ERBIL/HEWLER CONFERENCE ON WEST KURDISTAN BOYCOTTED BY PYD

Syrian Kurdish Leader Claims Western Powers Will Support Kurds

06/02/2012 RUDAW – ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan — Abdulhakim Bashar, the head of the Kurdish National Council (KNC), said he has obtained international guarantees for the rights of Kurds in Syria after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.

Bashar told Rudaw that his council has the support of America, Britian and France. His claims were not independently verified.Bashar said the KNC has had talks with the British, French and American foreign ministries last month.“Officials at the British foreign ministry said that they would support the demands of the Kurds in Syria and that they would try to organize the KNC like the SNC.” Bashar said.

Bashar added, “We told the British officials that we are concerned that the Arab-dominated SNC (Syria National Council) may ignore our rights in the future, but they assured us that they will pressure any future Syrian government to recognize the rights of the Kurds and Christians.” Bashar said he also received reassurances from French and US State Department officials that they would support Kurdish rights if Bashar al-Assad’s regime falls. A senior US official said the US would impose sanctions on Syria if Kurdish rights are not recognized. Bashar said he is negotiations with the SNC to form a united alliance, but the SNC so far has not accepted the Kurdish rights to self-determination in the new Syria.

Since the beginning of anti-government protests in Syria in March 2011, Kurdish politicians from Syria have been trying to unite their forces and draw a plan for the post-Assad era. Last month, Kurdish parties and independent figures met at a major conference in Erbil to share their views on how to guarantee Kurdish rights in Syria. The 11-party KNC along with dozens of political figures from across the region and Europe attended the conference. The Democratic Union Party (PYD) was one Kurdish party that did not attend the Erbil conference. PYD leaders have been critical of the regional pressure against Assad’s regime.

Muhammad Salih Muslim, the leader of PYD, told Rudaw, “Those who participated in the conference have close ties to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the conference was organized by Barzani. The KDP wants the participants in the conference to build ties with the SNC.”

Muslim believes that the SNC is supported by Turkey and therefore should be boycotted. Muslim said, “We see that this effort by the Kurdistan President for reconciliation in Syria will lead to the disintegration of Syrian Kurds.” PYD has been accused by other Kurdish parties of siding with the Assad regime and close ties with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has been supported by the Syrian regime in the past.In response to PYD’s view on the Erbil conference, the office of President Barzani released a statement last week that read, “Let the people of Kurdistan make that judgment. What in the Erbil conference was about division? Those patriots who attended the conference would never join any effort that aims to divide.” The statement read that parties and the people would not have accepted anything that may aim to drive people apart. Muslim, who spoke to Rudaw on the telephone from Syria, said, “We were invited to the conference but just as guests.”In response, Kurdish officials said the PYD was sent the same official as all other parties. Bashar, the head of KNC, maintained, “PYD was sent invitations more than once to participate in the Erbil conference. Every known Kurdish party in Syria was invited and the PYD made a mistake by boycotting the conference.”