| Revision as of 13:48, 27 November 2016 view sourceDonjoe (talk | contribs)72 editsmNo edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 21:25, 27 November 2016 view source 78.162.236.70 (talk) ←Replaced content with 'There is no self declared federation. Federations cant be declared. Stop propaganda'Tag: blankingNext edit → | ||
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| There is no self declared federation. Federations cant be declared. Stop propaganda | |||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}} | |||
| {{Infobox country | |||
| |conventional_long_name = Federation of Northern Syria{{snd}} Rojava | |||
| |native_name = {{lang|ar|منطقة الإدارة الكردية في شمال سوريا}}<br/>{{transl|ku|''Federasyona Bakûrê Sûriyê{{snd}} Rojava''}} | |||
| |common_name = Rojava, or Syrian Kurdistan | |||
| |status = ''De facto'' autonomous federation of ] | |||
| |image_flag = Flag of Syrian Kurdistan.svg | |||
| |image_coat = Coat of Arms of Rojava.svg | |||
| |image_map = Claimed and de facto territory of Rojava.png | |||
| |map_caption = Under NSR administration (green), claimed (orange) | |||
| |national_anthem = | |||
| |languages_type = Official languages | |||
| |languages = ]<br/>]<br/>] | |||
| |regional_languages = | |||
| |capital = ]<ref name=qamishli>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/07/syrian-kurds-declare-qamishli-capital-new-federal-system/|title=Syrian Kurds declare Qamishli as capital for the new federal system|work=ARA news|date=2016-07-05|accessdate=2016-07-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/isis-attacks-kurdish-capital.html|title=ISIS suicide attacks target Syrian Kurdish capital - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East|work=Al-Monitor|accessdate=18 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
| |latd=37 |latm=03 |latNS=N |longd=41 |longm=13 |longEW=E | |||
| |largest_city = | |||
| |government_type = ] (])<ref name=utopia/><ref name=Jongerden/><ref>{{cite book |url = http://www.freedom-for-ocalan.com/english/download/Ocalan-Democratic-Confederalism.pdf |format = PDF |last = Ocalan |first = Abdullah |title = Democratic Confederalism |year = 2011 |isbn = 978-0-9567514-2-3 |accessdate = 8 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=10174 |title = The declaration of Democratic Confederalism |last = Ocalan |first = Abdullah |date = 2 April 2005 |website = ] |accessdate = 8 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.savaskarsitlari.org/arsiv.asp?ArsivTipID=5&ArsivAnaID=34813 |title = Bookchin devrimci mücadelemizde yaşayacaktır |language = Turkish |date = 26 August 2006 |website = Savaş Karşıtları |accessdate = 8 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/10/among-the-kurds/306448/ |title = Among the Kurds |newspaper = ] |date = 26 October 2007 |last = Wood |first = Graeme |accessdate = 8 September 2013}}</ref> | |||
| |leader_title1 = Co-President | |||
| |leader_name1 = ]<ref name=recognition>{{cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/kurdish-pyd-declares-federalism-northern-syria-1311505605|title=Syrian Kurds declare new federation in bid for recognition|work=Middle East Eye|date=17 March 2016}}</ref> | |||
| |leader_title2 = Co-President | |||
| |leader_name2 = ]<ref name=recognition/> | |||
| |area_magnitude = | |||
| |area_km2 = | |||
| |area_sq_mi = | |||
| |population_estimate_year = 2014 | |||
| |population_estimate = 4.6 million (half of them internal refugees)<ref name=utopia/><ref>{{cite book|last1=In der Maur|first1=Renée|last2=Staal|first2=Jonas|title=Stateless Democracy|date=2015|publisher=BAK|location=Utrecht|isbn=978-90-77288-22-1|page=19|url=http://newworldsummit.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/NWA5-Stateless-Democracy1.pdf|chapter=Introduction}}</ref><ref name="ottawacitizen.com">Estimate as of mid November 2014, including numerous refugees. "Rojava’s population has nearly doubled to about 4.6 million. The newcomers are Sunni and Shia Syrian Arabs who have fled from violence taking place in southern parts of Syria. There are also Syrian Christians members of the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, and others, driven out by Islamist forces. {{cite news|title=In Iraq and Syria, it's too little, too late|url=http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/iraq-and-syria-too-little-too-late|publisher=Ottawa Citizen|date=14 November 2014}}</ref> | |||
| |sovereignty_type = ] | |||
| |established_event1 = Autonomy proposed | |||
| |established_date1 = July 2013 | |||
| |established_event2 = Autonomy declared | |||
| |established_date2 = November 2013 | |||
| |established_event3 = Regional government established | |||
| |established_date3 = November 2013 | |||
| |established_event4 = Interim constitution adopted | |||
| |established_date4 = January 2014 | |||
| |established_event5 = Federation declared | |||
| |established_date5 = 17 March 2016 | |||
| |currency = ] | |||
| |currency_code = SYP | |||
| |time_zone = EET | |||
| |utc_offset = +2 | |||
| |time_zone_DST = | |||
| |utc_offset_DST = | |||
