‘PYD political thought resembles that of Baath Party’: Kurdish politician

MESOP : PLÄDOYER FOR A PLURALISTIS DEMOCRACY  IN WEST KURDISTAN

Kawa Azizi – ARA News – Exclusive  – 15.4.2014 – Iraqi Kurdistan – Kawa Azizi is a member of the Central Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDPS). Azizi was leader of the former Kurdish Azadi Party which united with three other Syrian Kurdish parties and all announced their incorporation into one single party – the KDPS – at the beginning of April 2014 in the foundational conference, held in Erbil city, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan.

In an inclusive interview with ARA News, Azizi talked about the formation of the KDPS, their aspirations and political stances regarding current issues in the predominantly Kurdish areas of Syria, and the efforts of his party to break the stranglehold imposed by the “PYD’s (Democratic Union Party) de facto authority” on the KDPS leaders and members. Azizi holds a PhD in political sciences from the University of Sofia in Bulgaria and lived in there when it was ruled by the communists and was a Soviet ally. He also witnessed the democratic reforms in the Bulgaria in 1989.

He stated to ARA News that the leaders of his party (KDPS) will enter the Syrian territories and “will continue their struggle despite the efforts of the PYD’s de facto authority and its armed forces which try to prevent our fellow members’ entry”.

Talking about the organizational aspect of the newly formed party of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Syria (KDPS), Azizi said that the KDPS will be an “institutional party”. “We started with organizing the youth and the students in the party and will end with the establishment of all the other organizational bodies required for the work of our party institutionally,” Azizi explained.

In regard with the mechanism of election and nomination at the foundational conference of the party in April 2014, Azizi said: “The right of election and nomination was ensured for everybody without any exceptions and each delegate practised his right without being put under any kind of pressure. I personally witnessed the transitional democratic period of Bulgaria in 1989 and I can assure that we had a better democratic atmosphere at the foundational conference of our party.”

As for their relations with the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq (KDP) and its president Masoud Barzani, Azizi emphasized: “We will continue our struggle on the path of the deceased Kurdish leader Malla Mustafa Barzani until achieving the legitimate rights of the Kurdish people in Syria, using all the possible peaceful means,” adding: “our party will follow new politics relying on the academic competencies and the political experiences of the cadres of the party and the people of Syrian Kurdistan who are willing to take the path the party has drawn.”

Azizi moved on to talk about the “Law of Political Parties” issued by the PYD-led self-rule administration in northern Syria few months ago, saying: “The draft laws issued by the PYD have nothing to do with us, as we don’t recognize the PYD-led self-rule administration which it tries to impose on the people and political groups in Syrian Kurdistan using the force of the arms and the support of the Syrian regime. We refuse the oppression and the unilateral decisions of the PYD in Syrian Kurdistan.”

“We disagree with the PYD on all issues,” Azizi told ARA News. “While we are in the opposition, they work for the Syrian regime. We are part of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) which contains different Kurdish political parties and different views, while they base their work on one ideology and work unilaterally. We call for a national federal system for the Kurds in Syria with one geographic entity, while the PYD project of self-rule administration divided the Kurds into three cantons after the approval and blessing of the Syrian regime.” “Moreover, we promote political pluralism and coexistence, while they (in the PYD)  are unable to deal with the other and refuse political pluralism. Their political thought resembles that of the Baath Party, while our political project is clear and demands democracy and federalism for Syria and the overthrow of the regime and its security institutions,” Aziz concluded. http://aranews.net/2014/05/pyd-political-thought-resembles-that-of-baath-party-kurdish-leader/