Syrian Kurds: The Pressure and the PenaltiesDedicated to those who just can’t face facts when it comes to the the reality vs the mythos of the Kurdish people. The illusion of unity. The tyranny of PYD & PKK. And of course the NATO strong arm that allows for the subjugation of persons who had it better under the Assad government.
“The grass has not grown greener in Syria under the harsh edicts of the PYD. Syrian Kurds do not want to have no alternatives other than to choose between Daesh and the PYD”
Daesh & the PYD- Curious word choices. I would've thought it should be Daesh or PYD? But then, as I've long suspected there is NO difference, anyway.
At the beginning of the revolution in Syria, Syrian opposition groups respected that the Kurds were also being coerced by the regime: the regime granted Syrian citizenship to those Kurds that had remained stateless and Bashar Assad sent several of his representatives to ask the “leaders” of Kurdish parties to meet in Damascus in order to appear to be ready to hear Kurdish demands. He then also released several Kurdish political prisoners, including Mishal Tamo, Hasan Salih, and co-leader of the PYD, Salih Muslim, who would later prove to be very useful to the regime.
The Kurdish National Council
The classical Kurdish “leaders” were as much afraid as was Bashar Al-Assad himself that the disaffected youth would upset the status quo and replace them so they laboured to form a body that would compete with the Local Coordination Committees and formed the so-called ‘Kurdish National Council’.For its part, the PKK-linked PYD, formed its own council, which it named the Council of Western Kurdistan. Both councils then sought to exclude non-partisan young males from the popular movement so as to take over the leadership for and by themselves.
So much for that myth of democracy promoted by the lying msm.The Assassination of Mishal Tamo
“Mishal Tamo, a charismatic young Kurdish leader, had showed empathy with Syrian youths demonstrating against Bashar al-Assad, even when he was in prison.He not only attacked Bashar al-Assad’s policies but also criticized the Kurdish “leaders” of the classical Kurdish parties stating on the first day after his release “I do not belong to the Kurdish Movement, I belong to the Syrian Revolution.”Soon afterwards, Mishal Tamo became an icon for the young demonstrators and was heralded as the new leader of the revolutionary movement. The erstwhile Kurdish parties panicked when they saw Tamo gaining people’s hearts. On 7 October 2011,sensing the threat he posed to them all, the Syrian security forces assassinated Mishal Tamo”
I’m going to make a brief digression to address the murder of Mishal Tamo. Released by Bashar al Assad at the beginning of the destabilization. If the Assad government had wanted Tamo dead, they could have killed him in prison. Quietly. Rather then making a matyr of him on the streets of Syria. However, other parties were certainly looking for a figure head. A martyr. A rallying point. Or as I like to call these persons- a mascot. There has to always be a mascot.In 2011 I posted after much digging some information found on Mishal Tamo. I do not believe for one moment he was killed by the Syrian government.As explained in a 2011 post: Assassination in Syria- Who really benefitsTo me it appeared as if it was the doing of someone out of Turkey, or the Kurds themselves. Four years on, I am more inclined then ever to point the accusatory finger at the Kurdish militias affiliated with Israel & NATOFrom my 2011 post
"Tamo founded the liberal Kurdish Future Party, which considers Kurds an integral part of Syria“The assassination of Kurdish opposition figure Meshaal Tamo is likely to push Kurds in Syria to take a more active role in the seven-month-old anti-regime uprising, analysts and activists believe”- Kurds getting more active against the Assad government- Cui Bono?“More involvement by the Kurds in the pro-democracy revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's regime that erupted in March "will have a huge impact on the situation in Syria"
Not good for Syria. Good for Israel/NATO/ creation of NATO terror state KurdistanBack to the Ekurd article:
“Mishal Tamo’s assassination marked a turning point in the position adopted by Syrian Kurds towards the Syrian revolution. Soon afterwards, the number of demonstrators decreased and the revolution’s flags were replaced by Kurdish national flags”
Hmmm... exactly as proposed in 2011The PYD and the Council of Western Kurdistan (Those dams in Turkey)
Being adept at benefiting from regional clashes during the reign of Hafiz al-Assad, the Syrian regime had used the PKK as a cat’s paw in its struggle with Turkey over the water of the Euphrates – Turkey having constructed a series of huge dams in the accomplishment of the GAP project that seriously affected the flow of water into Syria. When the leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, was expelled from Syria in October 1998, the Assad regime signed a new security agreement with Turkey and the PKK’s activities in Syria were henceforth banned.The PYD, the Syrian sister branch of the PKK, was also banned and its members began to be captured and imprisoned.
