On 26.04.2025, the long-awaited Kurdish unity conference took place in Qamişlo – after being postponed several times. The conference was preceded by intensive discussions. Over 400 delegates from Rojava, Bakur (North Kurdistan) and Başûr (South Kurdistan) took part in the meeting.
The preparatory committee brought together numerous Kurdish parties of various ideological orientations, NGOs and personalities. The foundation of the conference was formed by the three central forces: the PYD (Democratic Union Party), the ENKS (Kurdish National Council, Syrian branch of the KDP) and the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan).
The very fact that the conference has come about is of historical significance and is a milestone in the formation of Kurdish national will. Even though it was limited to Rojava, its significance reached far beyond Rojava. A unified Kurdish presence can help to push back Turkish influence in Rojava via the ENKS. The ENKS, which has so far been in opposition to the PYD and QSD and collaborates with Turkey, came under pressure in the run-up to the conference. Its participation in the conference therefore represented a political success and was a major irritant for the Turkish colonial state.
The content of the conference opened up far-reaching perspectives. The conference plays a central role in the debate on the future order of Syria. The final document contains political demands, including that for a federal Syria. This exceeds the previous agreement between the HTS and the QSD, in which federalism played no role. The conference also called for the constitutional recognition of all minorities. This formulated a position that goes beyond the Kurdish issue and advocates for the rights of all nations, ethnicities and religious communities in Syria.
The conference took place in a highly volatile regional context. In this transitional phase in the reshaping of the region, all political forces are trying to consolidate their position. The internal contradictions in Syria will continue to intensify. The Islamist HTS is currently not in a position to implement its own anti-grassroots political program, let alone rule over the whole of Syria. In the south of the country, the clashes between the Druze and the HTS government continue. Calls for independence are growing louder in Druze circles.
The HTS continues to cling to the vision of an Arab central state and refuses to grant autonomy rights to the various peoples of Syria. Immediately after the conference, Ahmed al-Sharaa declared that no “separatist cantons” would be tolerated. This attitude is in no way inferior to the colonial course of the Baath dictatorship, a chauvinistic, centralist model that does not correspond to the realities of Syria.
The USA acted as a mediator between the various Kurdish actors and thus also contributed to the realization of the meeting. It must be stated that the USA is pursuing its own interests here. In the event that the HTS changes course to its disadvantage, it would like to have a trustworthy partner in Syria so as not to lose its influence. The leadership of the democratic self-administration is to become the counterpart to the Kurdish KDP from Başûr (South Kurdistan) and protect its interests in Syria. It should be a common knowledge that the imperialist powers cannot be relied upon, and in the case of the Kurds this was most recently confirmed when the USA independently withdrew its troops from Rojava in 2018. Following the withdrawal, Turkey seized the opportunity and launched a military offensive to annex Afrin, Girê Spî and Serekaniye.
Our task is to strengthen the role of the progressive forces within the negotiating committee established at the conference. The initiative of the anti-imperialist and socialist organizations such as the TKŞ (Revolutionary Communist Movement) must be strengthened. Because only in this way can a democratic Syria, a country that is being orbited by imperialist and regional capitalist powers like vultures, find its way to a free and just future.
People’s Bridge, 05.05.2025
