Ciya Kurd sheds lights on sitution of religious and ethnic communities in NE Syria

To begin, could you describe the Autonomous Administration’s vision for religious freedom and mutual respect among different religious and ethnic communities in northeast Syria? How does this vision stand in contrast both to the Assad regime’s use of sectarianism and to the future objectives of other segments of the Syrian opposition?

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) adopts the principle of freedom of religion and belief as a basis for enhancing individual liberties and to preserve the diversity of society. This was confirmed by some articles in our social contract, which stated that all ethnic and religious communities have the right to form their own institutions and preserve their culture, and no community has the right to impose its faith on others by force. On this basis the Autonomous Administration has included all religious communities in the administration, to resolve all the historical religious and sectarian conflicts in our regions. As an example of the inclusivity of the AANES, the Office of Religious Affairs, is headed by a Muslim and has two deputies a Christian and a Yazidi.

After the liberation of Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Tabqa and Manbij from ISIS, with the support of the Global Coalition, we immediately established civil administrations based on peaceful coexistence, religious tolerance and gender equality. Many Yazidis, Christians, Kurds and secular families who fled from ISIS have returned to their homes. Women’s and civil organizations started to work in these areas and made significant improvements in the social transformation. Thus, the AANES has become a model for the future of a democratic, pluralistic Syria in which all religions and beliefs enjoy freedom.

As for the Syrian opposition, which adopts political Islam as an ideology for drawing the future of Syria, they do not differ from the radical groups, which has followed systematic policies of kidnapping, killing, rape and other heinous crimes in occupied Afrin and Sari Kani against yezidis and other communities. Christians were also subjected to the same disastrous policies. These crimes were documented by UN reports on Syria.  

USCIRF held a hearing in June 2020 to discuss religious freedom conditions specifically in northeast Syria, including in areas that the AANES governs. Now, two years later, how have conditions evolved? How has the AANES practically worked to implement its stated commitment to religious and ethnic pluralism and inclusiveness?

The AANES has established a culture of respect for religious identities in our society, as an alternative to the sectarian practices of the Islamist opposition.

We are drafting a new social contract for north and east of Syria, and then holding free and fair elections, and everyone will have the opportunity to participate.

However, one of the main challenges facing the AANES is the Turkish threat and its daily attacks on our regions with the aim of creating chaos, instability, and undermining the culture of peaceful coexistence among the diverse ethnic and religious groups, as the Ottomans did against the Armenians and the Kurds. The Turkish attacks are a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement signed with the US government on October 17, 2019.

In the past year alone, the Turkish government has carried out more than 35 attacks on civilian areas, and more than 45 people were killed, most of whom were civilians, women and children, in addition to some SDF leaders, who partnered with the Global coalition in the fight against ISIS. The US government condemned the latest attacks on Kobani, but the inaction about the killing of civilians in our areas is an unfortunate position.

The Turkish attacks give the opportunity for extremist organizations in all their forms to organize themselves and launch terrorist attacks. We were able to obtain confessions from some of the elements who participated in the attack on Al-Hasakah prison and other recent attacks, that they received support from Turkey to carry out these attacks. Therefore, we can say that the Turkish practices undermine the international efforts to combat terrorism.

There are critics of the AANES who have accused it of elevating Kurdish nationalist interests above the interests of all who live in the northeast: Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian, Yazidi, and others. There are other members of minority groups who fear that supporting the AANES will make them especially vulnerable if the regime forces return to the northeast. How do you respond to those criticisms and fears?

The Kurds are one of the main communities of the AANES, and they played a pioneering role in building this project, but after the liberation of Arab-majority areas from ISIS, the administrations formed in these areas became Arab-majority and each region formed its administrations from the communities of that region. These accusations are false and are pursued by parties hostile to the AANES, especially the Turkish regime, which is trying to inflame the Arab nationalist sentiment towards the Kurds in the region and target them in this way.

We call on all parties to actively participate in the upcoming elections in our regions and to be a part of the AANES.

How has the Turkish military’s invasion and control of Afrin in 2018 and a much wider stretch of Syrian territory since late 2019 impacted both religious and ethnic minorities in that area as well as the ability of the Autonomous Administration to include and safeguard those communities?

The Turkish invasion of Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Tal Abyad destroyed what the Autonomous Administration had built of a climate of coexistence and religious tolerance in those areas. The religious communities in Afrin and Serêkaniyê, and especially the Yazidis were subjected to various forms of violence, including kidnapping, rape, captivity of women, killing, looting of property, and forcible displacement at the hands of Turkish-backed groups.

More than half a million people have been forcibly displaced from those areas, including many Yazidi, Christian, Alawite and Chechen families, most of whom are in camps in our areas without international and humanitarian attention.

How does U.S. foreign policy, toward Syria generally and the northeast specifically, impact the lives of religious and ethnic minorities under the AANES and its ability to carry out its stated commitment to religious freedom?

The US policy has a strong impact on our region, and we hope that the US continues its support for stability and for the protection of ethnic and religious communities. 

And we appreciate the US partnership with the SDF to fight terrorism. We have sacrificed more than 13,000 of our soldiers and we have many more injured soldiers in the war on terror.  

In order to inflict a permanent defeat on terrorism and maintain stability and protection for religious minorities, we need political, economic, and military support for the AANES.

We appreciate USCIRF’s recommendations because if followed, they would help us to continue as a place that protects religious minorities and gives all the people in NES a future. These include pressuring Turkey to withdrawal, giving AANES political recognition, and including AANES in all talks for a political solution per UN Res. 2254.

The hearing was also attended by the following figures:

 1- Ms. Nadine Mainza, Chair of the American Commission on Religious Freedom

 2- Nuri Turkel, Vice President of the American Committee

 3-Ethan Goldrich, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, US Department of State

 3- Badran Jia Kurd, joint vice president of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

 4- Salem Al-Maslat;  Head of the Syrian opposition coalition

ANHA