| |drives_on = right | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Rojava''' ({{IPA-all|roʒɑːˈvɑ}}, "the West") is a ''de facto'' ] originating in and consisting of three self-governing ] in northern ],<ref name=civiroglu>{{cite news|url=http://civiroglu.net/the-constitution-of-the-rojava-cantons|title=The Constitution of the Rojava Cantons|accessdate=14 May 2015}}</ref> namely ], ] and ], as well as ].<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region">{{cite web|url=http://cantonafrin.com/en/news/view/1658.a-delegation-from-the-democratic-administration-of-self-participate-in-the-second-conference-of-the-el--shahba-region.html|title=Delegation from the Democratic administration of Self-participate of self-participate in the first and second conference of the Shaba region|date=4 February 2016|publisher=|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> The region gained its ''de facto'' autonomy as part of the ongoing ] and the wider ], establishing and gradually expanding a ] ]<ref name=marriage /><ref name=Dawronoye/> based on the ] principles of ], ], and ].<ref name=utopia/><ref name=Jongerden>{{cite web|url= http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/12/turkey4358b.pdf|format=PDF|title=Rethinking Politics and Democracy in the Middle East|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=5-6 December 2012|accessdate=9 October 2016}}</ref><ref name=civiroglu/><ref name=jolie/> | |||
| On 17 March 2016 its ''de facto'' administration self-declared the establishment of a ] of government as the '''Federation of Northern Syria{{snd}} Rojava''' ({{lang-ku|''Federasyona Bakurê Sûriyê{{snd}} Rojava''}}, {{lang-ar|منطقة الإدارة الكردية في شمال سوريا}}, commonly abbreviated as '''NSR''').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yeniozgurpolitika.org/index.php?rupel=nivis&id=10207 |title=Federation of Northern Syria and Rojava|language= Kurdish|date =14 March 2016|website=Yeniozgurpolitika}}</ref><ref name=AlJazeeraFederal>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/syria-civil-war-kurds-declare-federal-system-north-160317111902534.html |title=Syria civil war: Kurds declare federal region in north|language= English|date =17 March 2016|website=Aljazeera}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/kurds-declare-federal-region-in-syria-says-official-1458216404|title=Kurds Declare ‘Federal Region’ in Syria, Says Official|last=Bradley|first=Matt|last2=Albayrak|first2=Ayla|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|issn=0099-9660|last3=Ballout|first3=Dana|access-date=2016-03-18}}</ref> While entertaining ], the NSR is not officially recognized as autonomous by the government of Syria<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/fight-kobane-may-have-created-new-alliance-syria-kurds-assad-regime-1701363|title=Fight For Kobane May Have Created A New Alliance In Syria: Kurds And The Assad Regime|date=8 October 2014|work=International Business Times|accessdate=18 February 2015}}</ref><ref name=russia-mediates/> or any international state or organization. The protagonists of the NSR consider ] a model for a ] as a whole.<ref name=MiddleEastEye/> | |||
| Also known as '''Western Kurdistan''' ({{lang-ku|Rojavayê Kurdistanê}})<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.avestakurd.net/hevpeyvn/barzan-xra-rojavay-kurdistan-dixwaze-h1067.html |title=Barzanî xêra rojavayê Kurdistanê dixwaze|language= Kurdish|date = 15 July 2012 |website= Avesta Kurd |accessdate = 13 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ku.hawarnews.com/yekineya-anti-teror-a-rojavaye-kurdistane-hate-avakirin/ |title=Yekîneya Antî Teror a Rojavayê Kurdistanê hate avakirin|language= Kurdish|date = 7 April 2015|website= Ajansa Nûçeyan a Hawar |accessdate = 13 May 2015}}</ref> or '''Syrian Kurdistan''',<ref>{{cite web|title=Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava)|url=http://thekurdishproject.org/kurdistan-map/syrian-kurdistan/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The experiment of West Kurdistan (Syrian Kurdistan) has proved that people can make changes|url=http://www.anarkismo.net/article/27301}}</ref> Rojava is regarded by ]s as one of the four parts of ].<ref>''Kurdish Awakening: Nation Building in a Fragmented Homeland'', (2014), by Ofra Bengio, University of Texas Press</ref> However, Rojava is factually and programmatically ].<ref name=qamishli>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/07/syrian-kurds-declare-qamishli-capital-new-federal-system/|title=Syrian Kurds declare Qamishli as capital for the new federal system|work=ARA news|date=2016-07-05|accessdate=2016-07-05}}</ref><ref name=SmallKey>{{cite web|title=A Small Key Can Open A Large Door|url=http://www.tangledwilderness.org/a-mountain-river-has-many-bends/|publisher=Combustion Books|accessdate=23 May 2015}}</ref> The cantons of Rojava are home to sizable ethnic ], ], ] and ] populations, with smaller communities of ethnic ] and ]. This diversity is mirrored in its ], society and politics.<ref>{{cite news|title=PYD leader: SDF operation for Raqqa countryside in progress, Syria can only be secular|url=http://aranews.net/2016/05/poyd-leader-current-sdf-operation-recapture-northern-countryside-raqqa-not-city/|accessdate=8 October 2016|publisher=ARA News|date=28 May 2016}}</ref> | |||
| ==Geography== | |||
| Rojava lies to the west of the ] along the ] border. There are three cantons: ], ], ], as well as the ].<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region">{{cite web|url=http://cantonafrin.com/en/news/view/1658.a-delegation-from-the-democratic-administration-of-self-participate-in-the-second-conference-of-the-el--shahba-region.html|title=Delegation from the Democratic administration of Self-participate of self-participate in the first and second conference of the Shaba region|date=4 February 2016|publisher=|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> Jazira Canton borders ] to the southeast. Other borders are disputed in the Syrian civil war. All cantons are at latitude approximately 36 and a half degrees north. They are relatively flat except for the ] in Afrin Canton. | |||
