ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) have instructed all institutions and political parties to display only emblems and banners representing the administration, a senior politician from the ruling coalition told Rudaw English on Friday. The directive effectively prohibits the use of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) symbols and flags amid calls for the enclave to distance itself from the armed group and efforts to have a unified Kurdish front in the new Syria.
The Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES) “directed all institutions and political parties… to raise only the independence flag of Syria, or the flag of the revolution, the flags of the SDF and the symbols of the autonomous administration,” said Nasraddin Ibrahim, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Kurd in Syria (al-Parti), adding that the directive has yet to be publicized but was issued on December 16.
His party is one of 24 members of the ruling Kurdish National Unity Parties (PYNK), led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD). The SDF is the Syrian Democratic Forces, the armed force that partnered with the United States-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS).
Rudaw English research has concluded that only the new flag of Syria as well as the flags and symbols of the SDF and DAANES were seen in most of the recent public events and gatherings.
Samantha Teal, a researcher at the Rojava Research Center, a local monitor group, told Rudaw English on Friday that she was “not aware of a blanket ban on PKK flags right now,” but said that recent public events only featured the flags of the SDF and its affiliates, Kongra Star, and the new Syrian flag.
Kongra Star is a confederation of women's organizations in Rojava.
“SDF is facing accusations of being organisationally linked to the PKK - something Mazloum Abdi has repeatedly denied. I assume in order to not feed these accusations at this sensitive time, the DAANES is taking care to not let PKK flags be raised at public events,” she said.
However, she noted that “individuals or families in NES [northeast Syria] who are sympathetic towards the PKK continue to raise its flag outside public events.”
Ibrahim clarified that the directive did not name the PKK or the use of its flags and symbols and said “it is prudent to avoid turning Rojava into an open arena for regional conflicts or Kurdish disputes.”
Turkey alleges that the PKK has a presence in Rojava and that this is a threat to its national security.
Ankara has put terrorism labels on the PKK and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the PYD and the backbone of the SDF, that Turkey considers the Syrian branch of the PKK.
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and PKK commanders have repeatedly denied organizational links between their forces, but have confirmed coordination in the initial years of the fight against ISIS.
Turkey has carried out several military operations against Kurdish forces in Syria and is threatening to escalate an ongoing offensive.
Washington has mediated talks between the SDF and Turkey in a bid to end the current conflict and to avoid a potential Turkish offensive on SDF-held Kobane city, which is a symbol of Kurdish resistance against ISIS. Several convoys of US troops have been spotted in the city in recent days.
Rudaw English asked the US State Department if Washington had advised the DAANES to issue the directive about flags. A spokesperson for the department avoided commenting on the issue, instead reiterating that they consider the PKK a terrorist organisation while the SDF remains their local partner in the fight against ISIS, and that they look “forward to continuing our engagements with Türkiye about our shared interests in Syria.”
Murat Karayilan, a senior PKK commander, on December 16 denied the presence of PKK fighters in Rojava. He said that they temporarily entered northeast Syria in 2014 and left after defeating ISIS.
He also stressed that the display of portraits of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in Rojava, which was very common before the directive by the DAANES, does not mean that Syrian Kurds are PKK members, but rather are followers of Ocalan’s “philosophy.”
‘Good decision’
The Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC), a coalition of opposition parties in Rojava, has repeatedly called on the DAANES and SDF to distance themselves from the PKK and its symbols and flags.
ENKS president Sulaiman Oso said the directive to display only the DAANES, SDF and Syrian symbols and flags would be a good step.
“It would be great to have such a decision,” he told Rudaw English on Friday.
ENKS is a member of the Turkish-backed coalition of political groups who opposed the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad. It has been in constant rivalry with the PYD despite occasional talks to create a unified Kurdish stance in the region.
The intra-Kurdish talks have been mediated by Americans, but recently a French delegation has also been involved.
SDF’s Abdi held a meeting with the ENKS on Monday, with both sides saying in a joint statement that they “agreed on the importance of continued meetings and the expeditious resolution of contentious issues.”
Nasraddin Ibrahim is also a member of the PYNK committee that is negotiating with the ENKS. He told Rudaw English that the meeting between Abdi and ENKS was mediated by American, French and British delegations.
“The aim is to bring viewpoints closer and overcome obstacles preventing the formation of a joint Kurdish delegation to negotiate with Mr. Ahmad al-Sharaa's government regarding the Kurdish issue in the new Syria following the collapse of the dictatorial and chauvinistic regime,” he said.
Sharaa, who is better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, is the rebel leader whose Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) spearheaded the offensive to overthrow Assad’s regime.
Days after the collapse of the former regime, the DAANES directed its institutions to raise the new flag of Syria. The administration also plans to send a delegation to Damascus to initiate talks with the new government.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said earlier this month that they still consider YPG as a branch of the PKK.
"The YPG is an organization run by international terrorist fighters coming from Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Europe. Although the Americans may market this situation to the world differently, the reality is clear,” he said.
Responding to a Rudaw question about the possibility of ending hostilities between Ankara and the SDF during a press conference in Doha, Fidan said, “In short, no, unless they change themselves.”
