Kurdish Parties: Our representation with 4 seats is “political execution” of Kurdish people’s rights

Today, 24 Kurdish political parties issued a public statement regarding the “appointments” related to the Syrian People’s Assembly in front of the building of the Foreign Relations Department of the Democratic Autonomous Administration (DAA), with the participation and attendance of party leaders and officials.

The statement was read in Kurdish by the co-chair of the Green Democratic Party, Luqman Ahmi, and in Arabic by the co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Berowin Yusuf.

The statement read:

“At a time when the peoples of Syria aspire to build a state based on citizenship and genuine partnership, and to benefit from the experience of the DAA in representing all components in Rojava and North and East Syria and build upon it to enrich the foundational process for the future of Syria, and to create a comprehensive political path that ends decades of racist laws and demographic change policies against the Kurdish people — who confronted the former regime and sacrificed thousands of martyrs and wounded in the Syrian revolution and the war against (ISIS) — following the fall of the former Baath regime, the annulment of those racist laws and projects against them, the restoration of their legitimate rights, and opening the way for their participation in rebuilding the Syrian state anew. This is the required and just path for rebuilding Syria on the foundations of justice and rights.

However, the Damascus government ignored all these realities and announced what it falsely called the ‘Syrian People’s Assembly elections,’ which are in fact nothing more than a sham appointment process that restricted the will of voters and reproduced mechanisms of ethnic and political exclusion while entrenching racist projects against the Kurds. This included the prior appointment of an individual from the Arab settlers of the so-called ‘Arab Belt’ project in an attempt to integrate them into the region as though they were a natural case rather than the result of demographic change projects, representing Serêkaniyê in the Kurdish region. Likewise, the inclusion of many names from outside the province in the electoral body confirms the existence of ill intentions on the part of the Damascus government.

Furthermore, restricting Kurdish representation to four meager seats out of 210 seats in the People’s Assembly represents a blatant circumvention of the demographic and political realities on the ground. The Kurdish people in Rojavayê Kurdistan, who constitute an authentic and historical component amounting to no less than 20% of Syria’s total population, are today being deprived through these systematic appointments of their genuine voice and legitimate right to participate in national decision-making. 

Accordingly, we, the Kurdish political forces and parties, categorically reject these appointments and consider the current distribution mechanism a continuation of racist marginalization policies aimed at erasing the Kurdish issue. We insist on our right to genuine parliamentary representation with no fewer than 40 seats for Kurdish individuals who embrace the just cause of their people and represent Rojavayê Kurdistan, the Kurdish region, in line with the actual population proportion of the Kurdish component.

We also warn that the acceptance by any political or social entities of the consolidation of these four meager seats would constitute an extremely dangerous historical precedent. It would serve in the future as the basis for determining the share of the Kurdish component in all state institutions, including sovereign positions, ministerial portfolios, judicial and diplomatic institutions. This would amount to a political death sentence against our rights for future generations, and those entities would bear historical responsibility before the Kurdish people for such actions.

We clarify to public opinion that the granted seats do not reflect the free Kurdish will, but are merely appointments, and no Kurdish entity has any popular mandate to accept them. They do not serve the aspirations of the Kurdish people to secure their rights in Syria.

The continuation of these policies will only deepen the Syrian crisis, undermine efforts toward stability, and fragment the social fabric.

We, the Kurdish political parties, renew our commitment to continuing peaceful and popular struggle, in cooperation with all Syrian democratic forces, in order to impose genuine national partnership and establish a modern constitution that recognizes the legitimate national rights of the Kurdish people and all Syrian components.

Long live a democratic, pluralistic, decentralized Syria.

Freedom and justice for our Kurdish people.”

Kurdish parties and movements that signed the statement:

1. Democratic Union Party (PYD)

2. Green Democratic Party

3. Kurdistan Communist Party

4. Kurdistan Democratic Party – Syria

5. Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party

6. Kurdish Left Party in Syria

7. Kurdish Democratic Left Party in Syria

8. Kurdistan Democratic Change Party

9. Kurdistan Renewal Movement

10. Kurdistan Workers Union

11. Syrian Kurdish Democratic Accord Party

12. Reform Movement – Syria

13. Kurdistan Brotherhood Party

14. Roj Democratic Kurdish Party in Syria

15. Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM)

16. Kongra Star

17. Democratic Struggle Party

18. Kurdistan Future Movement

19. Kurdistan Democratic Party – Western Kurdistan

20. Kurdistan National Gathering Party

21. Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (Al-Parti)

22. Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria

23. Kurdistan Conservative Party

24. Syrian Reformist Current

A-H 

ANHA