| In terms of governorates of Syria, Rojava is formed from most of ] and the northern parts of ] and ]. | |||
| ==Historical background== | |||
| {{Main article|Afrin Canton|Jazira Canton|Kobanî Canton|Shahba region}} | |||
| {{See also|History of Syria|Ottoman Syria|Modern history of Syria|Kurds in Syria|Syrian-Assyrians}} | |||
| Rojava is part of the ], and includes archaeological sites dating to the Neolithic, such as ]. In antiquity, the area was part of the ] kingdom, its centre being the Khabur river valley in modern-day Jazira Canton. It was then part of ] for a long time. The last surviving Assyrian imperial records, from between 604 BC and 599 BC, were found in and around the Assyrian city of ] in what is now Jazira Canton.<ref>Assyria 1995: Proceedings of the 10th Anniversary Symposium of the Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project / Helsinki, September 7–11, 1995.</ref> Later it was ruled by the ], ], ],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Crook|first1=et al.|title=The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 9: The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146–43 BC|date=1985|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-1139054379|page=603}}</ref> ], ],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Andrea,|first1=Alfred J.|last2=Overfield|first2=James H.|title=The Human Record: Sources of Global History, Volume I: To 1500|date=2015|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1305537460|page=133|edition=8}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Daryaee|first1=Touraj|authorlink1=Touraj Daryaee|title=Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire|date=2014|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-0857716668|page=33}}</ref> ] and successive Arab Islamic caliphates. | |||
| During the ] (1516–1922), large ] tribal groups both settled in and were deported to areas of northern Syria from ]. | |||
| The demographics of Northern Syria saw a huge shift in the early part of the 20th century when the Ottoman Empire conducted ethnic cleansing of its Armenian and Assyrian Christian populations and some Kurdish tribes joined in the atrocities committed against them.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hovannisian |first=Richard G. |year=2007 |title=The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3monyE4CVQC&pg=PA271&dq=assyrian+genocide+by+kurds+in+syria&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BS1kVLqiGcOsyATv34DoCA&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Amuda&f=false |accessdate=11 November 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl= |archivedate=1 January 1970}}</ref><ref name="Joan A. Argenter, R. McKenna Brown 2004 199">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UM3BMtn6TmcC&pg=PA199|title=On the Margins of Nations: Endangered Languages and Linguistic Rights|author= Joan A. Argenter, R. McKenna Brown|page= 199|year= 2004}}</ref><ref>Lazar, David William, not dated . American Mespopotamian.</ref> Many Assyrians fled to Syria during the genocide and settled mainly in the Jazira area.<ref name="R. S. Stafford 2006 25">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.nl/books?id=LSzuzsRh37gC&pg=PA25|title= The Tragedy of the Assyrians|author= R. S. Stafford|page= 24|year= 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.meforum.org/17/syria-and-iraq-repression|title= Ray J. Mouawad, Syria and Iraq – Repression Disappearing Christians of the Middle East|publisher= Middle East Forum|date=2001|accessdate=20 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.nl/books?id=n4kTdYgwQPkC&pg=PA162|title= Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide|author= Bat Yeʼor|page= 162|year= 2002}}</ref> Starting in 1926, the region saw huge immigration of Kurds following the failure of the ] against the ].<ref>Abu Fakhr, Saqr, 2013. ] daily Newspaper, Beirut. </ref> While many of the Kurds in Syria have been there for centuries, waves of Kurds fled their homes in Turkey and settled in Syria, where they were granted citizenship by the ].<ref name="Chatty2010">{{cite book|author=Dawn Chatty|title=Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OsgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA230|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-48693-4|pages=230–232}}</ref> In the 1930s and 1940s, the region saw several failed autonomy movements. | |||
| ===Rule from Damascus=== | |||
| {{See also|Modern history of Syria|Human Rights in Rojava}} | |||
