Kurdish National Council in Syria Encûmena Niştimanî ya Kurdî li Sûriyê | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Arabic name | المجلس الوطني الكوردي في سوريا |
| Leader | Ibrahim Biro |
| Founded | 26 October 2011 (14 years ago) |
| Headquarters | Ankara Erbil[1] |
| Paramilitary wing | Peshmerga Roj[2] |
| Ideology | Kurdish nationalism[3][4] Federalism[3][4] Anti-Iran[5] Pro-KDP |
| National affiliation | Kurdish Supreme Committee (2012–2015) National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces[6] (2013–2025)[7] |
| International affiliation | Kurdistan Democratic Party[3] |
| People's Council | 4 / 210 |
| Democratic Council | 2 / 43 |
TheKurdish National Council in Syria (KNCS,Kurdish:ئەنجومەنی نیشتمانیی کورد لە سووریا,romanized: Encûmena Niştimanî ya Kurdî li Sûriyê,ENKS;Arabic:المجلس الوطني الكوردي في سوريا,romanized: al-Majlis al-Waṭaniyy Al-Kurdi fī Sūriya) or Kurdish National Council (KNC) is aSyrian Kurdish political party. While the KNC had initially more international support than the rulingDemocratic Union Party (PYD)[10] during the early years of theSyrian civil war and a strong supporter basis among some SyrianKurdish refugees,[11] the overwhelming popular support the PYD enjoys has eroded support for the KNC inSyrian Kurdistan, losing almost all popular support.[10]
Since 2012, the alleged authoritarian andKurdish nationalist politics of the KNC has led many political parties to leave it. Over the years, its membership has shrunk and it has lost many of its supporters. Among the factions that left the KNC were theKurdish Democratic Progressive Party in 2015,[12] and the parties in theKurdish National Alliance in Syria[13] and theSyrian Yazidi Council in 2016. As a result, the KNC had only two seats left in theSyrian Democratic Council by 2017.[14][15][16]
The Kurdish National Council was founded inErbil on the 26 October 2011, under the sponsorship ofKurdistan Region PresidentMassoud Barzani, following the earlier creation of theSyrian National Council. The organization was originally composed of 11 Syrian Kurdish parties, however, by May 2012 this had grown to 15.[3]
Several KNC parties have also on occasion come into conflict with other Kurdish groups like theDemocratic Union Party (PYD).[17] In order to reduce tensions, Massoud Barzani mediated between the two groups in July 2012 at a diplomatic meeting in Erbil. As a result, the PYD and some other Kurdish groups joined with the Kurdish National Council to form theKurdish Supreme Committee along with apopular defence force to defendSyrian Kurdistan.[18] The agreement became obsolete when the PYD with several pro-federal Kurdish parties abandoned the coalition after they accused the KNC of allying with Syrian rebels that were attacking Kurdish cities. Later, the PYD with other Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian parties made a deal for the aim of creating a polyethnic and progressive society and policy in the Rojava region, creating theMovement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM).
The Kurdish National Council has been criticized by PYD supporters in Syrian Kurdistan.[19] The KNC has been accused by PYD supporters of working with Turkey and the Syrian opposition forces against theFederation of Northern Syria – Rojava (NSR). In 2016, some KNC leaders and members were accused by ruling PYD authorities of corruption, money laundering, spying, making propaganda for Turkey and involving in assassinations of NSR authorities and politicians.[20][21][22][23][24][25] The KNC have refused to formally join the PYD-led NSR administration citing PYD persecution of political opponents.[20] The KNC leader Ibrahim Biro said in his interview on Turkish pro-government Sabah newspaper that PYD is ruling in a dictatorial manner committing gross human rights violations in the process and that western countries are overlooking these violations in using PKK against ISIS, he also stressed that Western countries should start supporting their own forces instead of PYD and other NSR entities.[26] KNC members and leaders have had meetings with Turkish authorities, citing need for dialogue with Turkey, if Kurds are to gain autonomy from Damascus.
