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Syrian Kurds declare federal region amid wide criticism Syria’s Kurds declare de-facto federal region in north
(about 4 hours later)
BEIRUT — The main Syrian Kurdish group on Thursday declared a federal region in Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria, a move that was immediately rejected by both the government in Damascus and the opposition. BEIRUT — Syria’s Kurds on Thursday declared a de-facto federal region in Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria, drawing sharp condemnation from both the Damascus government and its opponents who decried the unilateral move as unconstitutional and setting a dangerous precedent.
The announcement came as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that despite the Russian forces drawdown, Moscow can again build up its forces in Syria “in a few hours” if necessary, and will continue striking extremist groups. The declaration further complicates the situation on the ground in Syria even as peace talks press ahead in Geneva. The main Syrian Kurdish party has been excluded from those talks — perhaps an indication of why the Kurds chose this particular moment for their move.
The nature and the timing of the move — which came as U.N.-brokered talks on resolving the Syrian conflict are underway this week in Geneva — might make it seem like a way forward after five years of civil war, but they have also triggered fears a federal unit would lead to a partition of the country. In Syria’s civil war, Kurdish fighters have emerged as the most effective fighting force against the Islamic State group and are backed militarily by the United States. More recently, Russia has backed them politically.
Nawaf Khalil, an official with the Democratic Union Party, or PYD, told The Associated Press that the announcement was made at a Kurdish conference being held in the town of Rmeilan in the northeastern province of Hassakeh. But despite Russia’s insistence that they should be part of the talks that started this week in Geneva, they have not been invited because Turkey considers the group to be a terrorist organization.
“Everybody rhetorically appreciates the Kurds, they all acknowledge the Kurdish fight against ISIS and that they are great warriors, but this is not being reflected in the diplomatic spectrum,” said Mutlu Civiroglu, a Washington-based Kurdish affairs analyst, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group.
Thursday’s announcement triggered fears that a Kurdish federal unit would lead to a partition of the war-shattered country — a formula that may make sense in principle after five years of devastating fighting but one that would be messy and unpalatable to most parties.
Some 200 Kurdish officials, who met in the town of Rmeilan in Syria’s predominantly Kurdish province of Hassakeh, insisted they are not partitioning Syria nor seeking secession — but rather making sure the country remains one nation.
“A federal and democratic Syria is a guarantee of coexistence and brotherly relations,” said an online posting from the conference.
Nawaf Khalil, an official with the Democratic Union Party, or PYD, said participants at the Rmeilan meeting included Turkmen, Arabs, Christian and Kurds.
They all approved a “democratic federal system for Rojava-Northern Syria,” he said. Rojava is a Kurdish word that refers to three distinct enclaves, or cantons, under Kurdish control in northern Syria: Jazira, Kobani and Afrin.
The Kurds, a longtime oppressed minority under decades of Assad family rule, have taken advantage of the chaos of the civil war to advance their goals of autonomy. After overstretched government troops withdrew from Kurdish areas to focus on fighting insurgents in other parts of the country, they declared their own civil administration in those three areas in 2013.
It was not immediately clear how the declaration of a federal region would change the situation on the ground.
“The idea of a decentralized Syria is becoming every day more and more common,” said Civiroglu, the analyst. “I see that it can be a real system for all of Syria in the future, something tried on the ground.”
Syria’s Foreign Ministry rejected the move, describing it as “unconstitutional and worthless” and warned against any attempt to encroach upon the integrity of Syrian territory.Syria’s Foreign Ministry rejected the move, describing it as “unconstitutional and worthless” and warned against any attempt to encroach upon the integrity of Syrian territory.
The Syrian National Coalition, one of the main Syrian opposition groups, also said it rejects such unilateral declarations and warned of any attempt to form autonomous regions that “confiscate the will of the Syrian people.”The Syrian National Coalition, one of the main Syrian opposition groups, also said it rejects such unilateral declarations and warned of any attempt to form autonomous regions that “confiscate the will of the Syrian people.”
Khalil said participants in the Rmeilan meeting have approved a “democratic federal system for Rojava-Northern Syria.” Rojava is a Kurdish word that refers to three distinct enclaves, or cantons, under Kurdish control in northern Syria: Jazira, Kobani and Afrin. The idea of a federal region appears to have gained some traction lately as world and regional powers grapple with ways to end the conflict.
Khalil said participants who include Turkmen, Arabs, Christian and Kurds in northern Syria said after they approved the draft that they are now preparing a final statement that will be read later Thursday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week said a federal system is one possible option if the Syrian people agree to it. The United States has also been an ardent supporter of the Kurds in Syria and in the wider region but has not commented on Thursday’s declaration. Turkey said Wednesday that such unilateral moves carry no validity, but did not comment Thursday.