| The polyethnic Rojava region under Syrian rule suffered from persistent policies of Arab nationalism and attempts of forced ], which were most brutally directed against its ethnic Kurdish population. The region received few investment or development from the central government. Laws discriminated against Kurds from owning property, and many were without citizenship. Property was routinely confiscated by government loansharks. Kurdish language education was forbidden and had no place in school, compromising Kurdish students' education. Hospitals lacked equipment for advanced treatment and instead patients had to be transferred outside Rojava. Numerous names of places, which had been known in Kurdish, were Arabized in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name="econ minister">{{cite web |url = https://rojavareport.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/efrin-economy-minister-rojava-challenging-norms-of-class-gender-and-power/|title=Efrîn Economy Minister: Rojava Challenging Norms Of Class, Gender And Power}}</ref> In his report for the 12th session of the UN ] titled ''Persecution and Discrimination against Kurdish Citizens in Syria'', the ] held that "Successive Syrian governments continued to adopt a policy of ethnic discrimination and national persecution against Kurds, completely depriving them of their national, democratic and human rights{{snd}} an integral part of human of human existence. The government imposed ethnically-based programs, regulations and exclusionary measures on various aspects of Kurds’ lives{{snd}} political, economic, social and cultural."<ref name="OHCHR-2009">{{cite web|title=Persecution and Discrimination against Kurdish Citizens in Syria, Report for the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council|url=http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/session12/SY/KIS-KurdsinSyria-eng.pdf|website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|date=2009}}</ref> | |||
| There have been various instances of the Syrian government arbitrarily depriving ethnic Kurdish citizens of their citizenship. The largest of these instances was a consequence of a census in 1962, which was conducted for exactly this purpose. 120,000 ethnic Kurdish citizens saw their citizenship arbitrarily taken away and becoming "stateless".<ref name="HRW-1996">{{cite web|title=SYRIA: The Silenced Kurds; Vol. 8, No. 4(E)|url=http://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Syria.htm|website=Human Rights Watch|date=1996}}</ref><ref name=Tejel>{{cite book|first=Jordi |last=Tejel|url=http://www.kurdipedia.org/books/74488.pdf |format=PDF|title=Syria's kurds history, politics and society|year=2009|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=0-203-89211-9|pages=X-X|edition=1. publ.|author2=Welle, Jane}}</ref> While other ethnic minorities in Syria like Armenians, Circassians and Assyrians were permitted to open private schools for the education of their children, Kurds were not.<ref name="HRW-1996"/><ref name="CSmonitor-2005">{{cite web|title=A murder stirs Kurds in Syria|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0616/p01s03-wome.html|website=The Christian Science Monitor}}</ref> The status was passed to the children of a "stateless" Kurdish father.<ref name="HRW-1996"/> In 2010, ] (HRW) estimated the number of such "stateless" ethnic Kurdish citizens of Syria at 300,000.<ref name="HRW-2010">{{cite web|title=HRW World Report 2010|url=http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2010|website=Human Rights Watch|date=2010}}</ref> | |||
| In 1973, the Syrian authorities confiscated {{convert|750|km2|abbr=off}} of fertile agricultural land in ], which were owned and cultivated by tens of thousands of Kurdish citizens, and gave it to Arab families brought in from other provinces.<ref name="OHCHR-2009">{{cite web|title=Persecution and Discrimination against Kurdish Citizens in Syria, Report for the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council|url=http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/session12/SY/KIS-KurdsinSyria-eng.pdf|website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|date=2009}}</ref><ref name="CSmonitor-2005"/> In 2007 in another such scheme in Al-Hasakah governate, {{convert|6,00|km2|abbr=off}} around ] were granted to Arab families, while tens of thousands of Kurdish inhabitants of the villages concerned were evicted.<ref name="OHCHR-2009"/> These and other expropriations of ethnic Kurdish citizens followed a deliberate masterplan, called "Arab Belt initiative", attempting to depopulate the ressource-rich Jazeera of its ethnic Kurdish inhabitants and settle ethnic Arabs there.<ref name="HRW-1996"/> | |||
| ===Gaining de facto autonomy=== | |||
| {{Main article|Rojava conflict|Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present)}} | |||
| {{See also|Afrin Canton|Jazira Canton|Kobanî Canton|Human rights in Rojava|Federalization of Syria}} | |||
| ] | |||
| In the early stages of the ], Syrian government forces withdrew from three Kurdish enclaves, leaving control to local militias in 2012. Existing underground Kurdish political parties, namely the ] (PYD) and the ] (KNC), joined to form the ] (KSC) and established the ] (YPG) militia to defend Kurdish-inhabited areas in northern Syria. In July 2012 the YPG established control in the towns of ], ] and ] and the Kurdish Supreme Committee established a joint leadership council to administer the towns. Soon also the cities of ], ], ], and ] also came under the control of the People's Protection Units, as well as parts of ] and ].<ref name=casualties>{{cite news|title=Armed Kurds Surround Syrian Security Forces in Qamishli|url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/4984.html|accessdate=27 July 2012|newspaper=Rudaw|date=22 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="girkelege">{{cite news|title=Girke Lege Becomes Sixth Kurdish City Liberated in Syria|url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/4992.html|accessdate=27 July 2012|newspaper=Rudaw|date=24 July 2012}}</ref> | |||
