Syrian Kurdish National Project Fraught With Obstacles
By Bachir Hilal – AL Monitor – Posted 2013-12-18 – On Dec. 3, 2013, Salih Muslim, head of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is close to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), declared his demand for an independent Syrian Kurdish region formed of three provinces under a federal Syrian state. He added, “A committee is preparing this region’s constitution.”
POOR ROBERT F. & POOR JOHN K.
18-12-2013 – MESOP – U.S. Ambassador to Damascus Robert Ford said the Islamist Front has rejected talks with the United States, after Secretary of State John Kerry mentioned a possible meeting with the alliance of Islamist factions. Additionally, western countries met with the Syrian National Coalition at a Friends of Syria meeting in London, where they indicated that peace talks planned for January may not lead to the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
TODAY’S MESOP QUOTATION : “WILL PYD GO THE ALBANIAN WAY IN KURDISTAN?”
PYD’s media spokesman in Qamishli, Sihanok Dibo, told Al-Monitor that the PYD wants a self-reliant community-based economy and to build its own factories based on the ideology of Ocalan, which could provide the alternative to capitalism.
Syrian & Iraqi Kurds more divided over Syria
WASHINGTON — AL MONITOR – WLADIMIR VAN WILGENBURG – The Syrian civil war and the weakening of central states in the Middle East has resulted in a new power struggle among Kurdish parties over control of the Kurdish areas in Syria, instead of unifying them. The outcome is two different Kurdish autonomous zones in Syria and Iraq that compete with each other, based on different economic models.
PYD PLAYS PATRIOTIC ROLE FOR BAATHIST SYRIA
“ The PYD military forces are playing their patriotic role in defending Syria in those areas that are composed of Kurds, Assyrians, and Christians”
(Assad’s Information Minister – 17-12-2013 ) RUDAW
TODAY’S MESOP ANALYSIS : Why Syria’s Kurds are beating Al Qaeda
By Balint Szlanko – @balintszlanko – For Syria Comment, December 16. 2013
The Kurds of Syria have been in the news lately. Fighting—and beating—Al Qaeda-allied groups and other rebel militias in their struggle for Syria’s northeast, in the past year they have in effect set up their own ministate inside the country. Here is why they are winning.
Syrian Minister ‘We Are Not Going to Geneva to Hand Over Power’
By RUDAW 17/12/2013 – By Dilbikhin Dara and Dilxaz Bahlawi – In an important interview with Rudaw in the run-up to the Geneva 2 Conference, Syrian Information Minister Omran Al-Zoubi said that the aim of the January 22 meeting is for the government, the opposition and the international community to reach a consensus on ending terrorism in Syria.
PYD Committee on Visit to Russia, Sahil Muslim to Give Address in the Duma
MONEY FROM RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH / MEETING WITH RUSSIAN & CHINESE „DEMOCRATS“
(ANF) 18-12-2013 – A PYD committee is on an official state visit to Moscow. The committee is composed of Salih Muslim, the co-president of the PYD; Ebdulselam Ehmet the PYD European Representative; and Dr. Xaild İsa, the PYD Representative in France. Muslim is expected to speak before the Russian parliament tomorrow, December 18th.
KEY DATA : UP TO 11,000 FOREIGN FIGHTERS IN SYRIA / STEEP RISE AMONG WESTERN EUROPEANS
By Aaron Y. Zelin – ICSR Insight – December 17, 2013
The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation offers its latest assessment of how many foreigners are fighting in Syria’s civil war, which countries they hail from, and other key data. Since ICSR published its first estimate in April, the issue of foreign fighters in Syria has become a major concern for Western governments. More reports have emerged since, though few have accurately gauged the full extent and evolution of the phenomenon.
The Changing of the Tide in the Syrian Civil War / THE ISRAEL POINT OF VIEW
INSS Insight No. 499, December 17, 2013 – Itamar Rabinovich
The tide is changing in the Syrian civil war. Bashar al-Assad and his regime are gaining momentum, the opposition is weakening, and some of its major traditional supporters seem to be reconsidering their position. These new trends influence the options available to those advocating transition to a more democratic and moderate regime in Syria as well as those who are primarily interested in the stability of the country and the region. As matters stand now, there does not seem to be a military solution, certainly not a desirable one, to the crisis. The opposition, which in 2012 and early 2013 seemed able to defeat the regime, now seems unable to achieve this. The regime has momentum on its side, but its prospect of reestablishing itself effectively throughout Syria is dim. A political diplomatic solution is the best option but it is doubtful that given his recent momentum, as well as Russian and Iranian support, Assad would be willing to step down.
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