Unity & Struggle: Damascus and Rojava Against Turkey's Occupation

We will not allow for Syria to be divided; all we want is the democratisation of Syria; its citizens must live in peace, and enjoy and cherish the ethnic diversity of the national groups inhabiting the country.

— Syrian Democratic Council co-chair Hediya Yousef, 2016

    There’s a saying that a monumental Russian-born revolutionist once uttered: “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen.”

    Well, it would be ridiculous to suggest that nothing of importance has happened in Syria over the past eight years. In some ways, a compact Third World War has been raging in the country, one that has had unimaginable humanitarian consequences.  

    But even by the standards of the dramatic twists and turns on the Syrian battlefield since 2011, this past week has been exceptional in its potentially defining impact. Given the dizzying pace of the news, one could be forgiven for lacking a sense of clarity about what has taken place, and where everything is headed.

    In fact, it would probably be absurd to put forward an analysis which is delivered as if a crystal ball is at our disposal.

    What we do know is that over the past week since Donald Trump announced U.S. withdrawal, Turkey has invaded, its Free Syrian Army proxies are massacring civilians, Daesh is experiencing a resurgence of activity, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have entered into an alliance with the Syrian state. At the same time, the SDF is waging a heroic and inspiring resistance that has so far allowed them to avoid losing either the key cities of Serekaniye (Ras al-Ayn) or Gire Spi (Tel-Abyad).

    Back in Washington, and under immense pressure from lawmakers, including from his own Republican Party, Donald Trump has announced limited sanctions on Turkey. For their part, EU countries have - far too late - decided to halt weapons sales to Turkey.

    This comes as Russia and has stepped into Manbij, replacing U.S. forces, while also acting as the guarantor in the new deal between the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Syrian Arab Republic.

    

    What happens from here on out depends on an array of factors, as geo-political alliances look to be reshaped. As it stands now, the situation is extremely fluid.

    Russia has said it isn’t interested in seeing conflict between Damascus and the Turkish government. However, for Erdogan, there doesn’t appear to be any turning back. While the Syrian Arab Army isn’t due to technically fight under the deal reached with the SDF - instead acting to secure the borders - it would appear unlikely that the Syrian Arab Army won’t have to engage in conflict, at least with the FSA forces allied to Turkey.

    But about the prospects for an end to this war?

    For the duration of the Syrian conflict, and since the Rojava Revolution was proclaimed in 2012, the Kurdish Freedom Movement has been clear on its desire for a political settlement within the framework of a united, but federal, Syria.

    Unlike the FSA that has fought to overthrow the government in Damascus, the goal of the Autonomous Administration has always been for a democratisation process that shakes off the chauvinist-orientation of an ‘Arab Republic’ in favour of a pluralistic state.

    So what does the new deal and alliance between the SDF and SAA mean to this end?

    Details are not fully accessible, but former co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Salih Muslim, has shared information with ANF News that is useful in understanding the first steps that have been taken, which relate strictly to defence. 

    Muslim says that “The border needs to be protected together in order for Syrian sovereignty to be preserved. To this end, Syrian troops will be stationed in the area from Derik to the Euphrates and they will raise the Syrian flag. Syrian soldiers will not be deployed inside the cities but in some areas out of the towns. The works of the Democratic Autonomous Administration will not be intervened. The councils here will continue their works as usual.“

    Such words appear to be aimed at reassuring to those who have voiced fears that the agreement means an end to Rojava’s revolutionary process, and its focus on grassroots democracy, women’s emancipation, and multi-ethnic cohesion being replaced by a return to the politics of old monolith. 

    However, this doesn’t mean that as things stands at the moment, the nature of Rojava’s status in a future Syria has been agreed upon.

    Muslim says that the talks will resume in Damascus in the coming days, and that the focus will be on “recognition of the Democratic Autonomous Administration, recognition of Kurds’ rights in the Constitution and securing of the rights of other peoples in the region. These will have a constitutional guarantee.”

    Importantly, he ended by saying “How broad the frame of the agreement will be, is to be determined by the future talks.”

    Therefore, there is of course no guarantee that the Autonomous Administration will get what it aspires for. How much both sides are willing to compromise is unclear, and will need to be flushed out in negotiations which will probably be undertaken in the midst of a war.

    For the Autonomous Administration, U.S. forces leaving the country has had a contradictory effect: on the one hand, U.S. presence was seen as something of a bargaining chip, in addition to staving off a genocidal war of aggression which has now come into being; yet on the other, it’s because of the U.S. leaving that the door has been opened wider than before to the prospect of a political solution which has viability.

    As Muslim noted in his interview, “Russia and the regime did not accept an agreement before the withdrawal of US troops. But now they have accepted it. This is a first.”

    For the time being, both peace and a political solution remain elusive, and it's unlikely either will come into being overnight. 

    Still, for the sake of Syrians of all nationalities and creeds, let’s hope that the country that so many have not only dreamt of, but that Rojava’s revolutionaries have struggled for, can materialise through a negotiated settlement rather than any further bloodshed, once Turkey's invasion is defeated. 

    In the meantime, YPG/J and other SDF fighters, as well as armed civilians, continue to wage a war of resistance. If the first week of the invasion is any indication, it is a war that will go down in history as a colossal blunder on behalf of the Turkish state.