The PYD Co-Chairs Salih Muslim (L) and Asiya Abdullah (R) speaking to a press conference in Sere Kaniye, northeast Syria. Photo: ARA News

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ARA News

Salih Muslim, co-president of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria, said on Friday that the Iranian government is trying to undermine the Kurds in Syria, and denied “rumours” by Qatari and Turkish media outlets that the PYD supports the Syrian government.

The PYD co-head said that he and his wife Aisha Afendi were detained by the Syrian regime and that many of the PYD members were imprisoned by the regime, adding that the conflict between the Kurds and the Baath regime has been “bitter and long.”

The Syrian Kurdish leader said that since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution the PYD has supported the people, but did not back the Syrian government nor the Syrian opposition.

“We have no relations with Iran, and Iran’s policy is no different from that of the Syrian regime on the Kurdish issue, which is hostile to the Kurds’ fundamental rights,” he told the Saudi Riyadh news site.

“They fear that the Kurds will gain their fights in Syria, and the Iranian and Syrian regime have the same position [on the Kurds],” he said.

Moreover, the official said there is an Iranian-Qatari-Turkish alliance to undermine the Kurds.

“We have suffered from this and we resist it until now. This alliance invaded our homes and caused the martyrdom of many since 2012,” he said. “We have suffered a lot of the policies of genocide and the denial of existence at the hands of this alliance.”

The PYD official said that while Turkey is the executer, Qatar is the financier of the policy to undermine the Kurds in Syria. “This alliance with it’s tools is dangerous for all the people of the Middle East, and for all the humanity,” he said.

The Kurdish official said there is no organization affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood in the regions under control of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“Any party or organization in our region is obliged to obtain a license from the democratic self-administration in according to the Political Parties Law,” he said. “However, in Raqqa, it’s up to their own people, they will make their decision.”

Furthermore, the Kurdish official said there are good relations between the Arab tribes and the Kurds in northern Syria and he hoped that the presence of Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries will help to consolidate the bonds of brotherhood between the people and different communities.

“We have many individuals, who are have leading positions in [our] administrations, such as the Shammar, Aneza, Tay and Harb tribe, and other tribes, and we are proud of these relations,” he concluded.

Reporting by: Wladimir van Wilgenburg

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