3 days ago
ENKS urges Damascus to hold ‘serious' talks with Rojava delegation
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The opposition Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Wednesday called on the Syrian transitional government to enter into 'serious and responsible' dialogue with a joint Kurdish delegation representing both ruling and opposition parties in Rojava.
'The Council called on the transitional administration in Damascus to enter into serious and responsible dialogue with the joint Kurdish delegation,' read a statement from ENKS after holding a meeting in Qamishli, adding that 'comprehensive national dialogue remains the only path to ensure genuine partnership among all Syrian components.'
The joint delegation was formed after a landmark conference in Qamishli in April that united rival Kurdish parties to form a unified negotiating front on Rojava's future. It includes members from the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the ENKS.
Damascus condemned the pan-Kurdish conference at the time, viewing it as a separatist initiative. However, Mazloum Abdi, chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - Rojava's de facto army - stated that the goal of the conference was to strengthen Syria, not divide it.
The ENKS said they 'addressed the campaign of accusations attempting to link the Kurdish people with partition or separation agendas, considering these claims an extension of the exclusion mentality and false accusations that prevailed under the former regime.'
"We have informed them, but so far they [Damascus] have not responded. They must also extend their hand for negotiations and dialogue,' ENKS spokesperson Faysal Yousef told Rudaw on Wednesday.
During its Wednesday meeting, ENKS 'expressed its dissatisfaction with the exclusion and unilateral approach that dominated preparations for national dialogue conferences and government formation, and the method of forming the People's Assembly [Syrian parliament].'
In mid-March, interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa approved a 53-article constitutional declaration granting him sweeping powers, including the authority to appoint one-third of the legislature and all judges of the constitutional court - the only body capable of holding him accountable.
Critics have warned that the interim constitution could cement authoritarianism and further marginalize minority communities, including Kurds, Druze, Christians, and Alawites.
In late July, the head of the Higher Committee for People's Assembly Elections, Mohammad Taha al-Ahmed, said that the number of parliamentary seats would increase from 150 to 210, with 70 appointed by presidential decree.
Referring to the recent violence in the southern Druze-majority Suwayda province, where over 1,400 people have been killed, and dozens killed in an Islamic State (ISIS) suicide bombing at Mar Elias Church in Damascus in June, ENKS 'strongly condemned these acts, holding the transitional administration responsible for failing to take necessary measures to prevent their occurrence.'
On Sunday, two people were killed in renewed clashes in Suwayda after more than two weeks of a fragile ceasefire. The violence first erupted on July 13 between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes and escalated with Syrian government involvement and Israeli airstrikes in support of the Druze before a US-brokered ceasefire took effect on July 18.
According to the UN, approximately 175,000 people have been displaced due to the fighting.
Dilbixwin Dara contributed to this report.
