Ruken Ahmed: Building democratic Syria Requires abandoning policies of exclusion

Hasakah Governorate and the city of Kobanê witnessed several security incidents during the current month of September, most notably the assassination of Siban Hazni, a fighter in the Hasakah Brigade, and the fire at Kobanê city prison, which resulted in the martyrdom of ten prisoners, coinciding with the dispatch of a large number of military vehicles from the city of Aleppo toward Kobanê.

Several days ago, an attack on a patrol responsible for protecting facilities resulted in the martyrdom of a member of the Internal Security Forces.

Regarding the security and military situation, Ruken Ahmed, a member of the Relations and Democratic Politics Agreements Committee of the Kongra Star, said:

“The transitional government’s continued deployment of its forces along the borders of the Kurdish areas is understood as an approach aimed at imposing military balances of power and using political pressure tools.”

The Kongra Star relations committee member stated that this conduct contradicts previous agreements and undermines confidence-building. She continued:

“This military buildup and display of force, alongside the government’s disregard and unjustified silence regarding the violations and assassinations targeting Kurdish youth by some forces and tribes in the region, is creating a state of fear and insecurity among the population.”

Ruken Ahmed stressed that establishing security and stability should be based on political wisdom rather than provocative practices, by entrusting responsibility for managing security and civil peace to the people of the region and its local forces, enabling them to confront any threats and achieve strategic and sustainable security.

Call for an Inclusive Political Process and Resolution of Kurdish Issues

Ruken stressed the need to ensure the implementation of understandings away from the language of threats and escalation. She said that the transitional government must immediately move from emergency military and security solutions toward an inclusive political process leading to a fundamental resolution of the Kurdish issue within the framework of a democratic, decentralized constitution.

Ruken Ahmed noted that building an inclusive democratic Syria requires completely abandoning policies of exclusion and marginalization and adopting a decentralized governance structure that guarantees the rights of all components and nationalities.

She called for institutionalizing the defense and security understandings and formulating them as constitutional commitments that take into account the region’s specific military and security circumstances and integrate its forces into the national defense system with dignity and equality.

Integration Decisions and Price Hikes Cause Economic and Social Shock

Regarding living conditions and public services, Ruken said:

“The transitional government bears full responsibility for the deterioration of living and service conditions in the areas that were under the Autonomous Administration. The implementation of integration decisions and the sudden increase in the prices of fuel and basic commodities have caused a severe economic and social shock.”

Ruken added that this occurred “unlike the areas in the interior of Syria, where prices and services underwent gradual changes and shifts over many years,” noting that these harsh measures were imposed abruptly on the Kurdish public, resulting in a wave of tension, discontent, and widespread protests at all levels.

Ruken stressed that the national and service-related duty requires the government to reverse these sudden decisions and assume its responsibilities in supporting commodities and vital sectors, ensuring that people are not burdened or that their daily necessities are not used as a tool of political pressure.

Message to the Transitional Government Regarding Syria’s Future

Ruken Ahmed stressed that the future of a united Syria will not be achieved by replicating the centralized approach and repeating policies of exclusion, but through political courage and strict adherence to national commitments and understandings.

She added:

“Lasting stability requires explicit constitutional recognition of the national and linguistic rights of the Kurdish people as an indigenous and principal component, and the establishment of their language as a second official language, along with a serious response to restoring rights and removing the effects of Arabization and demographic change.”

At the conclusion of her remarks, Ruken Ahmed, a member of the Relations and Democratic Politics Agreements Committee of the Kongra Star, stressed that the current phase requires safeguarding social gains and policies that ensure women’s participation in decision-making at all levels, adopting political solutions capable of preserving the unity of the country, halting military threats, and addressing living and service conditions fairly in order to move Syria toward a democratic state in which everyone is equal.

The member of the Relations and Democratic Politics Agreements Committee of the Kongra Star considered the “explicit injustice” against women and the marginalization of their leadership and institutional role, which they achieved through the experience of administering the region, to constitute a serious regression in terms of rights and social progress.

ANHA