Nobody wants another centralised regime in Syria, says Kurdish chief Salih Muslim Muhammad

Syria has seen dramatic developments in latest months. It took simply 12 days for the HTS to seize Damascus after they launched an offensive in Aleppo in late November. How do you have a look at the modifications in Syria?

Everybody adopted what occurred [in Syria]. Groups who’re positioned in Idlib, most of them are jihadist teams, simply went to the locations occupied by Turkey and underwent coaching, helped by the Turkish facet. And immediately they awoke, went on to Aleppo, after which to the opposite cities, and so they reached Damascus on December 8. Everybody ought to know that these teams are jihadists. We know them very effectively as a result of we have been preventing in opposition to them — Jabhat al-Nusra after which ISIS and the opposite teams. They have promised that they’re going to change and make democratic modifications in Syria. We are ready to see what they’ll do. If they make [the promised] modifications, we can be serving to them. And there was another group — the Syrian National Army (SNA), which is below the management of Turkey. So HTS went to Damascus, and the opposite group [SNA] simply marched in the direction of Kurdish locations. Since December, the preventing has been occurring. We are nonetheless ready for a correct ceasefire deal. And on March 10, there was a sort of a deal between our folks and them–I imply, Mazloum Abdi (commander of the Kurdish led-Syrian Democratic Forces] and Jolani (or Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim President], containing about eight factors to be executed inside one yr. And we’re nonetheless attempting to implement the deal.

The Kurdish folks in Syria have loved relative autonomy in latest years. Now that Assad is gone and HTS is in energy in Damascus, do you assume that the autonomy is below risk?

We have about 20 events [in north and east Syria], and our social gathering [the Democratic Union Party, or PYD] is the primary and the oldest social gathering amongst them. Now we are attempting to unify all these events in order that we are able to unify the calls for of the Kurdish folks and even the Arabs in our areas, to succeed in some options with the brand new authorities. There have been numerous struggles. The newest one was these massacres occurred in the coastal space in western Syria in opposition to the Alawites [the minority sect to which the deposed President Bashar al-Assad belonged to], as a result of they don’t like this regime. They don’t need these Islamic teams to regulate the nation. We are supporting them. Also, we’ve got Druze in the south of Syria. Syria is a mosaic society. So it’s a must to discover a formulation the place all these folks can dwell collectively — no one wants to return to pre-2011 state of affairs when Syria had a centralised regime. They at the moment are in search of a decentralised authorities — it could possibly be federalism or self-administered areas. The Alawites, Druze, the Kurdish folks, and different minorities, everyone is in search of freedom. Those who’re controlling Damascus insist on forming a really strict, centralised regime because it was earlier than, however with a unique ideology — earlier than there was a Baathist regime, and now they’re attempting to make it a Salafi regime. This shouldn’t be acceptable for the Syrian folks. We are attempting to democratise Syria; we expect a democratic and decentralised regime will assist everyone.

Kurdish fighters have been on the frontline of the battle in opposition to ISIS. What is the standing of ISIS right this moment in Syria?

There are ISIS-linked teams positioned in Idlib and areas occupied by Turkey. They have modified their names. Even this Jolani [Syria’s interim President] was ISIS earlier than. But after he went to Idlib, he modified his [organisation’s] title to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The different teams additionally took completely different names, however all of them apply the identical ideology. By the title of ISIS, we nonetheless have some teams in our areas, in Deir ez-Zor, and particularly in the western facet of Euphrates, which isn’t below our management. It was below the management of the [Assad] regime and the Russians, however they may not eradicate them from these areas. Now, after the regime fell, these teams acquired numerous weapons. They are organising themselves once more. We have a camp known as Al-Hawl, which is principally for the households of Daesh [ISIS] members. We even have about 10,000 ISIS members in our prisons. ISIS is attempting to get the prisoners launched and get into the camp. They have their plans. And we even have sleeping cells in every single place. So the wrestle is continuous. Daesh shouldn’t be completed. It’s been simply pushed underground.

Turkey has additionally seen attention-grabbing developments of late. For instance, Abdullah Ocalan, the chief of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has known as for a ceasefire and disarming his organisation. Does it have something to do together with your Democratic Union Party?

We usually are not PKK. Ideologically, possibly, we’re buddies or brothers, however our social gathering was established in in Syria with the Syrian folks, Kurdish folks primarily. We have our plans and programmes. So we’ve got nothing to do with Turkey. We all the time prolonged our arms for peace in Turkey as a result of we’re neighbours. But due to the Kurdish problem, Turkey has a sort of Kurdophobia. They don’t settle for the existence of the Kurds wherever. They have a look at the Kurds as a hazard for Turkey and so they battle the Kurdish folks in every single place — in Iraq, Iran and Syria. We can remedy our drawback with the Syrian authorities, however Turkey has all the time been an impediment. And they’re accusing us that we’ve got a relation with the PKK, which isn’t true in any respect. Even When we established our defence forces, we did it in opposition to ISIS, which was attacking us in our areas. We by no means attacked any Turkish curiosity. And now, when Mr. Ocalan introduced his name for peace, we hope peace would prevail between the PKK and Turkey, as a result of it’ll relieve us, too. If they remedy their Kurdish problem inside Turkey, then they can not blame the others. We heard some voices saying we should always quit the weapons, too. If we do it, we should do it as a part of our settlement with the Syrian regime, not with them. 

Are you getting any assist from different nations?

We have the worldwide coalition in the realm and so they prolonged their hand to us. It’s a sort of a partnership in opposition to Daesh [ISIS]. And it occurred in 2015 when the worldwide coalition couldn’t discover anyone preventing Daesh critically aside from us. So we mentioned, OK, and that is nonetheless occurring.

This coalition is led by the United States, isn’t it?

Yes, led by United States. And they’re in the realm. They don’t dictate to us to do something. We are companions just for preventing in opposition to ISIS and terrorism, nothing greater than that. They didn’t promise to guard us. And after all, as everyone is aware of, when Turkey attacked our areas, they [the coalition] did nothing. We have been attacked by the regime forces as effectively, by these Salafi jihadists. They didn’t defend us. Only they’re serving to us as companions for preventing in opposition to Daesh. And they proceed to take action.

Israel has repeatedly voiced its assist for Syria’s minorities, significantly after the autumn of the Assad regime. What is your relationship with Israel? Is there any sort of cooperation between your Autonomous Administration and the state of Israel?

There are Jewish folks residing in our areas. The Kurdish folks don’t have any enmity in the direction of the Jewish folks. This is historic. The Kurdish persons are pure allies of the Jewish folks. They are a part of the Middle East [West Asia]. And we’ve got to dwell collectively. This is our perception. But after all, there are not any connection until now between the Kurdish folks and the Israeli authorities. Recently, there have been phone conversations between our Foreign Affairs Committee and the Foreign Minister of Israel. If we make any relations, it’s extraordinary as a result of a number of Arab nations resembling Egypt, Jordan and Gulf nations have already established diplomatic relations with Israel. So we don’t know what’s going to occur in the long run.

But how do you have a look at the conflict on Gaza?

We assume this isn’t the best way to unravel the issues. They have been simply preventing, killing… it doesn’t remedy any drawback. If they sit collectively for dialogue with none terrorism, they will resolve it. And we imagine for the Palestinian and Jewish folks, a democratic nation, which is what our mission is, is handy for them. But they must imagine in this democratic nation to dwell collectively — a democratic nation mission for everyone.

You’re saying you assist a single democratic nation for the Arabs and the Jews?

Yes, a democratic nation mission for everyone, for various ethnicities and even completely different beliefs, the place they will dwell collectively. They have to just accept one another.