Catalan parliament recognizes administration in northeast Syria

“Thank you to the representatives of the Catalan people for standing with the peoples of NE Syria.”

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2021/10/21 10:25

The Catalan parliament on Wednesday recognized the local administration in northeast Syria. (Photo: Catalan parliament)

Syria catalonia AANES northeast Syria Rojava

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Parliament of Catalonia recognized the existence of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of Northeast Syria (AANES) in a resolution on Wednesday and urged Catalan institutions to establish relations with it.

El #Parlament aprova la resolució sobre el compromís de Catalunya amb la reconstrucció del Kurdistan, presentada per @Esquerra_ERC @JuntsXCat @EnComu_Podem @cupnacional
🔗Text de la proposta de resolució https://t.co/XKYtfK5M36 pic.twitter.com/UpDJAmY80n
— Parlament de Catalunya (@parlamentcat) October 20, 2021

The accepted draft resolution which also underlines Catalonia’s commitment to the reconstruction of Kurdistan, was approved after 80 votes in favor and 49 against in the 135-seat chamber.

According to the Syria-based Rojava Information Centre, the resolution promotes Catalan-Kurdish solidarity, including acceptance of refugees and a bureau to support solidarity efforts.

We appreciate the historic position of the Parliament of Catalonia in recognising the AANES. Thank you to the representatives of the Catalan people for standing with the peoples of NE Syria.@parlamentcat @catalangov pic.twitter.com/FppU1Cc2W1
— Dr Abdulkarim Omar (@abdulkarimomar1) October 20, 2021

"We appreciate the historic position of the Parliament of Catalonia in recognising the AANES,” Dr. Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of the Foreign Relations Commission of the AANES, tweeted on Wednesday.

"Thank you to the representatives of the Catalan people for standing with the peoples of NE (Northeast) Syria.”

The stateless Kurds and Catalans have historically shown solidarity and support for each other’s struggle for independence and autonomy.

Also, simultaneously with the Kurdistan Region, Catalonia held an independence referendum in 2017 to secede from Spain. In both cases, the Kurdish and Catalan people, in a majority over 92%, voted yes for independence.

However, like in Iraq, the central authorities in Spain did not accept the referendum and imposed direct rule over the region and jailed nine Catalan leaders for their role in the breakaway vote. Also, the Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and two ministers fled abroad.

A new Spanish government led by socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez established in 2018 has attempted to create a dialogue with Catalan leaders to find a solution and provided amnesty to the nine leaders.

In June, a Catalan delegation led by Member of the Catalonian Parliament Ruben Wagensberg visited the Kurdistan Region, its parliament, and the administration in northeast Syria to improve relations.