“Federal and Democratic Syria is a guarantee of coexistence and brotherly relations between people,” read a banner posted online from inside the room of the Rmeilan conference. The plan could make sense in a country that has a multitude of sectarian and ethnic minorities for whom it would be difficult to share a unifying national sentiment.
Salih Muslim, the co-president of the PYD, said by telephone that those meeting “are setting up the basis on how constituencies will deal with each other.” But Syria’s war, with its changing front lines, has also created a geographical chaos.
Also in Syria, 61 trucks loaded with aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.N. are waiting to enter four area besieged by the government and insurgents, said ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek. The government, dominated by President Bashar Assad’s Alawite sect of Shiite Islam, controls Damascus, the Alawite heartland along the Mediterranean coast, and other cities and connecting corridors in between. The Kurds run their own affairs in the northeast.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA said on its Twitter account that health, nutrition, hygiene and emergency items are on the way to the rebel-held towns of Madaya Zabadani, near the border with Lebanon, and the government-held villages of Foua and Kfarya in the northwestern Idlib province. The militants of the Islamic State group control much of the Sunni heartland in the east. Other Sunni rebels control pockets in the north and south. Members of the Muslim minority Druse, who make up about 5 percent of Syria’s prewar population of 23 million, have also started talking about autonomy in their southern areas.
Meanwhile in Russia, Putin, who ordered a partial withdrawal of Russian warplanes from Syria earlier this week, said that Russia has kept some forces in Syria to support the Syrian army’s action against the Islamic State group, the Nusra Front — which is al-Qaida’s branch in Syria — and other extremist groups. But any move to carve up the country could risk yet more violence, including ethnic or sectarian cleansing.
He emphasized that the Russian military will be ready to use an array of air defense missile systems it has in Syria “against any targets that would threaten our servicemen.” Kurds control an area along the Turkish border stretching from eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border, to Afrin in the west, interrupted only by a stretch of territory controlled by the Islamic State group.
Putin’s statement underlined Russia’s intention to maintain a strong military presence in Syria to keep its gains after a five-and-a-half-month air campaign that has helped turn the tide of war and allowed Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces to make significant advances. “Only a Kurdish federal region is definitively possible since the Kurds control most of their territories in Kobani and the Hassakeh province,” said Wladimir van Wilgenburg, a political analyst with Jamestown Foundation specializing in Kurdish politics.
Putin said that Assad had been informed in advance about the Russian pullout and supported the decision. “The only problem they have is that they have not connected nor linked their administrations from Kobani up to Afrin,” he added.
Putin praised the Syrian ruler for what he described as his readiness to contribute to a peaceful settlement. “We have seen him shown restraint and demonstrating a sincere striving for peace and readiness for compromise and dialogue,” he said. Meanwhile, in other developments Thursday, 61 trucks loaded with aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations began entering four area besieged by government forces and insurgents, said ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek. The aid had been held up by fighting last week.
The Russian president voiced hope that the partial withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria would help Syria’s indirect peace talks that began in Geneva on Monday. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said on its Twitter account that health, nutrition, hygiene and emergency items are on the way to the rebel-held towns of Madaya Zabadani, near the border with Lebanon, and the government-held villages of Foua and Kfarya in the northwestern Idlib province.
He also said the Syrian army will continue its offensive on the historic central town of Palmyra and drive out the IS forces controlling it. A U.N. aid official, Jan Egeland, said the world body has given the Syrian government its plan to deliver humanitarian aid to 1.1 million Syrians by the end of April.
Earlier Thursday, the commander of the Russian Air Force said the withdrawal of the bulk of the Russian forces from Syria should be complete in two to three days. But he said Damascus still has not granted authorization for aid to six of 18 priority areas the U.N. hopes to reach.
Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily on Thursday that the Air Force aims to meet President Vladimir Putin’s deadline and pull out in the next two to three days. From Moscow, Vladimir Putin warned that despite the Russian drawdown in Syria — a surprising move the Russian president announced this week to bolster the Geneva talks — Russia can again build up its forces “in a few hours” in the Mideast country if necessary.
Putin on Monday announced the withdrawal of most of the Russian forces from Syria to end a five-and-a-half-month campaign there. The first group of bombers left for Russia on Tuesday. Moscow didn’t specify how many aircraft and troops would be withdrawn. It has not revealed how many soldiers it has deployed to Syria, but U.S. estimates of the number of Russian military personnel vary from 3,000 to 6,000. Putin said that Russia has kept some forces in Syria to support the Syrian army’s action against militant groups and would continue striking them.
The statement underlined Russia’s intention to maintain a strong military presence in Syria to keep its gains after a five-and-a-half-month air campaign that has helped turn the tide of war and allowed Assad’s forces to make significant advances.
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Associated Press Writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report. Associated Press Writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.