MESOP NEWS : THE POLICY OF PYD (YPG) IS BASED ON PKK – CZECH POLITICANS – Syrian Kurdistan’s YPG office in Czech Rep. closed

13 Dec 2016 – PRAGUE,— The representation office of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) Kurdish militia of Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), which opened in Prague in April 2016, has closed because it failed to launch cooperation with Czech politicians and win support for the recognition of its nation, daily Pravo wrote on Monday.

The group led by Sheruan Hassan, with permanent residence in the Netherlands, was to contribute to the protection and support of the interests of the people of Kurdistan and focus on promotion of Kurds, humanitarian aid and international cooperation, the paper writes.According to Pravo’s sources, the group withdrew from Prague shortly after the opening of the office.Lawyer Slavomir Hrinko, who provided legal services for the group and in whose real estate the office had its official seat, told the paper that the lease agreement with YPG Europe group was not extended.

Czech diplomacy has taken a reserved stance on contacts with the YPG.Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Michaela Lagronova said the Czech Republic does not recognise the so-called Syrian Kurdistan as a subject of international law. “The Foreign Ministry has not maintained any contact with the group,” she told the paper about the Kurdish office.The office seems to have faced problems related to security threats and diplomacy.Political scientist Michael Murad, from Brno’s Masaryk University, said Czech diplomacy based its position on the YPG’s links to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the European Union and the USA consider terrorist groups. “The links are clear. The PKK was at the foundation of the PYD and they are narrowly connected in terms of ideology and military. The YPG is the militia of the PYD. It is of key importance that the Czechs are allies of Turkey that is in NATO, and Turkey may not want such (Kurdish) office to be in our country,” Murad told Pravo. www.mesop.de