46 years of resistance lead to emergence of democratic system

Rojava is the smallest part of Kurdistan, separated from Northern and Southern Kurdistan on July 24, 1923. Around three and a half million Kurds remained in this region and were subjected to various policies of erasure by the Syrian authorities. Their language, culture, and holidays were banned, and even their existence was denied. In addition, their original identity was rejected, and the regime deprived hundreds of thousands of Kurds of Syrian nationality, refusing to consider them residents of this land.

As in the other parts of Kurdistan, Kurds in Rojava struggled for long against repression to defend their identity.

The first political organization in Rojava emerged with the Khoybun movement (founded in Lebanon in 1927 and active in Damascus as well). The movement continued until 1946 and included politicians and intellectuals such as Osman Sabri, the poet Cegerxwîn, Nûreddîn Zaza, and Celadet and Kamiran Bedirxan.

Kurds of Rojava presented their demands for the first time to the Syrian Constituent Assembly under French mandate in 1928. The demands included education in the Kurdish language and recognizing Kurdish as an official language. However, these demands were rejected due to objections from Turkish and Arab nationalists.

Afte that Kurdish politicians turned toward the Syrian Communist Party. Kurdish youth in Damascus, Aleppo, and Kurdish cities also organized themselves through unions, and cultural associations.

On June 14, 1957, Kurdish politicians and intellectuals—including Osman Sabri and Nûreddîn Zaza—founded the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Syria (S-PDK). However, the party split due to interference from parties in Southern Kurdistan, and over time various other parties emerged. Because of these divisions, the society of Rojava was unable to unify its consciousness and will.

The year 1979 marked a new chapter in the history of Rojava. Leader Abdullah Ocalan arrived in Rojava and Syria on July 2, 1979 and began a new phase. The cadres trained by leader Ocalan carried out organizational activities based on a new philosophy advocating equality, democracy, and women’s freedom in society. The people of Rojava quickly united around this philosophy, taking steps to affirm their essential strength.

Thousands of young men and women from Rojava joined the People’s Defense Forces (the Guerilla), laying a solid foundation for understanding society.

Women’s Participation

Leader Ocalan spread the idea that “the freedom of women is the freedom of society.” He trained thousands of women who, alongside men, contributed to empowering women in Rojava in building a strong cultural, ideological, and political identity. Homes became spaces for self-training, intellectual development, and awareness. Most importantly, the concepts of communal life, cooperation, and collective work prevailed. Between 1980 and 2000, more than 300 women from Rojava were martyred in the struggle.

Women also led many activities within society. For example, Kurdish women celebrated March 8—officially designated by the Syrian Ba’ath regime as a special day for the party—as a true Women’s Day secretly in a home in Qamishlo in 1987.

Impact of the Amed Prison Resistance

The self-sacrificial actions carried out by the leading cadres of the PKK in Amed Prison in Northern Kurdistan in 1982 had a profound impact on the people of Rojava.

After 1982, the flame of Newroz burned even brighter in Rojava. From Afrin to Dêrik, people celebrated Newroz despite regime attacks, arrests, and torture. Although the regime declared March 21 as “Mother’s Day,” the Kurds restored the day to its original meaning.

The Spark of the July 19 Revolution

After twenty years of continuous struggle up to the beginning of the new century, the people of Rojava transferred their resistance into an institutional framework. With the influence of the freedom struggle and the transformations in the Middle East, significant opportunities emerged, leading to major achievements. One of these was the founding of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) on September 20, 2003.

On March 12, 2004, regime forces attacked the people of Qamishlo during a football match between the local team, Jihad, and the team from Deir ez-Zor, Futuwwa. They committed a massacre against civilians. In response, an uprising spread throughout the cities of the Jazira  and quickly reached Afrin, Damascus, and Aleppo. This uprising became a solid foundation for organization and ignited the spark of the Rojava Revolution. It also laid the groundwork for the formation of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) at that time.

The women who led this uprising and many other activities went on to establish Kongra Star in 2005, founding numerous institutions under its framework.

