The Kurdish Conference, held in Qamishli in the northern al-Hasakah province of Syria, concluded with a series of demands concerning religious and ethnic components, emphasizing its commitment to pursuing a decentralized state.

The final statement of the “Unity of Kurdish Position in Rojava Conference”, on April 26, called for a fair resolution to the Kurdish issue in Syria through a “democratic decentralized” country, announcing the formation of a Kurdish delegation to negotiate with Damascus “as soon as possible.”

Only hours after the conference ended, a statement from the Syrian Presidency rejected the statements coming from northeastern Syria, particularly following an agreement signed by Damascus with the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, who participated in the same conference.

The Syrian Presidency rejected any attempts to impose a divisive reality or establish separate entities under the names of federalism or “self-administration” without comprehensive national consensus.

The statement rejected the idea that SDF leadership could monopolize decision-making in northeastern Syria, where original components such as Arabs, Kurds, Christians, and others coexist, considering the usurpation of any component’s decision-making and monopolization of its representation as unacceptable.

The signers of the agreement, topped by the SDF, were urged to commit sincerely to the agreement and prioritize the supreme national interest over any narrow or external considerations.

High aspirations

The Kurdish Conference produced a series of demands, the most prominent being the insistence on “decentralization of the state,” which the Syrian Presidency had rejected even before the agreement with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.

At the conclusion of the conference itself, the participating parties decided to form a joint Kurdish delegation “as soon as possible” to head to Damascus for negotiations with the Syrian government, carrying a set of demands, according to what was reported by the local Alyaum channel, which include:

• A parliamentary system of governance in Syria that relies on political plurality and peaceful transfer of power and separation of powers.
• An affirmation that the constitution in Syria must guarantee the rights of all Syrian components.
• An emphasis on the state’s neutrality towards religions and beliefs and the right to practice religious ceremonies.
• An affirmation of official recognition of the Yazidi religion in the state.

The researcher at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, Osama Sheikh Ali, considered the outcomes of the conference to be a political roadmap for the Kurdish political movement that was agreed upon.

He added to Enab Baladi that the polarities of Kurdish politics, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Kurdish National Council (KNC), and some independents came out with a unified stance, considering it natural to raise the ceiling of demands in the current circumstances, seeing it as the beginning of a new political path.

He pointed out that the conference represents a genuine political work start in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, noting that these demands are the steps that Kurdish parties will work on in the future, although it is not necessary for the government to respond to all of them.

The researcher noted that the SDF was not a party to the conference but was a sponsoring entity; thus, it has no relation to the demands raised there, while the demands presented constitute a roadmap for the Kurdish political parties only.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi opened the conference in Qamishli with a word of thanks directed to the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Masoud Barzani, according to what was reported by the Kurdistan 24 channel (based in Erbil).

Abdi added that it is necessary to ensure the rights of Kurds in the new Syria, considering that the new Syria requires a decentralized constitution that includes all components, according to what was reported by the Rudaw network (based in Erbil).

After a French meeting

Hours before the Kurdish Conference, a meeting took place between SDF leadership and the French Foreign Minister, which was the highest-level diplomatic representation since the founding of the SDF.

The SDF announced last Wednesday that a meeting brought together its commander Mazloum Abdi and the co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department in the Autonomous Administration, Ilham Ahmed, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The French minister spoke about the necessity of Kurdish and all Syrian components’ participation in the political process and country management, to reach what he termed a “state of political, security, and economic stability and begin the reconstruction of the country.”

Researcher Osama Sheikh Ali minimized the importance of the French meeting with the SDF, noting that there is no relation between the demands that emerged from the conference and the meeting itself.

He added that the French have aimed from the outset to pressure all parties to proceed with the negotiation path, as the French envoy had previously visited Qamishli along with the German envoy and figures from the International Coalition.

A member of the presidency of the Kurdish National Council, Suleiman Oso, had previously told Enab Baladi that the council reached an agreement with the Democratic Union Party to attain a common Kurdish vision, supported by American and French initiatives.

The researcher pointed out that the French meeting with Abdi does not carry any significance in the context of the political developments that occurred in the region.