The Rojava Center for Strategic Studies carried out a popular survey to find out the opinion of the people on the initiative launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), calling on the Kurdish parties to dialogue and unifying visions in front of the dangers facing the Kurdish national issue.

After the Syrian crisis in 2011, the frequent external interventions that played a role in the sustainability of the crisis and expanded the scale of killing and destruction in general, the Kurdish issue emerged clearly on the political and military arena, and like many parties in Syria, the Kurdish movement divided among themselves to the extent that its unification became a fantasy, according to many observers due to the international and regional ties that affected this division.

The initiative came as an urgent need and a national necessity to enhance the role of the Kurds in the national and international political discussions and dialogues related to the Syrian issue. After the Kurdish parties responded to the initiative, several meetings and discussions took place between the National Unity parties and the Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS). The Kurds were pleased with these dialogues, hoping that the Kurdish parties would reach a minimum level of consensus and unification.

The survey was carried out in the Jazira region (Derik, Girke Lakei, Terbespiye, Qamishlo, Amudeh, Derbasiya, Tel Tamr, Heseke).

The promoters wanted to interview people also in the Euphrates and Shehba regions, but due to the ban imposed to counter the spread of coronavirus, it was not possible.

The survey took place from 5 to 21 July and involved 1378 people, 922 (76%) men and 456 (33%) women.

As to the answers, for 95.1% of the people surveyed the SDF initiative to unify Kurdish parties was positive. 43.3% of the people surveyed believed that the dependence of Kurdish parties on external forces is the main obstacle to achieving Kurdish unity followed by 41.2% believing that narrow party interests is the second main obstacle.

According to 63.5% of the surveyed people, the next step after the success of the first phase is the unification of Kurdish parties. For 86.1% of the surveyed people participation of all Kurdish parties is what will ensure the achievement of Kurdish unity. As for the most appropriate place to hold dialogues for the initiative of the Kurdish unity, 73.1% of the people surveyed said Qamishlo, while 17.1% said Hewler (Erbil).