The role of Iraqi Kurdistan in the Syrian-Kurd Pursuit of Autonomy

Aljazeera Center of Studies

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The role of Iraqi Kurdistan in the Syrian-Kurd Pursuit of Autonomy

The green, white, and red flag with a centered star has been flying high in the Kurdish areas of Syria since President Bashar al-Assad withdrew government forces.1There is, in fact, a tacit agreement between Assad and the Syrian Kurds; the latter are free to act, as long as they do not attack Damascusi Since they liberated their cities, the Syrian Kurds have had their first taste of autonomy and have prevented both government and Free Syrian Army troops from entering the territory. They are guided by the example of strong and autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, which has been emerging since 1991, and they are preparing to ensure their own rights in a post-Assad Syria. This opportunity, however, is tempered by anxiety. With the diplomatic brokering led by Iraqi Kurd President Massoud Barzani, the two main Syrian Kurdish groups (formerly bitter rivals), namely, the Kurdistan National Council (KNC) and the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD), have unified to form the Supreme Kurdish Council, much like the rivaling Iraqi Kurd groups, the KDP and the PKK, did after gaining autonomy. The calls for a pan-Kurdish ‘Greater Kurdistan’ – a joining of the Syrian and Iraqi movements into a single entity – however, are low.

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