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Turkey's Options In Syria: Stable Kurdish Self-Rule Or Jihadist Encl

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  • Turkey's Options In Syria: Stable Kurdish Self-Rule Or Jihadist Encl

    TURKEY'S OPTIONS IN SYRIA: STABLE KURDISH SELF-RULE OR JIHADIST ENCLAVE?

    By YEREVAN SAEED

    Rudaw
    July 25 2013

    Turkey'a unease over armed Kurdish fighters just across the border
    in Syria has been turning into alarm, especially after the Kurdish
    People's Defense Units (YPG) recently routed the radical Islamic
    Jabhat al-Nusrah in Serekaniye, and recaptured the Kurdish border town.

    Hours after the fierce fighting for Serekaniye (also known as Ras
    al-Ayn), YPG fighters showed reporters passports seized from Islamist
    guerrillas, noting they had traveled through Turkish airports on
    different passports, including American and of several Arab countries.

    It goes without saying that, from the beginning of the Syrian uprising
    more than two years ago, Turkey's Islamist government -- the Justice
    and Development Party (AKP) -- has facilitated the arrival of jihadist
    fighters from across the Muslim world, and supplied them with weapons
    and field hospitals.

    Turkey's unease turned to alarm on July 19, when officials of the
    dominant but controversial Democratic Union Party (PYD) announced
    their intention of declaring autonomy.

    Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu immediately reacted, saying:
    "It's not possible to accept any de facto declaration of an autonomous
    entity in Syria, and that could only lead to further crisis."

    On the other hand, since the Kurdish fighters have been gaining
    strength in Syria in the face of Arab rebels, the Turkish army has
    been building up its presence with heavy weaponry at the border. Its
    unmanned drones scan the area.

    This is not the first time Turkey reacts to events in the
    PYD-controlled areas of Syria.

    Ankara is deeply suspicious over the PYD's close ties to the militant
    and outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey. The PYD is
    accused of surreptitious ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's
    regime and holds sway over most of Syria's Kurdish regions.

    Turkey has already warned that, although it did not react when Iraqi
    Kurds declared autonomy, Ankara would not just stand by if Syrian
    Kurds made a similar bid.

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told journalists in
    December that, "Should a similar development take place (in Syria),
    we would react differently than how we did in the case of Iraq."

    Though the Turkish military has beefed up border forces and gone on
    alert in response to Kurdish developments in Syria, it did not react
    similarly when fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Al-Qaeda
    affiliates controlled the area until several weeks ago.

    It is important to ask if Turkey's fears of an autonomous Kurdish
    region in Syria are really justified. Is it Turkey that poses a threat
    to Syrian stability, or is it a Kurdish free enclave that threatens
    the region?

    The 20-year history and experience of Iraqi Kurdistan testifies that
    an autonomous Kurdish region is not a threat to any of its neighbors.

    On the contrary, it can be a stabilizing factor in the region.

    Initially Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria were apprehensive of Iraqi
    Kurdistan's self-rule. But now proven wrong, they should weigh
    twice their suspicions about the Syrian Kurds and their ambitions
    for autonomy.

    If Kurds run their eastern areas in Syria, the world will have one
    less jihadist enclave to worry about.

    A stable Syrian Kurdistan could also give Turkey great economic
    opportunities. It would be yet another market for Turkish exports.

    Approximately 60 percent of Syria's oil is located in the Kurdish
    areas. Ankara can access these fields in the future, the same way it
    is doing in Iraqi Kurdistan.

    At this time, it would be wiser if Syria's Kurds did not defer to
    Turkish fears and continue to keep jihadist fighters at bay. Turkey's
    threats to cross the border militarily could well be nothing but
    a bluff.

    A second course of action would be to engage Ankara diplomatically and
    reassure the Turks that a Kurdish entity will not endanger Turkey's
    national security or economic interests.

    PYD leader Salih Muslim has already made some conciliatory statements
    to Turkey. But he could do more. He could tell the Turks of the future
    plans of the Kurds across the border.

    On the other hand, leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan can and should mediate
    between PYD and Ankara, to ensure that the two sides do not go to war.

    Yerevan Saeed is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
    in Boston. He is a regular commentator on Kurdish and Middle East
    affairs in the international media.

    http://rudaw.net/english/opinion/250720131

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