Politicians discuss aspects of Turkey-Syria rapprochement in Syria’s Hasakah
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press)— A group of politicians held on Saturday a panel discussion in the city of Hasakah, northeast Syria, to discuss Turkey’s recent rhetoric of reconciling with the Syrian government and how it affects the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
Speaking on the sidelines of the panel, Amina Omar, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), said, “The recent shift in the Turkish stance [towards the Syrian government], and Turkish officials’ statements about the need to open communication channels with the Damascus government is not surprising or coincidental.”
The SDC is the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the AANES. It was founded in 2015 and includes all the communities of north and east Syria.
Omar told North Press, “The Turkish state conducts its policies according to its interests and agendas. It had a good relationship with the Syrian regime before 2011, but Turkey’s stance changed immediately” after the Syrian uprising on March 15 of the same year.
When that happened, “It turned against the Syrian regime to show that it stands with the Syrian people and their aspirations, and started supporting Political Islam in Syria,” said the politician.
Omar went further saying, “This shift is related to the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration in the region. Turkey will work hard to prevent the establishment of any democratic entity in the region and is now striving for rapprochement with the Syrian regime.”
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.
Regarding the Turkish reconciliation with the government, Omar said that this rapprochement “does not serve the Syrian people who led a revolution for freedom and dignity. It is only a step to gain support inside Turkey and win elections.”
Speaking of recent protests in the Turkish-held areas in northern Syria against reconciliation, Omar said, “There were reactions from the Syrians, but the political wing of the [Syrian] opposition – which is now forming a delegation in order to negotiate with the Syrian regime – is just a tool at Turkey’s hands.”
“Therefore, a distinction must be made between the political opposition which is just a tool and the Syrians who oppose the regime and reject this rapprochement,” she added.
Khalid Ibrahim, a member in the Department of Foreign Relations of the AANES, said that Turkey has always been opposed to a stabilized Syria, so it always makes new bargains at the expense of the Syrian people’s future.
“Turkey is trying by various means to sabotage what has been built in the areas of north and east Syria, which is a model for resolving the Syrian issue in a comprehensive manner,” he added.
Politician Nourshan Hussein highlighted the danger of a Syrian-Turkish rapprochement, saying, “The Syrian opposition has been the most exploited party at the hands of the Turkish regime and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during the Syrian crisis.”
She added, “The fate of the opposition has become jeopardized after it became a tool at the hands of the Turkish state…demonstrations that were staged in the occupied areas indicate that the people – who have been used as a bargaining chip – now know what is happening behind the scenes.”
Hussein called for all Syrians to unite and support the AANES and its project, which proposes a solution to the Syrian crisis, after “things became clear and Turkey opened up to the Syrian regime.”
“The hidden agreements that are taking place between the actors in the Syrian conflict, specifically, target the Kurds and the regions of north and east Syria. The Syrian and Turkish regimes agree on this point and thus impeding any project that would solve the Syrian crisis,” she said.
Ali Rahmoun, member of the Executive Committee of the SDC, said that the recent Turkish positions proved its false claims as a country that supports the Syrians.
Rahmoun noted the real Syrian opposition to head towards the SDC.
“There are many voices calling for dialogue with the SDF instead of negotiating with the [Syrian] regime, as it is the only remaining glimmer of hope for Syrians,” he added.