Opposition Coalition is political front for terrorism: Syria’s Autonomous Administration
QAMLISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday, the representatives of the Autonomous Administration in northeast Syria in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq said that the Syrian Coalition is cooperating with the Turkish occupation, and it is a political interface for terrorism practiced in Syria.
The representatives issued a written statement in response to the visit of the Syrian Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SNC), based in Ankara, to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
On Tuesday, the delegation headed by Nasr al-Hariri, head of the Turkish-backed Syrian coalition, arrived in Erbil on an official visit that will last for three days.
The Autonomous Administration said that the visit of “a delegation from the so-called Coalition headed by…Nasr al-Hariri to Hewler (Erbil) comes in the context of total damage to the Kurdish issue.”
A few days ago, al-Hariri appeared in pictures from Afrin, accompanied by leaders of opposition groups accused of war crimes, before heading to Erbil.
The Autonomous Administration added that the SNC wants to visit Erbil to “put real obstacles in the way of the Kurdish talks in Rojava.”
Opposing Kurdish political parties are negotiating in Syria to unify their political position after the initiative of Mazloum Abdi, Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“The successive Turkish occupations of our regions, such as Afrin, Sere Kaniye, and Tel Abyad, were with the direct participation of the same coalition, which is headed by al-Hariri and a group of people that sit in Turkey’s lap,” the statement added.
The Turkish invasion of Afrin in March 2018 led to the displacement of at least 300,000 native residents of Afrin from their homes, according to human rights reports.
The Autonomous Administration accused the SNC of trying with “all means to strike the democratic project presented by the Kurds and the communities of northeast Syria, and defended it vigorously in the face of the plans of the Turkish occupation state.”
The representatives of the Autonomous Administration of northeast Syria in the Kurdistan Region believe that the visit “carries common intentions harmful to the interests of Rojava’s Kurds and the communities of northeast Syria.”
The meeting “does not conform to the spirit of nationalism and patriotism, especially after the displacement of hundreds of thousands of our people from their regions as a result of the policies and agreements of the SNC with the Turkish state,” according to the Autonomous administration.
On Wednesday, al-Hariri published a picture of himself with Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and former president of the Kurdistan region, on his Twitter account.
Earlier Wednesday, Ali Shamdeen, a member of the political bureau of the Kurdish Progressive Democratic Party in Syria, warned that the SNC would “exploit the status of the Kurdistan Region among the segments of Kurdish society.”
The Autonomous Administration said that “The Coalition includes ,among its ranks and its military wing what so- called the National Army, terrorists and mercenaries from ISIS, as well as those who participated in the war with Turkey against other regions, Libya and Azerbaijan”.
In mid-October, members of the Turkish opposition groups raised the flag of the Islamic State (ISIS) during a protest.
The delegation of the Autonomous Administration of northeast Syria in the Kurdistan Region saw that the visit and the way of reception by Erbil amounts to “tacit approval about what the Coalition is doing in Rojava, and that does not serve the Kurdish interest or the interest of the Syrian people”.