US pushes Syrian Kurds to join Arabs'
rebellion
17.11.2012
By Scott Stearns - VOA News |
|
|
|
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. Photo:
Ekurd.net/VOA Video. •
See Related Articles
VOA Video
November 17, 2012
WASHINGTON — As the Obama administration
pushes to solidify Syria's political opposition, it
also is working to improve ties between Syrian Kurds
and groups battling Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad.
Concentrating control in their own areas of
northwest Syria, Kurdish leaders have been slow to
join the broader rebellion against Assad, preferring
to seek greater regional autonomy with Kurds in
neighboring Iraq and Turkey.
Before the rebellion accelerated, Assad granted new
political freedoms to Syrian Kurds who have long
sought greater autonomy inside and outside of Syria.
Malou Innocent, a Middle East analyst with the Cato
Institute in Washington, said that move put Syrian
Kurds in a bind.
"This really put them on their heels, sort of said:
'Well, should we continue our assistance to the
rebellion or should we actually stick this out and
see if Assad continues to hold onto power?'"
Innocent said.
Kurds reluctance
Kurdish leaders have quit previous efforts to unite
the Syrian opposition, saying there has not been
adequate regard for their autonomy. Opposition
leaders outside Syria say Kurds have not
sufficiently committed to a unified post-Assad
state.
"The relationship between the mainstream opposition
in exile and Syria's Kurds has been largely
antagonistic and very, very tense," said Steve
Heydemann,www.ekurd.net
a senior adviser for Middle East
initiatives at the U.S. Institute of Peace. "And
that gets back to this question of this mutual lack
of trust."
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland
says the Obama administration encourages Assad
opponents to include Kurdish colleagues.
"There are a number of reports from inside Syria of
some of the liberated areas where Kurdish
populations and Sunni populations are working well
together," Nuland said. "That’s certainly the
direction that we encourage."
U.S. policy varies
The U.S., however, varies its policies on Kurdish
communities depending on their country.
In Turkey, there are concerns because Syria's
largest Kurdish group is tied to the Kurdistan
Worker's Party, which the European Union and
Washington consider a terrorist organization.
And in Iraq, U.S. forces protected Kurds from Saddam
Hussein, allowing the creation of a bustling
Kurdistan over the past two decades.
Analyst Heydemann said Syrian Kurds have been slow
to fully commit to the anti-Assad rebellion because
they have broader goals involving Kurds in Turkey
and Iraq.
"I don't think they intend to play the regime
against the opposition," he said. "But they do feel
that they have an opportunity to use this moment to
try and advance some of their long-standing concerns
that they don't feel either side has really
responded to yet."
Copyright ©, respective author or news agency,
voanews.com
-
Syrian Kurdistan [Western Kurdistan] -
Related Articles
-
Despite Political
Divides, Syria's Kurds Want Autonomy 16.11.2012
-
On Syrian border with
Turkey, mixed feelings for rebel 'liberators'
16.11.2012
-
Democratic Union
Party, PYD vision on the situation in Syria
16.11.2012
-
Female Kurdish
militia leader widely reported as killed by
Syrian Arab rebels turns up alive 16.11.2012
-
Syrian Kurds ready to
fight an imminent battle for Qamishli city
15.11.2012
-
Kurds seize another
key town in Syrian Kurdistan 15.11.2012
-
Kurds in Syria and
the Old Concept of "Good Kurds" and "Bad Kurds"
15.11.2012
-
Crisis in Syria
drives Kurdish push for independence 15.11.2012
-
Syrian exodus to
Iraqi Kurdistan full of anxiety 14.11.2012
-
Syrian warplane bombs
Kurdish town near Turkish border 14.11.2012
-
Thousands of Syrian
Kurds flee regime shelling in terror 11.11.2012
-
Kurds seize two towns
in Syria's northeast, western Kurdistan
10.11.2012
-
Bashar al-Assad
rejects exile, vows to 'live and die' in Syria
9.11.2012
-
Free Syrian Army
rebels take Turkish border town, Kurds alarmed
9.11.2012
-
Tension between
Syrian groups threatens factional war 9.11.2012
-
The Syrian refugees
in Iraqi Kurdistan who do not want to go home
7.11.2012
-
Free Syrian Army FSA
and Kurdish group sign truce 6.11.2012
-
At home away from
home, Syrian Kurd refugees long for statehood
6.11.2012
-
Syrian Arab FSA
rebels kill Kurdish woman militia leader: NGO
2.11.2012
-
Turkey warned Iraqi
Kurds, we will not allow Kurdish autonomy in
northern Syria: PM 2.11.2012
-
Car blast in Turkish
town near Syria blamed on Kurdish PKK rebels
2.11.2012
-
Syrian opposition SNC
leader to be replaced 1.11.2012
-
Syrian rebels fight
unwanted battle with Kurds 1.11.2012
-
Kurdish PAK Party
said to be fighting alongside the Free Syrian
Army (FSA) in Aleppo against Kurdish YPG
1.11.2012
-
PKK threatens of
militarily interference to protect Kurds in
Syrian Kurdistan 30.10.2012
-
Arab rebel-Kurd
tensions boil over in Syria's north 30.10.2012
-
Kurdish man tortured
by Syrian Arab rebels dies 30.10.2012
-
Kurdish resistance
may break the Syrian rebels 30.10.2012
-
After decades of
oppression, Kurds get taste of freedom as
Assad's troops flee 29.10.2012
-
Fears of new front in
Syria as Arab rebels clash with Kurds 28.10.2012
-
30 dead as Syrian
Arab rebels clash with Kurds in Aleppo: Watchdog
28.10.2012
-
The War for Free
Kurdistan 26.10.2012
-
Syrian rebels take
over Aleppo Kurdish area, seize army post
25.10.2012
-
Kurds the Key for
Syrian Opposition 25.10.2012
-
Erbil agreement yet to
be fully implemented in Syrian Kurdistan
24.10.2012
-
35.000 Syrian refugees
need more help in coming winter, Iraq's
Kurdistan govt 23.10.2012
-
Turkey, Syria and the
Kurds: South by south-east 20.10.2012
-
Syrian Kurdish
National Council (KNC) prepares for second
convention 18.10.2012
-
...
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the
content of news information on this page
|