MESOP FLASH : Syrian opposition chief says Barzani-backed ENKS represent Syria’s Kurds

5 April 2016 — HEWLÊR-Erbil, Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’,— A top Syrian opposition official says that Kurds are an important part of Syria and that the Kurdish National Council (ENKS), represent the Kurds in the country.“Kurds are an essential component of Syria,” said Riyad Hijab, the head of the Syrian oppositions delegation for peace talks.

During his visit to Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s capital Erbil, Hijab, who was also a former Syrian prime minister, told Rudaw that the Kurdish National Council, which is also known by its Kurdish acronym ENKS, “represents Kurds in Syria.”The ENKS, affiliated with Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP party leader Massoud Barzani, founded in Erbil on October 2011, includes 15 small Kurdish political parties in Syria. The council seeks to garner autonomy for Syria Kurdistan, but have no active role in Syria for the past years.

During his Erbil visit, Hijab also meet with Massoud Barzani. They discussed the ongoing efforts to bring about a settlement that will end the Syrian war. Hijab said that he was not optimistic about the future peace talks since “there is no international intention for a political transition”. The KDP doesn’t recognize the autonomous Cantons and the Kurdish government in Syrian Kurdistan which was formed in 2013 by the Democratic Union Party PYD, the biggest Kurdish party in Syrian Kurdistan. Political experts say Massoud Barzani, sees PYD party as potential political competition. www.mesop.de