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Federalism calls mount in Hasakah as revolution flag banned in 5th anniversary

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The 5th anniversary of the Syrian Revolution comes in conjunction with many calls to implement federalism in self-administrated regions under the sponsorship of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The flag of the Syrian Revolution was banned in these regions as well as the activities of pro-Syrian Revolution parties, organizations and activists. Still, the self-administrated regions’ founders and their allies insist they represent the Syrian Revolution.

Co-president of Syrian Democratic Council Haitham Manaa said, ‘the peaceful democratic opposition succeeded in coordinating with self-administration and Syria democratic forces as well as other civil and political forces in order to build a civil democratic front that fights both tyranny and terrorism,’ according to a dialogue published by Hawar agency which is close to the Kurdish Democratic Union.

The spokesperson of the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces alliance, Talal Silo said, ‘we represent the opposition in the trenches. We own the land and we have the local population’s approval. We have the power, determination, organization and victory which our heroes have achieved.

This is at a time when the Syrian National Coalition takes Istanbul and Riyadh to be its headquarters. They are hotel opposition only and they do not have popularity inside of Syria. They now claim they represent the Syrian people in negotiations. They do not represent the Syrian people and they will certainly fail.’

On the other hand, Aldar Khalil a prominent leader in self-administration conducts almost daily meetings and issues statements every now and then related to federalism said, ‘our proposal is the democratic federal regime and when we propose this we mean a regime for all of Syria.’

This is the situation in north of Syria five years after the start of the Syrian people’s revolution against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in March 2011 where the Syrian people demanded freedom and dignity.

Peaceful protests were suppressed throughout Syria without exception. The regime benefited from the Arab Spring experiences and prepared itself for the Syrian revolution where it started talking about a scenario it called the Bandar bin Sultan plan. The plan was printed and distributed to military personnel, Baathists and employees in government institutions before the protests were suppressed.

The regime, its head and media apparatus also spoke of infiltrators among the protesters as ruse to distract from the ‘rightful demands’ of the protestors.

Syrians predicted the Syrian north with its majority Kurdish population would be the center of the revolutionary strongholds on the military, social and political level since most of Kurds opposed the regime in Syria. They opposed the ruling Baath party in particular whether in Syria or Iraq. In 2004, the regime security apparatus suppressed the Kurdish uprising.

The regime was aware of these sentiments and took the initiative to solve the most important issue for Syrian Kurds especially those who were without Syrian citizenship. Bashar al-Assad issued a decree on the 4th of April 2011, less than a month after the start of the revolution, ‘giving those who are registered in records as Haskah foreigners the Syrian citizenship’ and this way the regime attempted to neutralizing them in the clashes he predicted and planned for.

The Assad’s regime’s most important step against the Syrian revolution was taken in northern Syrian as the regime withdrew its forces from the borders’ region leaving its strongholds to armed persons subject to the Democratic Union Party, the Syrian wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The move was taken in parallel with the revolution becoming armed and the revolutionaries’ liberation of several of the cities and towns in Aleppo’s countryside, the most important being Manbaj.

The countryside of Aleppo was a launching point for revolutionaries’ brigades to move in parallel to the Turkish borders to the north of Raqqa until they reached at the end of 2012 the city of Ayn al-Arab. Thus, the regime’s aim in evacuating these regions became clear. The regime aimed at eliminating any sympathy in Kurdish street for the Free Syrian Army by enabling a Kurdish force, represented by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) the most important arm of PYD armed forces, to act as a competitor.

In the beginning of 2014, the PYD hastened to announce the foundation of a self-administrative regime with its own military and security apparatus, its own courts, and its own institutions similar to the government institutions in three districts: Afrin, Ayn al-Arab and Al-Jazira (north of Hasakah). Most of these regions were not shelled by the Syrian regime’s helicopters and warplanes.

