Kurdish parties in Sere-Kaniye fear the Turkish role in “security mechanism” agreement

The US-Turkish agreement regarding the proposed “security mechanism” in northern Syria has provoked different reactions among the political parties in the city of Sere-Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), where a number of political parties which operate in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, in addition to other parties, which are not licensed by the Administration.

Joan Isso, a member of the relations committee of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) at his party’s headquarters in Sere-Kaniye said that his party “positively views the agreement between the United States, Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF),” noting that they support any political and diplomatic efforts leading to a way out of the crisis between Turkey and the SDF.

Isso stressed that Turkey should not enter the Syrian territories or impose guardianship on the designated areas in the agreement, noting that the SDF has been committed on the ground regarding the implementation of the agreement, within the sector between Sere-Kaniye and Gre Spi (Tal Abyad).

The member of PYD’s relations committee pointed out that in order to “establish sustainable peace and stability in the region, Turkey must withdraw from all the territories which it has entered, such as Afrin, Jarablus,Azaz and others”.

For his part, an official of Sere-Kaniye Organization in the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti) Idris Isso, said that there is “a state of fear that Turkey would exploit the safe zone to run its personal interests,” noting that the Global Coalition forces and the SDF will respond to any Turkish violation of what had been agreed on.

The Democratic Unity Party is one of the involved parties in the Autonomous Administration by local elections which were held in late of 2017 in the Administration regions, the Kurdish political party was the main rival candidate of the PYD, especially in the Afrin region.

The Unity Party official stressed that the return of refugees “doesn’t pose a problem for the Autonomous Administration, except for those whose hands are stained with the blood of Syrians”.

The Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party in Syria (PDKS) does not agree with the other parties on the regard of the proposed safe zone, as it fears the US-Turkish agreement, and is concerned because they do not know the contents of the agreement, according to Central Committee member Gorgin Noyran, noting that his party is “against the establishment of the safe zone under the Turkish administration”.

“Turkey could agree with the US implicitly, and could pose a serious threat to the security and safety of the region,” Noyran explained.

Moreover, Noyran stressed the need to unite the Kurdish ranks in the face of Turkish threats and that “it is necessary to overcome the disputes between the different political parties to face the ongoing Turkish threats”.

It’s worth mentioning that the “security mechanism” which was agreed on between the United States, Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on August 7, includes in addition to other items, the repatriation of Syrian refugees to the covered area by the agreement between Sere-Kaniye and Gre Spi.