MESOP NEWS “LESSONS FROM HISTORY” : There will now and never a Kurdish autonomy under Assad – Realize it ! PKK/PYD !

Assad says Kurdish federal zone in Syria ‘temporary’

December 9, 2016    Kurdish Region, Syria – ARA News – The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that the Syrian constitution doesn’t allow federalism and that the federal structures created by the Kurds in northern Syria “are temporary”. This although the majority of Syrian Kurds want federalism or decentralization in areas under the control of Kurdish forces.Assad said that the local self-administrations set up by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and their allies in northern Syria are temporary.

“They take advantage of the absence of the state in a number of areas in the north in order to create specific social structures, which take a political form, in order to manage people’s affairs, and they talk about federalism. These are temporary structures,” he said about Rojava.“These factions [Kurdish parties] are diverse: some patriotic, some mercenary, and some seek separation and federalism. The scene is very diverse and complicated. We cannot take a clear position. It depends on the case,” he said.“Priority is given now to dealing with terrorism. We say that we support every group fighting terrorism and terrorists. The question of federalism is quite different; it is related first to the constitution and second to the popular state in that region,” Assad said.

“The constitution doesn’t allow for it to happen, and amending the constitution needs a referendum, and the popular state is not amenable to that trend, even among the Kurds themselves. The largest section of the Kurds do not support this,” he said.Although the Syrian president Assad said that the Kurds do not want federalism, almost all Kurdish parties, including the PYD and the Kurdish National Council (KNC), support federalism.

“But for us, dealing with federalism cannot happen except after we finish the problem of terrorism, then the people will decide. As far as we are concerned as a state, we accept whatever the Syrian people accept, and I don’t think that the Syrian people accept federalism anywhere in Syria. That’s why I’m not concerned about this proposition,” he stated.

Moreover, the Syrian president did not rule out a clash with the Turkish army in Syria. “As long as the Turkish policy is run by an abnormal and psychologically-disturbed person like Erdogan, we have to expect all possibilities,” Assad said.

“But ultimately, when there is Turkish interference, Syria has the right to defend its territories. This is self-evident, and we will of course do it. Now there are military priorities, but in principle we certainly have the right,” he added.

Furthermore, the Syrian president said he is also ready to work with the new president Donald Trump who said its his goal to fight ISIS, not to overthrow the Syrian government. “In principle, we have spoken about the necessity of forming an alliance against terrorism since 1985. And we continuously announce that Syria is ready to cooperate with any party seeking seriously to fight terrorism. This is a general principle which applies to the United States and all countries,” Assad said.

In the meantime, Salih Muslim, the co-Chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) said on Wednesday that the Kurds do not want to divide Syria and have no interests to fight in Damascus.“We have a project for all Syria; a democratic federal decentralized Syria. We are ready to discuss this with everyone: The Alawites, Druze, Sunnis, and others,” Salih said. “This is the Syria we want. If they don’t accept it, Syria will be divided. I am sorry to say that, but there is no other choice to keep Syria together: to have a decentralized, democratic, and secular system,” he said.Bader Mustafa, a member of the Kurdish Youth Movement (TCK), told ARA News that Assad is trying to send a message to the Kurds and asserting his own dominion over Syria. “It is the same delusion he has been living for, for years. It is not Assad’s decision anymore.”

“Assad is telling the Kurds that his regime can prevent what the Kurds want, which is a federal system and an end to the dictatorship of the Arab majority,” Mustafa said. “I think it is not the right of any majority to decide for the minority.”

“We as Kurds are not a minority voluntarily, but due to the Sykes-Picot agreement, which prevented us from having one Kurdish state,” Mustafa said. “It is obvious that the Kurds do not want a centralised state in Syria.”Zara Salih, a Member of the Kurdish Yekiti Party in Syria, agreed. “What Assad is saying isn’t anything new, he is still denying the Kurdish issue and rejects the federal system the Kurdish people ask for.”“Assad keeps sending messages to the Kurds, especially to the Democratic Union Party, saying that what they’re doing against ISIS is their duty and there are no privileges for them,” Salih told ARA News.

The official also says that because of Turkey and other states there is no aid coming into Rojava although many border gates could be opened or NGOs could send aid. “There are political reasons. We are asking even the United Nations, the US, and others to not to get permission from Turkey to something in Rojava, why not directly deal with those people?” he said. “This does not mean to recognize Rojava as a different part [of Syria]. Rojava is a part of the Syrian revolution, or a part of a democratic federal Syria, but nobody wants to do it. They have benefits with other countries, mainly with Turkey, Iran, or the Syrian regime that don’t accept it,” he said. www.mesop.de