Autonomous Administration Launches a Campaign to Declare an 'Independent Entity' in North and East Syria [Hashtag]

On July 18, 2021, the Autonomous Administration, which controls areas in northern and eastern Syria, launched a campaign on social media under the hashtag #Status4NorthAndEastSyria, to obtain “international recognition,” amid many obstacles that are difficult to overcome.

Kurdish activists and journalists, politicians and soldiers in both the “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF) and its political arm, “Syrian Democratic Council” (SDC), and other figures from the Democratic Union Party (PYD) participated in the campaign.

The campaign came in response to the call of the Commander-in-Chief of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, in which the international community demanded “international recognition” of the areas controlled by its forces and the Autonomous Administration.

In a tweet posted on his personal Twitter account, Abdi said: “The Rojava Revolution of July 18, 2012 protected our people and the world from the darkness of ISIS, but now the time has come to enthrone the revolution.”

It is noteworthy that the Autonomous administration of a “Kurdish character” has recently sought to put pressure on European countries and the USA to recognize it, this is done through “pressure groups” that it created specifically for this purpose, and opened offices in most of those countries.

 

Political Recognition

On July 19, 2021, a high-ranking delegation from the Autonomous Administration operating in the regions of north and east Syria visited France, during which it met with French President Emmanuel Macron, and discussed several issues, most notably, the administrative, economic and security situation in north and east Syria, in addition to discussing the expected solutions to the Syrian file, according to the statement of the Autonomous Administration, which was published on its official Facebook page.

The Autonomous Administration delegation included: Elham Ahmad, head of the Executive Body of the SDC, Berivan Khaled, co-chair of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration, Ghassan Al-Youssef, co-chair of the Executive Council of the Civil Administration in Deir ez-Zor.

For its part, the French presidency said, commenting on the visit, that “President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need to continue working towards establishing political stability in north and east Syria and overall governance.”

In turn, Shavan al-Khabouri, Representative of the Kurdish Autonomous Administration in Syria, confirmed that the visit included a discussion on the mechanism of political recognition of the Autonomous Administration.

He added that the Autonomous Administration wants France and the European Union for political recognition as a “starting point,” to end the crisis and reach a political solution that satisfies all parties.

 

Separatist Project

For its part, the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned Macron's meeting with the Autonomous Administration delegation, and it said in its statement on July 20, 2021, that France's dealings with this bloody terrorist organization that has a separatist agenda, harms Turkey’s efforts to protect its national security and the political unity of Syria, territorial integrity and stability in the region.

Meanwhile, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) condemned France's reception of a delegation from SDC, the political arm of SDF, calling on the international parties concerned to “reconsider their relations with such organizations, that poses a threat to the Syrians and the unity of their country.”

However, the co-chair of the “SDC,” Riad Dirar, denied in an interview with the “New Arab" website, the attempt to obtain political recognition for the Autonomous Administration is an introduction to the project of secession of the north-east from Syria, noting that their project is to establish a decentralized system in part of the Syrian land.

The Autonomous Administration was formed in early 2014 in Al-Hasakah Governorate, in the far north-east of Syria, then it began to expand by annexing the lands controlled by the SDF from ISIS.

Today, it includes the entire province of Al-Hasakah and most of the province of Raqqa and the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor in the north of the Euphrates River, and the city of Manbij and its countryside west of the Euphrates River.

In addition to the city of Tal Rifaat and villages in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

The SDF is the land arm of the global coalition led by the USA, which had a “significant role” in the mission of combating ISIS in north and east Syria.

It is noteworthy that the People's Protection Units (YPG), which constitute the military backbone of the SDF forces, are accused of committing violations against civilians and opponents of the Autonomous Administration policy, including torture and detention, as well as imposing forced recruitment and the recruitment of children into its ranks.

 

Obstacles to Recognition

The political data indicate that the Autonomous Administration endeavor faces obstacles that are not easy to overcome in order to reach political recognition, most notably, Turkey, which considers the SDF to be an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is on international terrorist lists. 

Therefore, Ankara will stand in the way of any attempt to recognize the Autonomous Administration as a party in the Syrian political equation.

For its part, the Syrian Regime's government refused to recognize during several rounds of dialogue in the capital, Damascus, with the principle of participatory management of the eastern Euphrates region, which is the largest store of wealth in Syria.

In the past few days, the Autonomous Administration and the Assad Regime exchanged accusations regarding their respective goals inside Syria, where the Regime’s foreign ministry published a statement on July 22, 2021, it said that the so-called “autonomy” in eastern Syria, it is nothing but projects aimed at weakening the country in the face of conspiracies.

In response to the aforementioned statement, the Autonomous Administration published a statement on July 23, 2021, it said, “The Regime’s foreign ministry’s speech confirms once again the extent of the rift in the regime’s mentality, and the regime’s clear adherence to a mentality of exclusion and denial, and insisting on its individual central project that decimated the country.

The Autonomous Administration is also facing rejection from the Arab street east of the Euphrates River, who fears a “long-term Kurdish domination” of decision-making in the region, which includes the major Arab tribes in Syria.

Even the Syrian Kurdish Street, a large part of it stands in the way of the ambition of the Autonomous Administration dominated by the Democratic Union Party (DUP), the latter is trying to marginalize the parties that make up the Kurdish National Council (KNC), which is very popular in this street.

In the same context, the Autonomous Administration faces an explicit and absolute rejection from the SNC, which accuses SDF, by seeking to strip the north-east of Syria to create an “independent Kurdish entity.”