ISIS and ‘Ayn al-Arab’

The Islamic State organization appeared in 2013 under the name the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’. In the beginning of 2014, it took control of Raqqa and Hasakah governorates to extend later on to Deir ez-Zor following clashes with ‘al-Nusra Front’ which rejected ISIS along with Syrian revolutionary armed factions.

The radical group achieved power and took center stage in September 2014 when it launched an extensive offensive on Ayn al-Arab City (Kobani). Through this offensive, it took control of more than 300 villages and 70 percent of the city. The offensive led the International Coalition against ISIS to extend its attacks which it had started in August 2014 in Iraq to Syria. It began shelling ISIS strongholds near the Kurdish city.

The aforementioned developments in Kobani received more media coverage than events in any other Syrian city which experienced double the destruction inflected on Kobani by the Syrian regime and ISIS alike.

In January 2015, ISIS withdrew from Kobani and a new phase began with the Democratic Union Party becoming the United States’ favorite ally as the US is enticed by the idea of communist parties fighting Islamic factions and vice versa.
Kurdish political reference.

Member of the General Secretariat of the Kurdish National Council Mohamed Ismail confirmed the Kurdish political reference was formed in consensus with Social Union Movement including the PYD and the Kurdish National Council. Later on it was put on hold following elections of the political reference due to the Kurdish National Council taking eviction procedures of three parties. The evicted three parties betrayed the council and voted for close persons to ‘Taqadum’ (moving forward) Movement. The later had obstructed working with the political reference due to council evicting the parties.

The administrative official of the political office of the PKK in Syria clarified in a statement to Zaman al-Wasl that the Democratic Society Taqadum formed 40% of the reference, the Kurdish National Council 40% and independent members 20%. Their mission was to form a political reference, an administrative reference to run the regions, and military reference to merge the armed forces.

The Kurdish leader added that those declared a new movement in the city of Amuda, the capital of PYD self-administration under the name, ‘Kurdish Democratic National Coalition’ and not under the names of parties which formed the reference. He indicated that a faction of supporters of the three parties stayed under the Kurdish National Council and they committed to the council’s decision.
According to Ismail, the parties of the new movement consented with the approach of Democratic Social movement and PYD party according to their statement in which they announced their armed groups support and self-administration.

The member of General Secretariat of Kurdish National Council considered the founding of this new movement as an attempt to found a third party in the Syrian Kurdish movement, to disperse it and close off the road in front of any effort from Barzani to unify the Kurds.


Kurdish national opposition


‘Democratic Union’ seeks to form a Kurdish opposition to it inside of its own Kurdish administration in north of Syria. It is very much similar to what Assad regime calls a ‘national opposition.’

The Kurdish political reference was formed in October 2014 following the pressure of severe battles in Ayn al-Arab east of Aleppo. The political reference was formed based on the ‘Dohuk Accord’ signed between Kurdish National Council and Democratic Society Movement (including PYD) under the sponsorship of Masoud al-Barzani President of Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

The reference aimed at involving the National Council in running the self-administrated regions in northern Syria. That came with an American approval to offer aid contingent on Union Party ending its relations with the Bashar al-Assad regime.


Syrian Democratic Forces

The United States declared on October 10 last year that it was sending an arms shipment to the Kurdish forces in Hasakah. The next day the formation of coalition of the Syria Democratic Forces was announced under the leadership of PYD.

Thus, the Kurdish party was given international coverage to enter Arab populated regions in Aleppo, Raqqa, and Hasakah to fight the ‘Islamic State’ organization.


Preceding from the aforementioned development, the Kurdish self-administration convened a rival conference to the conference in Riyadh in ‘Malekeye’ City in Hasakah on the 8th and 9th of December 2015. The conference was convened in order to form a political front from these forces. This front was proposed as an opposition force although these forces did not fight effectively against Bashar al-Assad as other Islamic factions or opposition brigades in northern Syria.


(Reporting by Mohamed al-Hussein; Translation by Rana Abdul)


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