| The Kurdish Supreme Committee became obsolete in 2013, when the PYD abandoned the coalition with the ] (KNC) and adopted the aim of creating a ] and progressive society and ] in a wider Rojava region of northern Syria. The governing coalition in Rojava since is the ] (TEV-DEM), united in the political philosophy of ]. Popular assemblies were established. In January 2014, the three cantons ], ] and ] declared their autonomy and the ] was approved. From September 2014 to spring 2015, the YPG forces in Kobanî Canton fought and finally repelled an assault by the ] (ISIL) during the ], and in the ] of summer of 2015, Jazira Canton and Kobanî Canton were connected. | |||
| In December 2015, the ] was created. In January/February 2016, the ] ] was founded and administrative institutions established as a fourth canton. On 17 March 2016, at a TEV-DEM-organized conference in ], Syrian Turkmen, Arab, Christian and Kurdish officials declared the establishment the ''Federation of Northern Syria{{snd}} Rojava'' in the areas they controlled in Northern Syria.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria’s Kurds declare de-facto federal region in north|url=http://www.breitbart.com/news/syrias-kurds-declare-de-facto-federal-region-in-north/|accessdate=20 March 2016|agency=Associated Press|date=17 March 2016}}</ref> The declaration was quickly denounced by both the Syrian government and oppositional ].<ref name=AlJazeeraFederal/> | |||
| == Politics == | |||
| {{Further information|Constitution of Rojava}} | |||
| {{See also|List of political parties in Rojava}} {{Politics of Rojava}} | |||
| The political system of Rojava is based on its constitution, which is called the "Charter of the Social Contract."<ref name=utopia/><ref name=charter>{{cite web|url=https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/charter-of-the-social-contract/|title=2014 Charter of the Social Contract of Rojava|publisher=Peace in Kurdistan|date=29 January 2014|accessdate=18 June 2016}}</ref> The constitution was ratified on 9 January 2014; it provides that all Rojava residents shall enjoy a fundamental right of ] and ].<ref name=utopia/> It also provides for ].<ref name="Glioti">Andrea Glioti, , Al-Jazeera (6 August 2016).</ref> | |||
| ], a ] (PKK) leader imprisoned in ], ], is an iconic and popular figure in Rojava whose ideas shaped the region's society and politics.<ref name=utopia/> In prison, Öcalan corresponded with (and was influenced by the ideas of) ], who favored ], ], and ] (i.e., a confederation of local citizens' assemblies).<ref name=utopia/> In March 2005, Öcalan issued his "Declaration of ] in Kurdistan" based on Bookchin's ideas, calling upon citizens to "to stop attacking the government and instead create municipal assemblies, which he called '].'" Öcalan envisioned these assemblies as forming a pan-] confederation, united for purposes of ] and with shared values of ], gender equality, and ethnic, ], and ].<ref name=utopia/> The ideas of Bookchin and Öcalan became established in Rojava, where hundreds of neighborhood-based communes have established across the three Rojava cantons.<ref name=utopia/> Rojava has a "co-governance" policy in which each position at each level of government in Rojava includes a "female equivalent of equal authority" to a male.<ref name=utopia/> Similarly, the "top three officers of each municipality must include one Arab, one Kurd and one Christian" providing for ethnic balance. Some have compared this to the ] ] system, which is based on that country's major religions.<ref name="Glioti"/> Rojava politics has been described as having "libertarian transnational aspirations" influenced by the PKK's shift toward ], but also includes various "tribal, ethno-sectarian, capitalist and patriarchal structures."<ref name="Glioti"/> | |||
| Rojava divides itself for regional administrations into three ]: ], ], and ].<ref name=utopia/> The governance model of Rojava has an emphasis on local management, with democratically elected committees to make decisions. The polyethnic ] (TEV-DEM), led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), is the political coalition governing Rojava. It succeeds a brief intermediate period from 2012-2013, when a ] was established by the PYD and the ] (KNC), the latter itself a coalition of ] parties, as the governing body.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mesop.de/2012/07/27/kurdish-supreme-committee-in-syria-holds-first-meeting/|title=Kurdish Supreme Committee in Syria Holds First Meeting|publisher=Rudaw|date=27 July 2012|accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="Rudaw">{{cite web|url=http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/7/syriakurd563.htm|title=Now Kurds are in charge of their fate: Syrian Kurdish official|publisher=Rudaw|date=29 July 2012|accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref> According to Zaher Baher of the Haringey Solidarity Group, the PYD-led TEV-DEM has been "the most successful organ" in Rojava because it has the "determination and power" to change things, it includes many people who "believe in working voluntarily at all levels of service to make the event/experiment successful".<ref name=Anarkismo>{{cite web|url=http://www.anarkismo.net/article/27301|title=The experiment of West Kurdistan (Syrian Kurdistan) has proved that people can make changes|publisher=Anarkismo.net|accessdate=21 October 2014}}</ref> | |||
