MESOP INSIGHT REPORT ROVAJA/MANBIJ-KURDISTAN SYRIA / THE STALINIST ATMOSPHERE IN OECALAN’S PYD/PKK COUNTRY
14 May 2017 – Report: There are no Syrian flags in the streets, only those of the Manbij military council, a front for the PKK. But the Baath Party is back. Anyone wanting to become a school administrator must be a member. Schoolchildren carry identity cards bearing the image of Bashar al Assad. And “Corrective Movement” day, commemorating the coup that brought the Assad family to power in 1970, is also back. It was celebrated as a national holiday Nov. 16—a day off from school and work.
Those are outward signs of regime influence. Security is in the hands of Kurdish intelligence and police units, but so many of their actions directly benefit the regime that they must be taking direction from Damascus. Read all www.mesop.de