What will happen if Turkey changes its approach to Kurds?

Syrian Democratic Council (MSD) Co-chair Ilham Ehmed wrote an article published in the Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper, which was translated by ANF English service below.

The colonialism that reigned over Kurds for centuries must end now. There has been an ongoing bloody and harsh process for over 7 years in Syria. This is a result of state politics attempting to forcibly impose itself onto society. The Syrian regime hasn’t accepted the existing situation yet either. Because of that, they say the time is running short and they will return to Kurdish-controlled areas. Whenever they talk about Kurds they deliberately say this project belongs 100% to the Kurds in an attempt to disturb the other constituents. They laid ruin to this country to not lose their power, they built alliances with countries like Turkey and turned away from what they do.

In their politics built on animosity against Kurds, the Turkish state has built all their domestic and foreign relationships over the Kurdish conflict. It can be seen that they have yet to achieve what they wanted. On the contrary, they are losing more and more. Because theirs is the old politics. They want to make everybody part of this anti-Kurdish politics. If they abandoned the anti-Kurdish stance and say Kurds are a fundamental actor and a neighboring nation, things would change. Their biggest fear is that they will be gone if they accept this fact. This is not just Turkey, it’s the same with all centralist regimes. We, on the other hand, say that society is strong with its diversity, states can facilitate the development of these cultures and help both these rich cultures to express themselves and protect the state they live in and expand the democratic nation.

If Turkey were to make a deal with the Kurds in Syria and stops preventing them from guaranteeing the life of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, Syriacs and other peoples of the region, they will both secure their border and trade would develop between the two countries, and that would reflect as prosperity for both sides.

The Kurds are already waging a great struggle on the field along with the peoples of the region and they are striving to build a democratic system based on equality and justice. Turkey could stop trying to pit Arabs against Kurds and remove itself from these conflicts to see what an alliance the peoples of Syria build for a common life.

Wherever they are, the Kurds have always had good relationships with the peoples they live with. The Kurds have had a significant role in the founding of both Turkey and Syria. And now they are engaged in a harsh war against ISIS to defend the peoples of Syria and and to build a democratic federal system. Of course they are also fighting against the regime. Having Turkey as a neighbor on 3 sides is not the Kurds’ fault. And if Turkey chooses a rational policy, they would take this as a positive thing and would take this into account for their own country. The Kurds have always tried to live in peace and safety along with their neighbors in Syria. Turkey is one of those neighbors. But Turkey has always approached this desire of Kurds negatively.

Syria is now marching towards a new situation. It won’t be like before. It is true that this new situation affects neighboring countries. The fundamental fact that has emerged until now is that Syria cannot be in the hands of one party and one group anymore. What is needed is for both Syria and Turkey to accept this and develop relationships. They still have time to put this fire out. They still have time to face their issues and resolve them. Instead of claiming Kurds don’t exist and not thinking about them, they should accept the Kurds and come up with solutions. That approach would add to Turkey’s riches and will bring Turkey respect in the international arena. It will be a way for Turkey to regain back the reputation it lost and become a new and democratic country.

For that, Turkey must first step off the steadfast horse and come to terms. Democracy, human rights and respecting the borders of neighbors are important and if it comes up with solutions in these areas, Turkey could be a model country in the Middle East. And if the Syrian regime had paid mind to these issues and acted accordingly, if they had transformed their politics, if they had changed the laws, they would be at a very different place right now. But we understand that they want to prolong their stay in power and dominate the society through war. This is the known fundamental error of nation states. Syria is not Egypt, nor Tunisia, nor Libya, that is true. But for seven years, there have been changes in Syria. Either this regime will accept these changes or they will end up in a situation they never guessed.