| In March 2016, ] and ] were elected co-chairpersons for the executive committee to organise a constitution for the region, to replace the 2014 constitution.<ref name=recognition/> Yousef said the decision to set up a federal government was in large part driven by the expansion of territories captured from Islamic State: "Now, after the liberation of many areas, it requires us to go to a wider and more comprehensive system that can embrace all the developments in the area, that will also give rights to all the groups to represent themselves and to form their own administrations."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-federalism-idUSKCN0X90M9|title=Syrian Kurds in six-month countdown to federalism|date=12 April 2016|accessdate=19 June 2016}}</ref> In July 2016, a draft for the new constitution was presented, taking up the general progressive and democratic confereralist principles of the 2014 constitution, mentioning all ethnic groups living in Rojava, addressing their cultural, political and linguistic rights.<ref name=qamishli/><ref name=new-constitution>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/07/north-syria-rojava-kurdish-federation-constitution.html|title=After approving constitution, what's next for Syria's Kurds?|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=22 July 2016|accessdate=22 July 2016}}</ref> The only political camp within Rojava fundamentally opposed were Kurdish nationalists, in particular the KNC, who want to pursue a path towards a nation-state of ] rather than establishing a polyethnic federation as part of Syria.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2016/07/kurds-arabs-assyrians-talk-enab-baladi-federal-constitution-syria/|title=Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians talk to Enab Baladi about the "Federal Constitution" in Syria|date=26 July 2016|accessdate=26 July 2016}}</ref> | |||
| === Community government === | |||
| ] (orange), ] (red), ] (green), and the ]<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region">{{cite web|url=http://cantonafrin.com/en/news/view/1658.a-delegation-from-the-democratic-administration-of-self-participate-in-the-second-conference-of-the-el--shahba-region.html|title=Delegation from the Democratic administration of Self-participate of self-participate in the first and second conference of the Shaba region|date=4 February 2016|publisher=|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> (purple).]] | |||
| ] were held in March 2015. The Rojava system of community government is focused on ]. The system has been described as pursuing "a bottom-up, ] direct form of democratic governance", contrasting the local communities taking on responsibility versus the strong central governments favoured by many ]. In this model, states become less relevant and people govern through councils.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/opinion/29012015|title=A Very Different Ideology in the Middle East|publisher=Rudaw}}</ref> Its programme immediately aimed to be "very inclusive" and people from a range of different backgrounds became involved, including ], ], ], ] and ] (from ], ], and Yazidi religious groups). It sought to "establish a variety of groups, committees and communes on the streets in neighborhoods, villages, counties and small and big towns everywhere". The purpose of these groups was to meet "every week to talk about the problems people face where they live". The representatives of the different community groups meet 'in the main group in the villages or towns called the "House of the People"'. As a September 2015 report in the '']'' observed:<ref name=utopia/> | |||
| {{quote|''For a former diplomat like me, I found it confusing: I kept looking for a hierarchy, the singular leader, or signs of a government line, when, in fact, there was none; there were just groups. There was none of that stifling obedience to the party, or the obsequious deference to the “big man” — a form of government all too evident just across the borders, in Turkey to the north, and the Kurdish regional government of Iraq to the south. The confident assertiveness of young people was striking.''}} | |||
| ===Canton government=== | |||
| Article 8 of the 2014 constitution stipulates that "all Cantons in the Autonomous Regions are founded upon the principle of local self-government. Cantons may freely elect their representatives and representative bodies, and may pursue their rights insofar as it does not contravene the articles of the Charter."<ref name=charter/> | |||
| In January 2014, the legislative assembly of ] elected ] prime minister, who appointed Remzi Şêxmus and Ebdil Hemid Mistefa her deputies, and the legislative assembly of ] elected Enver Müslim prime minister, who appointed Bêrîvan Hesen and Xalid Birgil his deputies. In ], the legislative assembly has elected ethnic Kurdish Akram Hesso as prime minister and ethnic Arab Hussein Taza Al Azam and ethnic Assyrian Elizabeth Gawrie as deputy prime ministers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/10/democracy-is-radical-in-northern-syria|title=Democracy is "Radical" in Northern Syria|author=Karlos Zurutuza |work=Inter Press Service|date=28 October 2014|accessdate=2016-07-20}}</ref> | |||
| {|class="wikitable" | |||
| ! colspan="2" |] | |||
| ! Official name (languages) | |||
| ! Prime Ministers | |||
| ! Deputy Prime Ministers | |||
| ! colspan=2|Governing<br/>Coalition | |||
| ! Last election | |||
| ! Next election | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |] | |||
| |{{native name|ku|Kantona Efrînê}} | |||
| |] | |||
| |]<br/>] | |||
| |style="background-color: #FEE801"| | |||
| |] | |||
| |January 2014 | |||
| | | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |] | |||
| |{{vunblist|{{native name|ku|Kantona Cizîrê}}|{{native name|ar|مقاطعة الجزيرة}}|{{native name|syc|ܟܢܛܢ ܓܨܪܛܐ}}}} | |||
