A delegation of the Kurdish National Council in Syria, composed of Ibrahim Biro, president of the KNC, Kamiran Hajo, chairman of the KNC‘s committee for foreign relations, and Siamend Hajo, member of the committee for foreign relations, currently resides in the USA to meet with representatives of different political institutions.
On February 28, 2017, the delegation met with leading members of Senator Brad Sherman’s Office (Democratic Party), member of the U.S. House of Representatives. After that, representatives of the Kurdistan Regional Government – Iraq welcomed the delegation, amongst them Consul Bayan Sami ʿAbdulrahman.
On March 1, 2017, the delegation was able to talk to journalists of different media outlets and staff members of several U.S. Congressional Committees. At the London Center for Policy Research it met with General Ernest C. Audino. Furthermore a conference with Walid Phares took place, Donald Trump’s adviser with regard to the Middle East.
Major focus of the discussions being held so far was the current situation in the Kurdish areas and in Syria in general. The Kurdish delegation laid out the KNC’s view on possible solutions for peace in Syria and on its relations to the opposition.
More particularly, the opposition’s London Paper was discussed. It had not been approved by the KNC, because it runs counter to the KNC’s vision of a secular, democratic and federal Syria. Regarding the Kurdish region, the possibility of the Roj-Peshmerga’s return was addressed and the significance of their return for the future of Kurdish Syria. Moreover, the delegation elaborated the repressive measures of Syria’s Democratic Union Party (PYD), its monocracy and the daily violations of human rights in the Kurdish areas of Syria. The PYD’s influence on people’s lives forces them to flee Syrian Kurdistan to foreign countries, which has by now started to pose serious demographic challenges.
The delegation’s interlocutors underlined the importance of its visit especially at this point of time. They affirmed their own views’ proximity to the KNC’s and declared to support Roj-Peshmerga’s right to return home. They also strongly condemned the PYD’s practices towards the KNC and its supporters. Additionally, they expressed their understanding of the KNC’s ideas on Syria’s future and declared to expect substantial changes in the U.S.’s Middle East policy in the near future.
The Kurdish delegation continues its visit during the following days.
The Delegation of the Kurdish National Council in Syria
Washington D.C., March 2nd 2017