Masrour Barzani: Future Syria needs guarantee that no one will be marginalized

Barzani discussed the political transition period in Syria and noted that the Kurdistan Region supports democracy, peace, solidarity, and harmonious living for the future of the country.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) Chancellor Masrour Barzani stated on Saturday that in the future, Syria needs a guarantee that the rights of all ethnic and religious components in the country are protected, and no one should be marginalized.

Also on Saturday, Kurdistan Region President, Massoud Barzani met the president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF) Khaled Khoja and his accompanied delegates.

The delegates consisted of the members of the Syrian National Coalition, Abdel Ahad Astifo and the leader of the Kurdish Syrian National Council, Abduilbasit Seyda, who is an independent member of the Syrian National Coalition.

In the meeting, the pair discussed the current situation in Iraq and Syria, stressing the serious threats of jihadists in the region. Khoja praised the successes of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces against Islamic State (IS) insurgents, especially the recent success of Sinjar's liberation in northern Iraq, on the border with Syria.

Khoja also praised Massoud Barzani's role in addressing the current situation in Syria.

Following the meeting with President Barzani, Khoja and his delegates met KRSC Chancellor Masrour Barzani in Erbil, discussing some major topics. Barzani discussed the political transition period in Syria and noted that the Kurdistan Region supports democracy, peace, solidarity, and harmonious living for the future of the country.

Barzani mentioned that creating a balance among the many forces and parties in Syria is difficult, but the priority for the National Coalition should be combating the Islamic State (IS), as the jihadists have become a serious threat to the region and the entire world.

In the meeting, Khoja discussed the regional Syrian opposition meeting that has been decided to be hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but the date has yet to be confirmed.

After both of these meetings with the KSRC chairman and President Barzani, K24 TV made an exclusive interview with Khoja. He noted that in the meeting with President Barzani, he wanted to know Barzani's opinion about the Syrian crisis  and the future of the country, adding that his  perspectives are important, especially regarding the political transition period of Syria and its future afterwards. Khoja noted that the meetings were very positive and he stated that the future meeting in Riyadh is to  unite the voices of many Syrian parties regarding the political transition period in the country.

Khoja touched upon Kurdish rights in Syria, saying Kurds are one of the main components of Syria and their rights should be guaranteed in the future Syria. According to Khoja, Kurds have the right to autonomy and to administer themselves in areas where they are the majority.

Regarding the Peshmerga forces of Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) that are part of the Syrian-Kurdish National Council (SNC), but prevented to deploy by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Khoja mentioned that a SNC delegation previously visited the Kurdistan Region. The delegates met with the commanders of Rojava Peshmerga forces and discussed uniting Rojava Peshmerga with the Free Syrian Army.

“The meetings reached the final level. Some seats from the leadership of the Free Syrian Army are set for Rojava Peshmerga,” he stated. Khoja noted that Rojava Peshmerga will have an effective role in the future military system of Syria.

Answering a question whether the SNC reached any agreements with the PYD-administered cantons in Syrian Kurdistan, he said that the cantons established are a “bad system,” and that what the PYD is doing in those areas “is not a good thing” where people get tortured. Some human rights organizations have reported that people in those canton areas are tortured and forced to serve in the PYD's military forces which are Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) and Women’s Protection Units (YPJ).

Furthermore, he refused to acknowledge that the PYD forces are the only forces that defeated IS militants and claimed that the Free Syrian Army has also defeated IS. The successes in Syrian Kurdistan are not only PYD’s success, but SNC's and all Kurdish people, Khoja explained.

He said that it is not PYD alone who has participated in the fight against jihadists, but almost 70,000 people from different backgrounds.

In the end, he emphasized, everyone should understand that Syria will remain united, and the rights of all components  will be given and settled.