| |] | |||
| |]<br/>] | |||
| |width=5px style="background-color: #FEE801"| | |||
| |] | |||
| |January 2014 | |||
| | | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |] | |||
| |{{native name|ku|Kantona Kobaniyê}} | |||
| |] | |||
| |]<br/>] | |||
| |style="background-color: #FEE801"| | |||
| |] | |||
| |January 2014 | |||
| | | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |] | |||
| |{{vunblist|{{native name|ar|مناطق الشهباء}}|{{native name|ku|Herêma Şehba}}}} | |||
| |] | |||
| |]<br/>] | |||
| |style="background-color: #0080ff" | | |||
| |] | |||
| |February 2016 | |||
| | | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |'''Confederation''' | |||
| |'''{{vunblist|{{native name|ar|المجلس الإتحادي}}|{{native name|ku|Konseya Federal}}}}''' | |||
| |''']'''<br/>''']''' | |||
| |N/A | |||
| |style="background-color: #FEE801"| | |||
| |''']''' | |||
| |'''March 2016''' | |||
| | | |||
| |} | |||
| === Federal Assembly === | |||
| {{Main article|Syrian Democratic Council}} | |||
| In December 2015, during a meeting of representatives of North Syria in ], the participants decided to establish a Federal Assembly, the ] to serve as the political representative of the ].<ref name=Congress>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurdishinfo.com/derik-congress-decides-to-establish-democratic-syria-assembly|title=Dêrîk congress decides to establish Democratic Syria Assembly|work=Firat News Agency|publisher=kurdishinfo|accessdate=2 August 2016}}</ref> The co-leaders selected to lead the Assembly at its founding, were prominent human rights activist ] and ] Executive Board member Îlham Ehmed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://syrianobserver.com/EN/News/30279/Haytham_Manna_Elected_Joint_Chairman_Syrian_Democratic_Council|title=Haytham Manna Elected Joint Chairman of Syrian Democratic Council|publisher=The Syrian Observer|date=2015-10-14|accessdate=2016-05-26}}</ref><ref name=assembly>{{cite web|url=http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/executive-board-of-democratic-syria-assembly-elected|title=Executive Board of Democratic Syria Assembly elected|publisher=Ajansa Nûçeyan a Firatê English|accessdate=2 August 2016}}</ref> | |||
| === Federal Council === | |||
| {{Main article|Executive Council (Rojava)}} | |||
| On the level of the Rojava federation, Federal Council ministries deal with the economy, agriculture, natural resources, and foreign affairs.<ref name=Econ1/> | |||
| The ministers are appointed by TEV-DEM; general elections were planned to be held before the end of 2014,<ref name=Econ1/> but this was postponed due to fighting. Among other stipulations outlined is a quota of 40% for women’s participation in government, as well as another quota for youth. In connection with a decision to introduce ] for ], all governmental organizations and offices are based on a co-presidential system.<ref name=govern>{{cite web|url=https://rojavareport.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/western-kurdistans-governmental-model-comes-together/|title=Western Kurdistan’s Governmental Model Comes Together|work=The Rojava Report|accessdate=18 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
| {|class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| ! Name | |||
| ! ! colspan="2" |Party | |||
| ! ! colspan="2" |Alliance | |||
| ! ! colspan="2" |Canton | |||
| |- | |||
| |Îşûh Gewriyê | |||
| |style="background-color: #b20000" | | |||
| |] (SUP) | |||
| |style="background-color: #ffd700" | | |||
| |] | |||
| |] | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |Meram Dawûd | |||
| |style="background-color: #00FF00" | | |||
| |] | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |? | |||
| |- | |||
| |Îbrahîm El-Hesen | |||
| | | |||
| |N/A | |||
| | | |||
| |N/A | |||
| |] | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |Rojîn Remo | |||
| |style="background-color: #7f7fff" | | |||
| |] | |||
| |style="background-color: #ffd700" | | |||
| |] | |||
| | | |||
| |N/A | |||
| |- | |||
| |Hikmet Hebîb | |||
| |style="background-color: #17aa17" | | |||
| |] | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |? | |||
| |- | |||
| |Bêrîvan Ehmed | |||
| | | |||
| |N/A | |||
| | | |||
| |N/A | |||
| | | |||
| |N/A | |||
| |- | |||
| |Cemal Şêx Baqî | |||
| |style="background-color: #daff00" | | |||
| |] (PDK-S) | |||
| |style="background-color: #a8ff00" | | |||
| |] | |||
| | | |||
| |? | |||
| |- | |||
| |Parêzer Elaaddin El-Xalid | |||
| |style="background-color: #0080ff" | | |||
| |] | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |] | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |Salih El-Nebwanî | |||
| |style="background-color: #228B22" | | |||
| |] (QMH) | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |? | |||
| |- | |||
| |} | |||
| <ref name=assembly/> | |||
| ==Education, media, culture== | |||
| ===School education=== | |||
| {{See also|Education in Syria}} | |||
