The Kurdish National Council (KNC) condemned the attack by the militia of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) on the headquarters of the Council and its repeated use of violence to crack down on the activities of the Council in the predominantly Kurdish areas which the PYD militia control by force of arms.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Council stressed that the PYD militia’s repressive practices, including most notably arbitrary arrests, harassment, and the closure of offices would not discourage the Council from carrying out its role in defending and promoting freedom and democracy.
The Council called upon all democratic forces, human rights organizations, Kurdish forces and parties and countries concerned with the Syrian issue to ratchet up pressure the PYD militia to stop these practices.
Member of the KNC’s General Secretariat Abdul Samad Barro warned that “the PYD is seeking to undermine the Kurdish national project that the Council adopts.” He pointed out that the Council would determine at a later meeting the date of the Council’s general conference.
The Council was scheduled to hold its fourth conference in the Syrian city of Qamishli on Tuesday. However, the PYD militia and the PYD security apparatus, known as the Asayish forces, raided the office of the Council and prevented it from holding its conference by force of arms.
The PYD militants had previously raided the offices of the Council and the offices of its affiliated parties and set them on fire. They also arrested dozens of activists and politicians who are affiliated with the Council, including most notably Nashaat Zaza. PYD militants also kidnapped Abdulrahman Qassem, member of the Central Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party-Syria on Tuesday morning and took him to an unknown location. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