There have been several demonstrations held by KNC supporters against PYD citing PYD refusal to share power and ongoing persecution of Kurdish political opposition.[26] Some observers have had difficulties understanding the KNC. Carl Drott, a sociology researcher at the University of Oxford, said in his interview on Ara News that "it is hard to know what the KNC actually wants. There is a fundamental contradiction between the Kurdish nationalist ideology of the KNC and the political project of its Syrian allies (Syrian opposition). Sometimes it seems that the only consistent policy of the KNC is to oppose anything that the PYD does".[27] The PYD members have described the KNC as "an enemy of the peoples of Syria."[19] The KNC meanwhile have described the PYD as dictators and tyrants and accused them of betraying Kurds in Syria by working with Assad and replacing one dictatorship with their own.[28]
On 13 August 2016,Asayish arrested Ibrahim Biro, leader of the KNC and the Kurdish Union (Yekîtî) Party, inQamishli and took him to an unknown location. At the same day, reporter Wedat Hussein Ali who was working for Roj TV, a TV channel linked to the PKK, had been killed in KDP-controlled area. Some ARA News journalists alluded that the two incidents might be linked to the rivalry between the PKK and KDP, which support the PYD and KNC, respectively. After Biro's detention, dozens who belonged to Yekîtî Party, organized a sit-in in front of the city's PYD office to condemn the arrest,[20] while PYD supporters took theSouth Kurdistan flag, symbol of both KNC as well as KDP, from the Yekîtî Party's office in southern Qamishli.[20][29] Biro was released the next day, claiming that he had been detained for the KNC's "political activities" and that the PYD would fail, because "it is impossible for the people of Syria to accept another dictatorship." He subsequently sought asylum in Dohuk with the KDP, though he said he would return to Rojava.[30]
According toSOHR, the Asayish arrested further Yekîtî Party andKDPS members inAmuda and theAfrin Canton on 16 August, most prominently Yekîtî politician Anwar Naso. The arrests prompted further sit-ins and protests by KNC supporters.[31] Most of the arrested KNC members, among them Anwar Naso, were released a few hours later.[32] The rest of them were released on 24 November 2016.[33]
After the outbreak of theBattle of al-Hasakah between pro-government and pro-PYD forces on the same day of August 2016, the KNC condemned the Syrian government for their attacks on civilians and urged both sides to stop fighting. At the same time, however, KNC politicians also said that the PYD should allow the Rojava Peshmerga into the city to protect the Kurdish population and that, at best, the government should be driven from Rojava.[27]
On 19 September, the Syrian Yazidi Council left both the KNC as well as the Syrian National Council after months of tension over the "failure to acknowledge the SNC's Arabism and Islamism problems" and the lack of representation forYazidis within the Syrian opposition.[34]
On 25 October, the Kurdish National Council condemned the "indiscriminate" Turkish bombings on populated towns such asJandairis and other towns in the northern Aleppo Governorate. The council stated that "theTurkish Army and allied Islamist rebels have been killing civilians, carrying out indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes on populated areas." and demanded theTurkish Armed Forces to withdraw its forces. A KNC member also denounced the Turkish focus on attacking theSyrian Democratic Forces as part of theTurkish military intervention in Syria.[35]
On 24 November, Asayish released some KNC politicians and many activists with the rest to be released "in the following days".[36] Zara Salih of the Yekîtî Party said that his party saw "this first step as a positive sign and a good start" and that his party's leadership is "ready to begin negotiations with PYD and the Movement for a Democratic Society, to reach a new deal."[36]
On 30 March 2017, the Kurdish National Council withdrew from theHigh Negotiations Committee in protest of the HNC's policies. An official in the Kurdish Unity Party, part of the KNC, stated that "TheSyrian opposition are againstfederalism and constitutionalKurdish national rights, and they want to delay discussing Kurdish rights in the future."[37]
