Demirtas supports federalism for Syrian Kurds

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – Syrian Kurds have the legitimate right to resolve the Kurdish question in Syria, even if that means creating a federal state, the leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition told Kurdistan24 on Wednesday.

In an exclusive interview with Kurdistan24, Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said, “I highly respect and appreciate the struggle of the Kurds in Syria but we [in Kurdistan of Turkey] do not have the authority to make decisions in their region.”

Regarding political disagreements in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), Demirtas expressed his frustration and called for solving internal rifts between the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Kurdish National Council (ENKS).

“The Kurdish parties' struggles in Rojava should not be against each other, but rather for liberty and democracy,” he said.

Speaking of the march to break the curfew imposed by Turkish authorities on the town of Sur in Diyarbakir Province, Demirtas said, “The march we [HDP] called for is a peaceful initiative meant to lift the 90-day-long curfew, but the ruling AK Party [Justice and Development] is against such initiatives.”

“The Turkish authorities’ conception of victory considers Kurds as opponents and [seeks to] defeat them by killing and destruction, but the real meaning of victory is achieving peace and democracy,” Demirtas countered.

Demirtas further pointed out that the AK Party-led government is against any Kurdish initiatives, including peace overtures proposed by Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

On Feb. 29, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov proposed that Syria could become a federal state, which is supported by most Syrian Kurds since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, but rejected by most opposition parties and forces.
 
Reporting by Hisham Arafat
Editing by Benjamin Kweskin and Ava Homa