The recent talks between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-backed interim government have led to developments that may reshape the political balance in the region. Mazloum Abdi, General Commander of the SDF, announced to the international press that a “suitable mechanism” had been agreed upon in principle with HTS for the integration of the SDF into the Syrian army, and that the process would soon be implemented. Speaking in the shadow of these developments, Berdan Öztürk, Member of Parliament for Diyarbakir (Amed) from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and co-spokesperson of the party’s Foreign Relations Commission, stressed that the transition process in Syria must be shaped by the will of the people. Öztürk said: “The peoples of North and East Syria have been expressing what kind of life they want for 14 years. They have been waging this struggle and trying to defend it. This must be respected,” and warned against external intervention.
Today’s crisis is rooted in Syria’s repressive past
Berdan Öztürk stated in his assessment of developments in North and East Syria that the oppressive policies of the Assad regime against the peoples are the main reason for today’s atmosphere of conflict. Öztürk said: “We are talking about a regime that made all the peoples of Syria suffer, a regime that tried to control even the act of breathing,” and noted that the regime responded to demands for democracy and freedom with arrests and attacks. Emphasising that the Assad administration acted with an understanding that denied people their identities and even their right to life, he added: “From Arab Alawites to Sunnis, from Turkmens to Druze, all peoples were subjected to oppression. The Kurds have always resisted this denial of identity.” Öztürk recalled that after 2011 the Kurds developed an organised resistance against these pressures and said: “This was not only a reaction against an understanding that denied their existence and identity; it was a resistance that emerged from the reflex to protect the existence of all peoples and faiths living on these lands.”
Öztürk characterised the struggle against ISIS as “a resistance rarely seen in human history” and continued: “The Kurdish people and their friends inflicted a major defeat on ISIS and stopped it. This struggle still continues.” He emphasised that this resistance was not only military but also based on an ideological and paradigmatic foundation and added: “This reflex did not emerge spontaneously; it was born from an understanding that defends the common life of peoples.”
This past cannot be ignored in any intervention
Öztürk said that international actors cannot intervene in the region without understanding its historical background: “Without knowing this past, it is not possible for Turkey or Britain to intervene without seeing the reality on the ground there. The same applies to the United States. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost, cities have been destroyed, and people are trying to survive in a Syria that has been made uninhabitable. Those who have paid this price must have a say.”
He added that Turkey’s direct involvement in Syria is not acceptable: “Emphasising the importance of democracy and human rights is one thing; direct intervention is another. That would mean interfering in another country’s internal affairs. We would not allow anyone to interfere in our internal affairs, and then someone else would interfere in yours.”
Öztürk said that discussions on how the new Syria should be shaped are necessary: “It is right to discuss the question of what kind of Syria we will create. After the Assad regime, after the Ba’athist mindset, a structure that recognises differences must be established.” However, he stressed that this process must be carried out through the will of the Syrian peoples, not through external intervention.
A future must be built based on the will of the peoples
Öztürk said the debate over decentralisation is often reduced to terminology and added: “Public opinion gets stuck on whether it should be federal or decentralised, but the issue is not the name. The Kurds are a people, a nation living here. They clearly state that they will not live as before within the unity of Syria. This stance is not just the result of the last 14 years but is rooted in a legacy shaped over centuries.”
He said the demands of Kurds and other peoples must be taken into account in building a new Syria: “This cannot work through denial, central imposition, Arabisation or Turkification. We want a democratic Syria, a structure that respects differences and does not try to assimilate anyone. Neither Alevi-isation nor Sunnisation, neither Christianisation nor Islamisation. A Syria where everyone can exist with their own identity, belief and language.”
Öztürk said the transitional government and international actors must listen to the demands of the peoples of the region: “The peoples of North and East Syria have been expressing what kind of life they want for 14 years. They have been waging this struggle and trying to protect it. This must be respected. A future must be built not through external interventions but through the will of these peoples.”