Kurds eye decentralised Syria in talks with govt

QAMISHLI, Syria: A US-backed Kurdish-led alliance said yesterday that it is seeking a roadmap for a decentralised Syria in talks with the government which opened in Damascus this week.

The Syrian Democratic Forces alliance, which controls a swathe of the north and northeast, said it had agreed with the government to form joint committees to discuss the major issues after a first round of talks on Thursday and Friday.

The SDF’s political arm, the Syrian Democratic Council, said the aim was to “clear the way for a broader and more comprehensive dialogue” and forge a “roadmap leading to a democratic and decentralised Syria”.

Before civil war erupted in 2011, Syria had a highly centralised form of government which provided no constitutional recognition for the rights of the Kurds and other minorities.

But after government forces pulled out of Kurdish-majority areas in 2012, the Kurds seized the opportunity to set up their own administrations and implement longstanding demands such as Kurdish-language education.

The SDF formalised the new administrative arrangements in 2016 with the creation of autonomous cantons in areas under its control that it regards as a model for a federal system nationwide.

The Damascus government has opposed the scope of the selfrule sought by the Kurds but late last year Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said a ‘form of autonomy’ was ‘negotiable’.

In late May, President Bashar al-Assad said the government was prepared to open talks with the SDF but stressed that it remained ready to use force if necessary to ensure the return of government troops and state institutions to SDF-held areas. — AFP