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Shafaq News
By Manish
Rai*
The
Sykes-Picot agreement, which established the contemporary Middle East map
following World War I, has led to the Kurds being the world’s largest stateless
population, distributed across four nations in the region— Iran, Iraq,
Syria, and Turkiye.
The Kurds
have long sought to establish their homeland, “Kurdistan,” and have
made significant sacrifices and collaborated with various regional and global
powers to achieve this goal. However, the powers they collaborated with have
consistently betrayed the Kurds. At present, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic
Forces (SDF) in North and Northeast Syria are the subject of an extensive
offensive by Syrian government forces and affiliated militias, with the
implicit support of the United States. With few exceptions, most cities and
towns fell rapidly as Kurdish-led forces withdrew.
In the
regions under their control, SDF and its civilian institutions have been
working for years to establish a political entity that is multi-religious and
multi-ethnic. The project’s collapse was a direct result of the abrupt and
widespread defections of Arab tribes from the SDF and its Autonomous
Administration, underscoring the Kurdish inability to redefine social and
political relations with Arab communities.
Most Arab
tribes, having been emancipated from the tyrannical governance of ISIS by
Kurdish forces and subsequently leading peaceful and dignified lives in
Kurdish-administered areas of northeast Syria, rapidly changed allegiance and
allied with the forces of Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa. This outcome is
ironic. Kurdish forces have been left in a state of shock as a result of this
betrayal, as they have lost more than two-thirds of the territory they
previously possessed in a mere two weeks.
I conducted
a video interview with Nesrin Abdullah, the senior commander of the Kurdish
Women Protection Units (YPJ), to obtain additional information regarding the
evolving tribal allegiances. While speaking from the besieged city of Kobani,
she informed me that not all Arab tribes have joined the Syrian government
forces, and a small number of them are still on the side of the SDF. In
addition, Commander Nasrin advised that the policy of this government be in
alignment with that of Bashar Al-Assad’s administration, which was to promote
sectarian conflict. Most of the Arab tribes purportedly shifted sides because
of this policy.
The Kurdish
national motto, “No friends but the mountains,” is proving to be
particularly relevant in the current situation. Particularly, the Syrian Kurds
now regard themselves as victims of international betrayal, as they were the
most effective US ally in the Syrian conflict against ISIS.
Throughout
history, others have perpetrated numerous acts of deception against the Kurds.
Following the Ottoman Empire’s dissolution at the conclusion of the First World
War, the Treaty of Sèvres acknowledged the Kurds’ entitlement to their state.
Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United States, committed to providing
support for its establishment within two years; however, his promise did not
transpire.
In the
aftermath of the Second World War, the Mahabad Republic was briefly established
by Kurds in Northwestern Iran, although it never materialized. This state
offered them a brief taste of freedom. The Iranian regime promptly suppressed
this experiment with the support of the United States and Britain. The Iranian
government publicly executed Qazi Muhammad, the elected president of the
republic, as well as several other Kurdish leaders. In the early months of
1991, after the first Gulf War ended, the Kurds were once again backstabbed
because the United States and its allies did not significantly intervene while
Saddam Hussein unleashed brutal retribution against them for their support of
the US during the war. This event was reminiscent of those in March 1988, when
approximately 5,000 Kurdish civilians were killed in a chemical attack in the
town of Halabja within a single day.
Once again,
the Syrian conflict betrays them. All parties are currently subjecting Kurds to
persecution in the Syrian arena. The Syrian government, Turkish-backed
militias, ISIS, and Turkiye are all waging an attack on them. The Syrian Kurds
have been profoundly disheartened by the outcome. The only assistance being
provided is from the fellow Kurdish populace in neighboring states. For
example, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has dispatched its elite
Counter Terrorism Group (CTG) to assist Kurdish forces in Rojava, and the
Barzani Foundation has sent substantial humanitarian aid.
It is a
prevalent sentiment among Kurds that their partners have abandoned them. They
have considered themselves trustworthy allies of the United States for the past
ten years. The United States and Western values were genuinely supported by
them, and they gained popularity as a result of their cooperation in the
struggle against ISIS, during which they lost over 12,000 combatants. However,
it has become evident to them that the Syrian state has received support from
the United States, although it is commanded by a former jihadist terrorist.
Currently, a coalition of former militants and significant elements committed
to extremist ideologies within its military and administrative structures
governs Syria. It is composed of various radical currents, including the Muslim
Brotherhood, Tafkiris and Salafism. The atrocities against the Druze and
Alawite communities, as well as the Kurds most recently, serve as evidence that
Syria is unlikely to achieve stability in the near future.
The failure
of a local revolt to persist was not the sole cause of Rojava’s collapse. We
defeated the political proposition that secular and democratic forces in the
region could rely on the United States and Western support. Although the
discourse of democracy and dignity may have been appealing to an occasional US
diplomat and congressman, it held no significance in Washington.
This article
has been edited to conform to Shafaq News’ editorial style.
The views
expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of Shafaq News
Agency.
*Manish Rai
is an Australian Geopolitical Analyst and Columnist for the Middle East and
Af-Pak
