ENKS confirms representation of Kurds in Geneva

Representatives of the Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS) believe they are a key component of the Syrian opposition, and are sufficient for representing Kurds in the Geneva III peace talks.

GENEVA, Switzerland (K24) – Representatives of the Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS) believe they are a key component of the Syrian opposition, and are sufficient for representing Kurds in the Geneva III peace talks.

On Sunday, Dr. Abdulhakim Bashar, a member of the Syrian opposition’s High Negotiation Committee (HNC) and an ENKS member, told K24, “The claims that Syrian Kurds are not represented in the peace talks are false."

 "It does not make any difference if PYD [the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party] is invited or not,” he added.

Dr. Bashar said that his inclusion in the opposition’s negotiating team is part of a national project. He explained that the aim is to preserve the rights of all Syrians and guarantee the rights of the Kurds.

Siamand Hajo, an ENKS member, said, “ENKS is the only representative for Syrian Kurds in the Geneva talks, and we [ENKS] have three members in the opposition’s negotiating delegation: Dr. Bashar, Fouad Aliko and Mustafa Osso.”

On the exclusion of the PYD in the peace talks, Hajo said, “PYD does not offer a real Kurdish project and has nothing to do with the rights of the Kurds.”

“The natural place for PYD in the peace talks is the Assad regime’s negotiating team,” Hajo said, noting that the PYD is a proxy of the Syrian regime.

The conflict between the Syrian Kurdish fractions regarding the Geneva peace talks began when the Syrian opposition platform (created in Saudi Arabia last month) decided to include ENKS and exclude PYD.

 

Reporting by Hisham Arafat

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany