Rojava ruling party rejects Damascus ‘integration’ as bid to ‘dismantle’ institutions

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior official of the ruling Kurdish party in northeast Syria (Rojava) strongly criticized a proposal by the interim government in Damascus to "integrate" institutions within the Kurdish-majority region, describing it as an attempt to dismantle Rojava’s self-governing administration, rather than a genuine move toward national unity under a democratic framework.

Fawza Youssef, a member of the presidential body of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), warned that the new Syrian leadership’s integration push reflects an effort “to dissolve the institutions of the [Kurdish-led Democratic] Autonomous Administration [of North and East Syria’s - DAANES],” stripping it of its “political and service-oriented functions.”

In an interview aired Saturday by Ronahi TV, a media outlet affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Youssef argues that DAANES’s model - established over the past 13 years - should not be viewed as "an obstacle, but a pillar for strengthening Syria's power and cohesion,” and a cornerstone for rebuilding a democratic Syria. 

Following a swift offensive in December, a coalition of opposition groups - led at the time by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) under Ahmed al-Sharaa - toppled the regime of longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa was appointed interim president in January, pledging to lead an inclusive political process.

However, in the months that followed, the new interim government's policies have been criticized as exclusionary, especially by minority groups, including the Kurds.

Despite this, a milestone agreement was signed in March between Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi to integrate the US-backed Kurdish-led force, which serves as Rojava’s de facto military, into Syria’s national institutions.

The accord also noted the integration of “all civil and military institutions” in Rojava “under the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the [Qamishli International] Airport, and oil and gas fields.” 

But Youssef pushed back against Damascus’s interpretation of "integration," clarifying that for the PYD, "Integration certainly does not mean disarming, closing institutions, or assimilation within a centralized state. Rather, what is required is recognition of this experience and its participation within a comprehensive national democratic framework."

She attributed Syria's current woes to centralized governance, arguing that it "brought the country to its current state, collapsed the political structure” and “paved the way for deep foreign interventions in Syrian affairs."

Youssef further highlighted a deep “lack of trust between Syrian parties,” citing what she described as the interim government’s failure to uphold previous agreements.

Since the March Abdi-Sharaa deal, multiple rounds of negotiations have taken place between DAANES and Syrian government delegations, including sessions attended by US and French envoys.

However, a fundamental disagreement continues to stall progress.

Damascus insists on full absorption of DAANES’s administrative and military structures into a centralized Syrian state, based on the principle of “one Syria, one army, one government.”

Conversely, DAANES and the PYD advocate for a decentralized, democratic Syria that preserves the autonomy and institutions developed in Rojava.

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