Interesting background info to keep tucked under your hatThe summer of 2014
On 21 January 2014, the PYD announced that it was setting up a local administration in some Kurdish areas and began calling itself a ‘government’, in conjunction with a number of smaller, marginal parties, some of which lacked a suitable candidate able to adopt the post of Deputy Prime Minister.A person well known to this author that did not belong to any particular political party was asked by one of these parties to represent them in the “government” because, as they told him, they didn’t have a university graduate available to take up that post. My friend resigned when the party concerned sought to introduce him as their member.By the present date, the PYD has shown itself to be more tyrannical than the Ba’ath regime itself. Its party personnel do not accept any criticism and should anyone dare criticise them, then he risks being exiled to Iraqi Kurdistan or even killed and accused of being an agent to justify the killing.When the Ba’ath regime imprisoned dissidents, the public would view them as political prisoners and freedom fighters. The Ba’ath regime used to overlook the Kurdish parties but the PYD insisted on getting a license to engage in political activity.
A licence to engage in political activity- Just like any other good little NATO tyranny- Canada. US.The results of the internal rupture
Kurdish society is now more divided more than at any previous time. Before the uprising there were sixteen political parties, now there are thirty-six, in addition to more than 40 independent groups classified as “civil society organizations.” More importantly, there’s a vertical and horizontal dichotomy in Kurdish society into Apocus (followers of ‘Apo’ Ocalan and the PKK) and Barzanies (followers of Massoud Barzani and the KDP).
The Kurdish areas have been evacuated and have changed demographically speaking. About 150,000 people, mainly Syrian Kurds, are currently refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan; thousands of others have fled across the border into Turkey and many thousands more to Europe. The Ba’ath regime had previously tried by all means to force Kurds into fleeing but had not succeeded.
Isn't that amazing. The PYD managed to wield a heavier hand then the Assad government forcing more then 100,000 people to flee their homes.PYD’s obligatory recruitment drive
During the blockade of Kurdish areas by the Islamic State organization (Daesh/IS) and other opposition groups, many Kurds soon found themselves jobless and were obliged to look for work outside Syria owing to the PYD’s coordination with Assad. Some chose to migrate because of the obligatory recruitment orders issued by the PYD’s local administration. The PYD’s henchmen would go to Kurdish workplaces, and even the homes of those they knew not to support them, and would demand that these Kurds take up arms for them or show financial support.From the outset, the Assad regime tried to allow people to choose between security, or ‘democracy’, and consequently want him back. To a great extent he has succeeded in this. Many citizens of Syria nowadays long for the days when stability and security prevailed.
On the ground in Syria- Under PYD rule vs Assad governmentThe Status Quo anteThe Status QuoFuel for heatingAvailable at gas stations by anyone at anytime.Permission is required from the head of the local commune (usually an illiterate person or someone only schooled to Elementary level).BreadGenerally available after an hour.In bakeries located in Kurdish areas like Timthal bakery, Huria, etc. Cards are given to pro-PYD people from the “People’s House”. As long as there are cardholders, ordinary people can’t get bread.Political lifeThe regime would overlook much Kurdish political activity. Kurdish politicians were accused of “threatening national security”.Political parties should get a license from the PYD and no demonstrations are allowed without prior consent. Those activists they arrest are accused of being agents or drug dealers.ElectricityAvailable 24 hours a day 40 amperes for a monthly bill of 2500 -6000 Syrian Pounds (SYP) max.)2-4 hours maximum. In every suburb now there are huge private generators SYP750-950 per ampere.
In short, Syrian Kurds feel that if the “local administration” is like the one run by PYD, then they no longer want it. They have lost confidence in this form of local administration.
Is the grass greener on the other side of the fence?
With the horrific images of the beheading of captives and the massacres and atrocities that Daesh/ISIS organisation has committed against the Yezidi sect in northern Iraq many Western commentators began to regard the Kurds in general, and the PYD in particular, as those who “not only fight terrorism but also build democracy”[1]. In reality, however, the canton of Aljazeera is the place where journalists are most frequently arrested or deported, and where a satellite channel like Rudaw is shut down and everybody silenced because, as they say “We are in a state of war”. The grass has not grown greener in Syria under the harsh edicts of the PYD. Syrian Kurds do not want to have no alternatives other than to choose between Daesh and the PYD.