July 19 Revolution: Result of 46 Years of Struggle

The “Spring of the Peoples,” also known as the “Arab Spring,” which began in Tunisia in 2010 and later spread to Egypt and Libya, also had an impact on Syria. The people rose up against the Ba’ath regime in March 2011. However, major global and regional powers—including Turkey and Iran—intervened, and groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS emerged, derailing the revolution from its original path.

Amid these developments in Syria, the people of Rojava advanced toward freedom, drawing on their 46 years of experience, beginning specifically from 1979. On July 3, 2011, the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) was established as an umbrella organization for political and social groups. In the same year, the West Kurdistan People’s Council (MGRK) was founded.

In Rojava, beginning in 2011, the people—led by their institutions—organized their own protests parallel to the “Friday Demonstrations” taking place throughout Syria, standing against repression and attacks.

To confront threats and protect their achievements, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) were officially established in 2011. The Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) were announced on April 4, 2012.

Alongside the struggle against attacks and the regime, this period also witnessed significant efforts to unify Kurdish politics. Relations between the West Kurdistan People’s Council (MGRK), which included five parties—among them the PYD—and the Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS), supported by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), strengthened. On July 11, 2012, a meeting was held between both sides in Hewlêr in Southern Kurdistan.

At the same time, the people of Rojava strengthened their defensive capabilities and took historic steps. The spark of the July 19 Revolution was ignited in Kobanî in 2012. It was the outcome of 46 years of struggle and soon spread to all regions—from Afrin to Dêrik.

The meetings between the MGRK and ENKS produced the declaration of the Kurdish Supreme Committee on July 24, 2012. The people of Rojava celebrated its establishment in public squares on July 29 of the same year. However, despite the positive atmosphere, the Kurdish National Council later withdrew, diminishing the committee’s importance. In 2014, after the Duhok talks attempted to create a unified Kurdish political reference, this effort also failed due to ENKS positions.

To protect liberated towns and cities, the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) were founded in 2012—first in Kobanî, then in Qamishlo, Hasakah, Dêrik, and other cities. Under this framework, Community Protection Forces (HPC) were also formed. Additionally, a system of self-defense duty was developed.

Through these efforts, defensive structures were strengthened on one side, while a line of resistance against the threats and attacks of extremist groups was built on the other. The first attacks came in 2012, targeting Serêkaniyê, Afrin, and the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh in Aleppo. In response, the YPG began a resistance that later resonated widely.

When ISIS attacked Kobanî on September 15, 2014, after capturing several areas in Jazira, the historic resistance intensified. Despite limited resources, the resilience of the YPG, YPJ, for the first time, young men and women from all parts of Kurdistan flocked to this region, and it also received unprecedented international support. The foundations of internationalist solidarity grew stronger. Popular uprisings spread gradually, and on November 1, a global day of solidarity with the resistance of Kobanî was declared. This alliance and 134 days of resistance ultimately led to the liberation of Kobanî from ISIS mercenaries on January 26, 2015. Even the dominant international powers were eventually forced to acknowledge this will.

The Military Umbrella: The Syrian Democratic Forces

Following this great struggle and resistance, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) gained broad recognition from all components of the region as a national and international force. Thousands of Arab, Syriac, and international volunteers joined their ranks. Within the protection forces, special units were formed for each community. As these forces expanded, the Syrian Democratic Forces  were established on October 15, 2015, as an inclusive military umbrella.

YPG and YPJ fighters liberated Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) in 2015. The SDF and YPJ liberated Manbij in 2016, Tabqa in 2017, and Raqqa—the so-called capital of ISIS—on October 20, 2017. ISIS’s territorial control came to an end with its final defeat in Baghuz in Deir ez-Zor on March 23, 2019.

Social and Political Developments and the System of Democratic Autonomous Administration

After the liberation of the cities, the foundations of the Democratic Administration were laid step by step. Councils and communes were established in all towns and cities, People’s Municipalities were organized, and on November 12, 2013, the People’s Assembly of Rojava was declared.

On November 7 and 12, 2013, the Joint Founding Council of the Interim Administration was formed in Qamishlo with the participation of all ethnic and religious components. Committees were formed for election law, governance structure, legislation, and other regulations.

