The final declaration of the 8th PYD Ordinary Congress, which saw the election of Ayşe Hiso and Enwer Muslim as co-chairs, was announced.

The final declaration stressed that the Kurdish issue is a central issue in the Middle East, and reiterated that the PYD is ready for a national dialogue in which all Kurdish parties participate unconditionally.

The beginning of a new way

The statement said: "The 8th Congress of our party was held with the slogan 'We will defeat the occupation, develop the Autonomous Administration and establish a Democratic Syria with Democratic Unity.'

The 8th Congress of our party was held on 24-25 February 2020 and saw the participation of 650 delegates, as well as the presence of guests representing the Autonomous Administration, political parties, the Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM), the Syria Democratic Council - MSD, the Syrian Democratic Forces - SDF, the Women's Council in North and East of Syria, Kongra Star."

The statement added: "The conference was opened by speeches delivered by the co-chairs of the party Ms. Ayşe Hiso and Mr. Şahoz Hesen. The joint presidency report and the reports of the Party General Council and the Women's Council were read, after which the current situation and the leading role the PYD will play in the next phase were discussed.

The conference members stressed that the years of crisis in Syria reaffirmed that the main issue in Syria is the absence of a democratic system, and that the nation state cannot be a solution to the issues of our peoples, so the Syrians need a democratic system that guarantees the rights of the Kurdish people constitutionally, and guarantees the rights of all. It is not possible to achieve a real solution to the issues in Syria without the participation of representatives of the north and east of Syria in the negotiating process and the constitutional committee. The continuation of the policy of marginalization and exclusion is only deepening the current crisis. The PYD is ready to engage in dialogue and negotiation with the Syrian government, and will support any such effort."

The document continued: "It was stressed that there was a need to organize a national democratic opposition independent of regional and international agendas, and that our party would take a leading role in achieving this. One of the main themes of the conference is that our party, as the founder of Autonomous Administration in North and East of Syria, will work to consolidate the concept of ecological democracy, and will work with all its efforts to consolidate and develop the work of Autonomous Administration, which is a model that rejects secession, and achieves all components their rights. It can be adopted to resolve issues in Syria."

The final text also added: "The conference stressed that ISIS is still a threat and that the PYD will support efforts to prosecute ISIS elements in the north and east of Syria, because they committed crimes here, and they should be tried here, and that the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries are carrying out crimes against humanity, demographic change as a continuation of ISIS, and they pose a major threat to stability in our regions. The congress praised the SDF, the People and Women Protection Units YPG, YPJ."

The document insisted: "The conference also noted that the Kurdish issue is a central issue in the Middle East, and stability in the region cannot be achieved without resolving it, so holding a Kurdish national conference is a necessity, and as a party we will make every effort to achieve this historic and strategic step.

It was also stressed that the unity of Kurds in Rojava Kurdistan is important and that we are ready for a national dialogue in which all Kurdish parties, including the Kurdish National Council unconditionally, participate. We will be playing a leading role in achieving this goal, since we have relations with each of the components in the region of Arabs, Syriac, Assyrian, Turkmen and Armenians and as a party we will work to develop the relationship with them in accordance with the democratic nation's approach."

The members of the conference stressed the importance of continuing to pursue a third-way policy and developing relations and agreements to serve "the guarantee and rights of our people and the components of the region, and to preserve the unity of Syrian territory. The conference praised the major role of women in the Democratic Union Party PYD.

In order to achieve a democratic family, our party supports the women's revolution and the consolidation of the social revolution, which is one of the most important achievements we have to achieve in the coming period."

With regard to the role of youth, the PYD final text said: "One of our main tasks in the next stage will be to activate the role of young people in building society and building the future.

Finally, the party's role in creating an orderly, conscious and liberal society has been carefully reflected, and on this basis there will be the development of an organizational campaign so that no one remains unorganized, because an organized society with historical and political awareness can preserve its identity, territory and values."

The statement ended with saluting the elections of Ms. Ayşe Hiso and Mr. Şahoz Hesen as co-chairs and the elections of 90 members to the general council of the party and the discipline body.