On 30 April, theAfrin branch of the Kurdish National Council released a statement condemning theApril 2017 Turkish airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. "We condemn and denounce the Turkish aggression and demand the government of Ankara to stop the [attacks] immediately, we also ask PYD [Democratic Union Party] authorities to change its approach and authoritarian behavior and move towards a national and responsible approach to serve the unity of the Kurds and the Kurdish project in the face of challenges and serious risks in the present time and in the future for our Kurdish people", the council stated.[38]
On 7 February 2025, the KNC withdrew from theSyrian National Coalition and from theSyrian Negotiation Commission.[7][39]
Although the KNC joined the Syrian National Coalition and is a part of the Syrian opposition, there are some key differences between the KNC and the SNC over their approach to the issue ofdecentralization, with the KNC pressing for Kurdishautonomy, whereas the SNC has rejected anything more than administrative decentralization.[3] The issue of federalism and autonomy is also a point of contention for KNC and PYD, even though both parties have very similar aims. As such, the KNC has condemned the PYD's declaration of a federation in northern Syria as an attempt to break up Syria without previous "debate and democratic participation". The KNC further claimed that "it strictly opposes any attempt to impose federalism on the Syrian people without a preceding discussion". These statements have raised confusion among some mostly pro-PYD observers, with Carl Drott, a sociology researcher at the University of Oxford, commenting that "It is hard to know what the KNC actually wants. There is a fundamental contradiction between the Kurdish nationalist ideology of the KNC and the political project of its Syrian allies. Sometimes it seems that the only consistent policy of the KNC is to oppose anything that the PYD does."[4] Some Syrian Kurdish refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan, who are believed to mostly support the KNC, have been also critical of the federalism declaration by PYD. Some of them fear that further tensions in Syria would arise as result of the declaration, while they simply wish for an end of hostilities.[11] Despite these divisions about how to implement Kurdish autonomy, the KNC still generally supports federalism.[3] This was shown whenSyrian opposition leaderMichel Kilo outright condemned any attempt of Kurds to establish federalism in Syria, negatively comparing them toIsrael. The KNC reacted to the statement in which it accused Kilo of racism and acting to please PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan andTurkey. Nevertheless, the KNC also argued that the Kurds still had friends among the Syrian National Coalition, thereby reiterating their general support for the Syrian opposition in the wider struggle against Assad who they consider the greatest issue facing Kurds in Syria and a common enemy for both Arab and Kurdish opposition.[40]
Politically, in 2015, the Kurdish National Council adopted a military militia, called theRojava Peshmerga (in Kurdish: Peşmerge rojava).[41][42]
The KNC leader claimed that partially in response to the military power of the PYD, the KNC formed its own paramilitary wing, the Rojava Peshmerga. According to the claims ofIbrahim Biro, the Rojava Peshmergas are mostly recruited from Syrian Kurdish refugees andSyrian Army deserters inKurdistan Region.[43][44]
Because of the refusal of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, the Rojava Peshmerga was unable to participate in the Syrian civil war or control any area in Syria militarily.[45]
| Name[46] | Leader |
|---|---|
| Kurdish Democratic Equality Party in Syria | Aziz Dawud |
| Kurdish Reform Movement | Feysel Yusuf |
| Kurdish Democratic Left Party in Syria | Muhammed Musa Muhammed |
| Yekiti Kurdistan Party (Syria) | Ibrahim Biro |
| Kurdish Future Movement in Syria | Cemal Molla Mahmud |
| Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria | Si'ud Mala |
| Kurdish Left Democrat Party of Syria | Muhammad Salih Gedo |
| Syran Kurdish Democratic Party | Cemal Sheikh Bakî |
| Kurdish Democrat Union Party in Syria | Muhiddin Sheikh Ali |
| Kurdish Freedom Party in Syria | Mustafa Hıdır Oso |
| Kurdish Democrat Party of Syria | Abdurraham Aluci-Lazgin |
| Kurdish Democrat Party (al-parti) in Syria | Nasreddin Ibrahim |
| Kurdish Democrat Patriotic Party In Syria | Tahir Sifuk |
| Kurdistan People's Party - Syria | Abdul Samad Khalaf Biro[47] |
