ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) on Thursday condemned its exclusion from a session organized by the National Dialogue Conference’s preparatory committee with residents of northeast Syria’s (Rojava) Hasaka province.
Earlier the same day, the committee had held a dialogue session with Hasaka natives residing in Damascus, according to Syrian state media.
“The absence of the Kurdish political movements from the national dialogue sessions represents a breach of the principle of national partnership,” ENKS spokesperson Faisal Youssef said in a statement.
Following his appointment as Syria’s interim president on January 29, Ahmed al-Sharaa, vowed to hold a National Dialogue Conference that would pave the way for “free and fair elections.” The committee was set up on February 11 under directions from Sharaa who tasked its members with laying the groundwork for the conference.
However, the committee was quick to draw criticism over the absence of Kurdish representation. In a mid-February statement, ENKS criticized the exclusion of Kurds from the committee as “undermining political and ethnic pluralism” and “the genuine representation of all national constituents.”
“Any national dialogue concerned with the future of Syria cannot be serious or fruitful unless it ensures the genuine participation of the various components, foremost among them the Kurdish people, represented by their political forces,” ENKS emphasized in its Thursday statement.
In late January, ENKS and Rojava’s ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) agreed to send a joint delegation to Damascus to discuss the future of Kurds in Syria.
Earlier this week, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani urged Syrian Kurds to “go to Damascus united” and act as “homeowners, not guests,” in the process of rebuilding Syria. President Barzani emphasized the importance of unity, pointing out that the successes of the Kurdistan Region’s parties were a direct result of their collective efforts.
