A delegation from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) participated in a Kurdish conference in northeastern Syria on Saturday, as Syrian Kurdish groups sought to present a unified vision for the country’s future following the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, Agence France-Presse and local news outlets reported.
More than 400 participants, including representatives from major Kurdish parties in Syria, Iraq and Turkey, gathered in the city of Qamishli for the “Unity of the Kurdish Position and Ranks” conference, according to the Kurdish ANHA news agency. The meeting brought together supporters and critics of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which has controlled large parts of the northeast since the early years of Syria’s civil war.
Eldar Khalil, an official from the Democratic Union Party, said Kurds, as a major component of Syrian society, “must present a solution and a project proposal for the future of Syria.” He added that federalism was “one of the proposals on the table” for the country’s future governance.
The conference comes weeks after the Kurdish administration reached a preliminary deal with Syria’s new Islamist-led leadership to integrate into state institutions, following Assad’s overthrow in December. However, Kurdish officials have criticized the interim government, including over a constitutional declaration that concentrated power in the hands of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Following the conference a final statement was issued by Foza Yûsif, a member of the Democratic Union Party Presidential Council, and Mihemed Ismail, head of the Kurdish National Council. The statement said the participants adopted a common Kurdish position based on democracy, decentralization, human rights and the constitutional recognition of Kurdish rights within a united Syria. It stressed that the Kurdish people have long struggled against oppression and contributed to the overthrow of Assad’s government in December.
The conference called for the formation of a joint Kurdish delegation to negotiate with Syrian authorities and other national forces on the basis of this unified vision. Participants emphasized that the new Syria should be built with respect for regional and international relations and aim to protect the dignity and rights of all its communities.
Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the conference aimed to promote unity rather than division. “We support all Syrian components receiving their rights in the constitution to be able to build a decentralized democratic Syria that embraces everyone,” Abdi said.
The conference took place amid broader shifts in Kurdish politics across the region. In February Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), called for the PKK to lay down its arms and disband. He urged the group to formally end its decades-long armed conflict with Turkey, saying it had “reached the end of its lifespan.”