On 9th July, the Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazlum Abdî, together with the Co-Chair for Foreign Relations, Ilham Ahmed, and spokespersons Foza Yusif and Abid Hamid Mihbaş, held a meeting with the jihadist President Golani at the Tishrin Palace complex in Damascus. The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, Tom Barrack, as well as the French envoy Jean-Baptiste Faivre, also participated in the meeting. The meeting aimed to resume negotiations between the Autonomous Administration and the HTS government, which have been stalled since the agreement on March 10. Several media outlets reported on the tense atmosphere during the meeting. A day later, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, confirmed these reports. Tom Barrack caused significant uproar by outlining the current plans of U.S. imperialism for the future of Syria and the Middle East. U.S. imperialism envisions a centralized solution under the rule of its new Islamist partner. Its corresponding slogan is “One Nation, One Army, One Government.”
The West no longer wishes to acknowledge the past or present of its partner, Golani and HTS, as HTS has done its homework: it has opened the domestic market to Western investments, concluded oil contracts with the U.S., and allowed its regional partner, Israel, to annex Syrian territories undisturbed. In return, the HTS government, along with all its jihadist members, is recognized, whitewashed, and removed from terrorist lists.Sanctions on Syria are being gradually lifted.HTS has increasingly proven itself to the West as a trustworthy partner, and accordingly, its reactionary program is to be extended to all of Syria.
Minorities such as Kurds, Druze, Alawites, and LGBTI+ individuals are being betrayed in the process, as they are to be seamlessly pushed from the reactionary Ba’ath dictatorship into the next jihadist dictatorship. A regime of tyranny that does not recognize the national rights of Kurds, the national and religious rights of Druze, the religious rights of Alawites, the political participation of women, or the existence of LGBTI+ individuals should not be dismissed as a noteworthy step forward. HTS has already demonstrated how it intends to govern earlier this year when it carried out pogroms against Alawites. Currently, the Druze are the target of its reaction. Western imperialists bear complicity in all these massacres, as they endorse these attacks by backing HTS.
The next target will be Rojava. Tom Barrack made this clear in his statements. The HTS leadership seeks to dissolve the Autonomous Administration and the SDF altogether. We appeal to all progressive forces: both the peoples of Syria and the democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, along with its women’s revolution, are facing a tremendous danger. The U.S. wants HTS to gain sole control and to subjugate the peoples according to its interests.
The recognition of the democratic Autonomous Administration by the international community must become a priority.
The Autonomous Administration has impressively demonstrated, through its democratic nature, how different peoples can equitably organize their own governance. It has liberated women from the chains of patriarchy and enabled them to live as equals. Only in this way can the peoples of Syria be united.
Standing up for the preservation of the Rojava Revolution and strengthening its position is the duty of every progressive force.
People’s Bridge, 16.07.2025
