Syrian Kurdish opposition group meets with US religious freedom commissioner

“The delegation of the Council stated its support for the rights of minorities.”

Kurdistan 24 2022/01/16 15:21

The KNC met with the Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Nadine Maenza, in Qamishlo on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022 (Photo: KNC).

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdish National Council in Syria (KNC) said on Saturday that it met with the Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Nadine Maenza, on Jan 14, and discussed the current situation of religious minorities in northeast Syria.

“The meeting inquired about the obstacles against holding democratic elections in the [northeast Syria] region, the current conditions of its residents and the rights of religious minorities,” the General Secretariat of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) said in a statement.

“The delegation of the Council stated its support for the rights of minorities and the promotion of the values of coexistence and the need to complete negotiations between the Kurdish National Council and PYNK,” the statement added.

The KNC previously held several months of talks with its PYNK (Kurdish National Unity Parties) rival. The PYNK is affiliated with the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) in the northeast Syria. The PYD is also the leading component of the political wing of the armed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC).

The PYD-backed Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) plans to hold elections in the first quarter of 2022. But it’s unlikely the KNC will join the electoral process without first reaching a deal with the PYNK and the PYD.

The KNC said there is a need to reach an “agreement on various issues, including a mechanism for free elections, creating a safe environment for this process, ensuring the participation of all components so that it is legitimate and not in the interest of one party; and preventing violations that have taken place against the Council by groups affiliated with the Democratic Union Party.”

Moreover, the KNC discussed “the necessity to reopen the Semalka-Faysh Khabur (between the Kurdistan Region and Northeast Syria) border crossing with respect for the standards that maintain the continuity of humanitarian and economic operations there, and to prevent the reasons for which the crossing was closed,” with the visiting US Commission delegation.

A number of Kurdistan Region border guards were injured after protestors assaulted the Faysh Khabur border crossing on Dec 15, the Kurdistan Regional Government earlier said. In response, the KRG closed the crossing.

On Dec 6, temporary Syrian residents in the Kurdistan Region were allowed to return to Syria through Faysh Khabur.

On Dec 7, 36 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) employees were also allowed to go northeast Syria, North Press reported.

“The Council also explained the violations and demographic change that are happening in Afrin, Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tel Abyad); calling on the United States of America to play its role in order to stop these violations and provide aid to the local population,” the KNC statement said.

Since Turkish-backed rebels took control of Afrin (2018), Serekaniye, and Tal Abyad (2019) with support from Turkey, there have been several reports of human rights abuses in those areas.

A report in October last year by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria documented how the Turkish-supported Syrian National Army (SNA) continues to arrest Kurdish citizens in areas under their control unlawfully.

“For her part, the Chair of USCIRF affirmed their support for a democratic administration that represents all components, and the reopening of the [Faysh Khabur] border crossing,” read the KNC statement.

“Ms. Maenza also expressed her readiness to continue communication with the Council to exchange opinions on various matters and to hold meetings whenever possible in the future.”