Views from Damascus regarding the relationship between Damascus and the Autonomous Administration
Damascus – North-Press Agency
Ahmed Kanaan
The relationship between the Syrian government in Damascus and the Autonomous Administration of north-eastern Syria is witnessing many tensions, especially after the Turkish military invasion of the Syrian territories on 9 October in the east of the Euphrates, after which the Autonomous Administration reached an agreement with Damascus, according to which, the Syrian government forces would be deployed in several areas on the Syrian-Turkish borders in northern Syria to counter the Turkish military invasion.
North-Press polled the opinions of writers and politicians in Damascus about how this relationship could link Damascus with the north-eastern Syria administration, the legal formulas and understandings that might be reached between the two sides, while they ruled out the possibility of any military clash between them.
In this regard, the writer and political analyst, Mahmoud Taha, said that the government’s talk in Damascus that the Syrian-Kurds are an essential and important component of the Syrian society, that necessarily requires understanding with them within a national framework guarantees their rights and guarantees the unity of the Syrian territories. Taha believed that there is disagreement over some of the details, but it can be formulated and resolved in a possible way and stressed that for the Kurds, Damascus is indispensable, which in turn is for Damascus, the Kurds and all components of northern region of Syria are indispensable, adding: "Either drowning together or surviving together.” He also saw that the Russian guarantor would facilitate the understandings between the two sides, and said: "I think that the Kurds will get some decentralization, and this idea will be accepted by both sides, and then confidence can be built upon to proceed towards addressing the pending details such as cultural and social rights and this is in line with the higher interests of the Syrian state.”
Engineer Basil Koueifi, the Head of the National Democratic Bloc in Syria stressed that the relationship between the authority and the citizen must be horizontal and contractual and based on mutual rights and commitments, and provide its details a social contract that results in a constitution that contributes to creating a large area that enhances the sustainability of the political stability and the social, economic and cultural security in the country. Koueifi noted that the priority now is to give a push for stability in the regions of northeastern Syria through arrangements between the Syrian government and the Autonomous-Administration, and between the political and community activities in the region under the Russian guarantee. This is to gradually merge the region into the Syrian state, in accordance with the peculiarity of these areas, with an emphasis on citizenship, equality, rule of law, administrative decentralization, and public freedoms.
Muhammad al-Shamaa, the head of the Civil Awareness Movement, excluded any conflict or clash between the Syrian government and the Autonomous Administration due to the existence of a semi-understanding since the beginning of the crisis in Syria. Especially, that there were almost uninterrupted visits at the level of officials from both sides, according to al-Shamaa.
He added that the main reason for tensing the relationship between the Syrian government and the north-eastern Syria administration was the U.S. military presence in the region.
Al-Shamaa said added: "I believe that the settlement will be the most prominent title between the Syrian government and the Autonomous Administration, especially since Russia supports the dialogue between the two sides. This is clear from its statements, as well as when it presented a draft constitution for Syria. Russia stressed on the cultural rights of the Kurds in the Syria.”