ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) on Monday criticized Syria’s new leadership for making unilateral decisions while excluding ethnic and religious communities in Syria. The group warned that such actions could jeopardize Syria’s future.
“The authorities in Damascus monopolize decisions and exclude all constituents in Syria, which poses a threat to the future of the country,” read a statement by the ENKS.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday established a seven-member committee to draft a “constitutional declaration” for the country’s transitional phase. The move followed a key confab on Tuesday, the National Dialogue Conference, which was praised for pledging support for reforms but also condemned for being “exclusionary” and “rushed.”
Kurdish opposition parties, including the ENKS and the Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES), condemned the National Dialogue Conference for marginalizing Kurds. In the weeks leading up to the event, they also criticized the conference’s preparatory committee for excluding Kurdish representation in shaping Syria’s future.
The ENKS statement on Monday notably emphasized the importance of an agreement among Kurdish factions to ensure the rights of Kurds in Syria.
Amid concerns over Kurdish representation, both ruling and opposition Kurdish parties in northeastern Syria (Rojava) are working to bridge their differences and present a united front in negotiations with the new Syrian leadership.
In late January, ENKS and the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Rojava agreed to send a joint delegation to Damascus to discuss the future of Kurds in Syria.
Last week, Siamend Hajo, a representative of the Rojava-based Syrian Kurdistan Front emphasized the need for Kurdish unity in Syria during the Erbil Forum. He stressed that Kurds should be represented by a single delegation to Damascus to address their concerns. Hajo also slammed the lack of coordination among Kurdish parties as a “major fault of ours.”