Abdulbaset Sieda عبد الباسط سيدا Ebdilbasit Seyda | |
|---|---|
| President of theSyrian National Council | |
| In office 10 June 2012 – 9 November 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Burhan Ghalioun |
| Succeeded by | George Sabra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1956-06-22)22 June 1956 (age 69) |
| Alma mater | Damascus University |
Abdulbaset Sieda (/ˌɑːbdəlˈbɑːsətˈsiːdə/ ⓘAHB-dəl-BAH-setSEE-də;Arabic:عبد الباسط سيدا /ALA-LC:Abd al-Bāsiṭ Sīdā;Kurdish:Ebdilbasit Seyda; born 22 June 1956) is aKurdish-Syrian academic and politician. He is the former President of theSyrian National Council (SNC), succeedingBurhan Ghalioun in June 2012.[1] He has written a number of books on theKurds in Syria and his academic work specializes in ancient civilizations.[2]
Sieda was born inAmuda, a town populated byKurds inAl-Hasakah Governorate,Syria.[3] He obtained aPh.D. from theUniversity of Damascus and was a university professor inLibya from 1991 to 1994. He has written a number of books on theKurds in Syria. After Libya he went into exile to Sweden and specialized in the study of ancient civilizations.[2][4]
He joined the SNC in 2011 as an independent activist (not a member of a political party) and was elected to the executive. He was chosen as the head of its human rights department. In June 2012 he was the consensus candidate for the three-month presidency of the SNC, succeedingBurhan Ghalioun, who had headed it since it was formed in 2011.[3] SNC officials described him as an honest and conciliatory figure who could unite the SNC's factions and appeal toethnic and religious minorities in Syria who fear the opposition.[5]
After his election he said his main task was to expand and reform the SNC, making it more inclusive and democratic.[1] Within Syria, he said he wanted to strengthen links with theFree Syrian Army, a loose coalition of army defectors. He called on theUnited Nations Security Council to pass a resolution underChapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which allows for the use of force.[6]
However, Kurdish activists and politicians in his native province distanced themselves from him. Anti-government protests after his election raised banners saying he did not represent him because he opposedfederalism. A spokesman of the Kurdish Youth Movement—the largest youth movement in the Kurdish areas of Syria and a component of the main Kurdish oppositionKurdish National Council—said Sieda "joined the ranks of the enemies of Kurdish people" when he refused to walk out of the SNC in March when the other Kurdish parties left. A representative of theKurdistan Democratic Party of Syria accused him of "following the Turkish agenda" and said he "represents only himself".[7]
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