, he is a man of beheading anyone who opposes his diabolic doctrine, he lives in the ancient world and is ignorant of modern civil liberty and civil society. His words are not to be trusted.
However, he reached an agreement with the Kurds to save his power. That was wise for him to do, and while Kurds were in a vulnerable situation, it was wise for Mazloum Abdi the head of SDF to conclude a peace agreement.
Truly, Ahmad al-Sharaa was boxed, and if he had a choice, he would rather wipe out Kurds in Syria, but he knew for sure SDF was a powerful force to be reckoned with, and without them, there would be no peace, he signed the agreement with disdain, and Mazloum Abdi as a matter of no better choice he signed the agreement and with doubt and mistrust. This peace agreement is an arrangement based on the desperation of Syrians and from the Kurdish side that was the best they could do, and neither one is genuine.
For the Kurds to Keep Ahmad al-Sharaa at his words they must be able to defend themselves and what has been outlined in their agreements. That requires keeping the Kurdish armed forces strong and committed to protecting the Kurdish population from Islamic fanatics.
Kurds throughout greater Kurdistan are having their hearts and minds on the future of Kurds in Syria, their success will be a victory for Kurds everywhere, and their defeat will wipe out every hope for freedom, peace, and liberty embodied in our national inspiration.
Rauf Naqishbendi is a retired software engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area. A long-time senior contributing writer for iKurd.net. His memoirs entitled “The Garden Of The Poets”, recently published. It reads as a novel depicting his experience and the subsequent 1988 bombing of his hometown with chemical and biological weapons by Saddam Hussein. It is the story of his people´s suffering, and a sneak preview of their culture and history.
The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.
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