On December 2, 2013, the name of the Joint Council of the Interim Administration was changed to The Legislative Council, and it was decided that Afrin, Kobani, and Jazira would become administratively independent cantons united under the umbrella of the Democratic Autonomous Administration.

On January 5, 2014, the project of Autonomous Administration was approved, with the participation of representatives from all components and many political parties.

During its meeting in Amuda on January 6, 2014, and with the presence of representatives from 52 parties, civil society movements, women’s and youth movements, and 15 independent figures, the Legislative Council ratified the “Administration Structure,” the “Social Contract,” and the “Election Laws.” Arabic, Kurdish, and Syriac were adopted as official languages.

The Democratic Autonomou Administration for the Jazira Canton was declared on January 21, 2014, for Kobani on January 27, and for Afrin on January 29 of the same year.

After the declarations of the autonomous administrations, all affairs began to be managed under the shared umbrella of the administration. Education was conducted in the official languages, and each component established its own institutions in cultural, social, and religious fields.

Diplomacy was also an important step. The first representation office of the Self-Administration was opened in Sulaymaniyah in Southern Kurdistan on August 15, 2015. The second office was opened in Moscow on February 10, 2016. Additional representation offices were later opened in Austria, France, Germany, and the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg). Another office was opened for the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland) in Sweden, along with administration offices in Lebanon and the UAE. The Self-Administration also participated in the Cairo and Moscow meetings aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis.

Elections and the Federation of Northern Syria

To harmonize all regions and fully implement the system of Autonomous Administration, the Federation of Northern Syria was declared in 2017. The administrative system was organized into three regions (Jazira, Euphrates, and Afrin) and six cantons (Qamishlo and Hasakah in Jazira; Gire Spi and Kobani in Euphrates; Afrin and Shahba in the Afrin region). Manbij, Raqqa, and Tabqa were designated as civil administrations.

The first municipal elections were held in 2015, and the second in 2017.

Occupational Attacks

On January 20, 2018, the Turkish occupation state and its mercenaries attacked Afrin. Its people mounted great resistance, but the city was ultimately occupied on March 18 of the same year. Then, on October 9, 2019—on the anniversary of the international conspiracy against Leader Abdullah Ocalan—the Turkish occupation state attacked Serê Kaniyê and Gire Spi

Recognition of the DAA

Amid these occupation attacks, efforts were made on September 6, 2018, to expand and strengthen the system of democratic self-administration. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria was announced, and this model of self-governance gained international attention. The first official recognition of the Autonomous Administration came from the Parliament of Catalonia in Spain on the anniversary of the liberation of Raqqa (October 20, 2021).

Final Structure of the DAA

As the system developed, changes emerged in the social, political, economic, and educational spheres. In this context, the Social Contract was rewritten and ratified on December 12, 2023. The new Social Contract consists of a preamble and 4 chapters with 134 articles. Some amendments were introduced to the governance structure, and the official name of the administration became: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of the North and East Syria Region.

The provincial system (Jazira, Euphrates, Afrin) was abolished, and a canton-based system was adopted. Accordingly, the region now consists of seven cantons: Afrin–Shahba, Jazira, Euphrates, Manbij, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Tabqa.

Based on the Social Contract, the Law of the Union of Municipalities, the High Election Authority Law, and the Administrative Divisions Law were issued.

Municipal elections were scheduled for June 11, 2024, but they were postponed at the request of the political parties and organizations participating in them to allow for further preparation.

The Fall of the Regime and the New Phase

The fall of the Ba’ath regime on December 8, 2024, marked the beginning of a new phase in the region. A transitional government was formed in Damascus, followed by negotiations between Damascus and the Autonomous Administration. With the aim of building Syria’s future, the Autonomous Administration became a central actor on the political stage.

After international-level discussions, an agreement consisting of 8 articles was reached between Damascus and the Autonomous Administration on March 10, 2025.

Talks with various international powers and foreign states were intensified. Amid the massacres that occurred in the coastal region and in Sweida, the Autonomous Administration was viewed—even by the people of those regions—as the most suitable solution.

The Autonomous Administration continues to propose and defend the decentralized system as the optimal model.

ANHA