Syrian Kurdish PYD party elects new co-chairs

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The dominant Kurdish political party in Syria’s Kurdish-majority areas (Rojava) elected new co-chairs during its two-day Congress that concluded on Tuesday in the country’s northeast.

The Democratic Union Party's (PYD) Eighth Congress was held under the slogan, "With the Democratic Union, We Defeat Occupation, Develop Autonomous Administration, and Build a Democratic Syria.”

A total of 600 delegates participated in the event, held in the town of Rmeilan, including those from the neighboring Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Anwar Muslim, the former head of the party's Euphrates region, replaced Shahoz Hasan as its co-chair, while Aysha Hisso remained the female co-head.

The PYD and other Kurdish institutions in northeastern Syria follow a gender-balanced system where every top position is held by both a female and a male co-chair.

“Our work, since the founding of the party, has been to build a free, democratic, decentralized Syria,” Muslim said during his speech according to the official PYD website.

“The liberation of Syrian lands from the Turkish occupation and the terrorists, foremost amongst them are Afrin, Girispi (Tal Abyad), and Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain). Today our tasks are heavy. But with our unity we will overcome all obstacles and challenges.” 

The PYD was established in 2003 and is considered the political affiliate of the People's Protection Units (YPG), which effectively serves as the army of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and has emerged as a key partner for the United States in the fight the Islamic State in Syria.

The Seventh Congress of the PYD took place in September of 2017. General Council member Abdulkerim Saroxan told Kurdistan 24 that the plan was to hold the PYD Congress in October 2019, but it was postponed due to attacks by the “Turkish state and its mercenaries on Rojava.”

Saroxan also added that the PYD would remain committed to the Kurdish unity initiative of Commander-in-Chief of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, despite a meeting of the PYD’s rival Kurdish National Council (KNC) with the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday. 

Read More: Meeting is Turkey's attempt to undermine Kurdish unity in Syria: PYD

The PYD and the KNC, being the two major factions among Syrian Kurds, have been continuing negotiations that began in early November to discuss the need for unity after Turkey’s October cross-border attack on Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

Former PYD co-chair Shahoz Hasan told Kurdistan 24 during the Congress that Kurdish unity remains a major goal for the PYD.

“But when other forces in Turkey have meetings in Turkey, it create[s] dissatisfaction with our people. Therefore, we should not give Turkey the opportunity to strengthen the politics of disunity among the Kurdish people.” 

Editing by John J. Catherine