After intra-Kurdish rapprochement, residents call for practical applications

KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – Residents of the city of Kobani, northern Syria, called on Kurdish political parties that reached an initial understanding and development of a political vision to take practical steps on the ground, including protecting the region and the return of displaced people to areas occupied by Turkey and its affiliated armed groups under international guarantees.

"There must be political mobilization and practical action for this agreement to make people feel truly involved, through improving their life conditions. The agreement should not remain only informative and limited to statements," Kobani resident Radwan Hami said.

“It is necessary to make the return of the displaced from Afrin, Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), and Tel Abyad (Gre-Spi) a priority and a basic agenda in the agreement between the Kurdish National Council (ENKS, a group of Kurdish political parties affiliated with the Turkish backed Syrian National Coalition) and the Kurdish National Unity parties (PYNK, 25 Kurdish Syrian parties formed to support the Kurdish unity talks),” he added.

“The return of the displaced to their areas must be carried out with international guarantees by the U.S. and Russia, because returning without guarantees will expose them to arrest and ransom demands from their families,” added Hami.

ENKS and the Kurdish National Unity parties announced that they reached an initial understanding on a political vision for Syria stemming from the 2014 Duhok agreement on the 17th of this month. This came after a long-term intensive dialogue on the initiative of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi and with direct American support and sponsorship.

Kobani resident Farhad Mulla said that “the announcement that the Kurdish parties made are positive, but they need to be mobilized…we do not want this agreement to be merely ink on paper. Everyone was waiting for the Kurdish political parties to stand side by side."

Mulla pointed to the importance of the provisions related to protecting the people of the region, and that Roj Peshmerga forces (a fighting force affiliated with ENKS based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq which have not been able to enter Syria) will unite with the SDF to protect the Kurds and the region together. The current negotiations did not address the main topics yet, despite announcement of the end of the first stage, which the two parties described as an important historic step.

Though Kobani resident Meshal Meshal was pleased with the agreement, he said that “people will not trust the agreement unless practical steps are achieved on the ground. And we hope that this agreement will not be like previous agreements that were not completed and applied on the ground."

ENKS and the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) had previously met in the city of Hawler in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in 2012, resulting in the formation of the Kurdish Supreme Committee, which signed the Dohuk Agreement in 2014. This agreement was never implemented due to disputes between the two sides.

(reporting by Fattah Issa, editing by Lucas Chapman)