| Under the regime of the ], school education consisted of only Arabic language public schools, supplemented by Assyrian private confessional schools.<ref>{{citation/core |Surname1=David Commins|Surname2= David W. Lesch|Title=Historical Dictionary of Syria|Publisher=Scarecrow Press|Year=2013-12-05|At=pp. 239|ISBN=9780810879669|Date=2013-12-05|language=German|URL=https://books.google.com/books?id=wpBWAgAAQBAJ}}</ref> The Rojava administration in 2015 introduced primary education in ] either Kurdish or Arabic and secondary education mandatory ] in Kurdish and Arabic for public schools,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://anfenglish.com/culture/education-in-rojava-after-the-revolution|title=Education in Rojava after the revolution|publisher=ANF|date=2016-05-16|accessdate=2016-06-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/syria-kurdistan-self-governance-teach-kurdish-language.html|title=After 52-year ban, Syrian Kurds now taught Kurdish in schools|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=2015-11-06|accessdate=2016-05-18}}</ref> with English as a mandatory third language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/290820151/|title=Rojava schools to re-open with PYD-approved curriculum|publisher=Rudaw|date=2015-08-29|accessdate=2016-05-18}}</ref> There are ongoing disagreements and negotiations over curricula with the Syrian central government,<ref name=syriaclanguage/> which generally still pays the teachers in public schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2015/10/kurds-introduce-own-curriculum-at-schools-of-rojava-2/|title=Kurds introduce own curriculum at schools of Rojava|publisher=Ara News|date=2015-10-02|accessdate=2016-05-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://new-compass.net/articles/revolutionary-education-rojava|title=Revolutionary Education in Rojava|publisher=New Compass|date=2015-02-17|accessdate=2016-05-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://kurdishquestion.com/oldsite/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/education-system-in-rojava/538-education-system-in-rojava.html/|title=Education in Rojava: Academy and Pluralistic versus University and Monisma|publisher=Kurdishquestion|date=2014-01-12|accessdate=2016-05-18}}</ref> For Assyrian private confessional schools there have been no changes, other than a newfound interest of Kurdish and Arab parents to send their children there.<ref name=syriaclanguage/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/news/20151221023437.htm|title=The Assyrians of Syria: History and Prospects|publisher=AINA|date=2015-12-21|accessdate=2016-05-18}}</ref> In August 2016, the ''Ourhi Centre'' in the city of Qamishli was founded by the Assyrian community, to educate teachers in order to make the Syriac-Aramaic an additional language to be taught in public schools in ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/08/syriac-christians-revive-ancient-language-despite-war-2/|title=Syriac Christians revive ancient language despite war|publisher=ARA News|date=2016-08-19|accessdate=2016-08-19}}</ref> which then started with the 2016/17 academic year.<ref name=syriaclanguage>{{cite web|url=http://syrianobserver.com/EN/News/31729/Hassakeh_Syriac_Language_Be_Taught_PYD_controlled_Schools/|title=Hassakeh: Syriac Language to Be Taught in PYD-controlled Schools|publisher=The Syrian Observer|date=3 October 2016|accessdate=2016-10-05}}</ref> With that academic year, states the Rojava Education Committee, "three curriculums have replaced the old one, to include teaching in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Assyrian."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/10/rojava-administration-launches-new-education-system-kurdish-arabic-assyrian-2/|title=Rojava administration launches new curriculum in Kurdish, Arabic and Assyrian|publisher=ARA News|date=7 October 2016|accessdate=2016-10-07}}</ref> | |||
| The federal, cantonal and local administrations in Rojava put much emphasis on promoting libraries and educational centers, to facilitate learning and social and artistic activities. Examples are the 2015 established ''Nahawand Center for Developing Children’s Talents'' in ] or the May 2016 established ''Rodî û Perwîn Library'' in ].<ref name=k24education>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/dfa4b335-fe1c-4a3c-b5b6-7bc5848e9e97/Kurds-establish-university-in-Rojava-amid-Syrian-instability|title=Kurds establish university in Rojava amid Syrian instability|publisher=Kurdistan24|date=2016-07-07|accessdate=2016-07-07}}</ref> | |||
| ===Higher education=== | |||
| {{See also|Education in Syria}} | |||
| While there was no institution of tertiary education on the territory of Rojava at the onset of the Syrian civil war,<ref>]</ref> an increasing number of such institutions have been established by the cantonal administrations in Rojava since. | |||
| * In September 2014, the '']'' in Qamishli started teaching.<ref name=utopia/> Further such academies designed under a libertarian socialist academic philosophy and concept were in the process of founding or planning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://new-compass.net/articles/revolutionary-education-rojava|title=Revolutionary Education in Rojava|publisher=New Compass|date=2015-02-17|accessdate=2016-05-18}}</ref> | |||
| * In August 2015, the traditionally-designed '']'' in Afrin started teaching, with initial programs in literature, engineering and economics, including institutes for medicine, topographic engineering, music and theater, business administration and the Kurdish language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/kurds-rojava-afrin-first-university-ideology-ocalan.html|title=Syria's first Kurdish university attracts controversy as well as students|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=2016-05-18|accessdate=2016-05-19}}</ref> | |||
| * In July 2016, Jazira Canton Board of Education started the '']'' in Qamishli, with faculties for Medicine, Engineering, Sciences, and Arts and Humanities. Programs taught include health, oil, computer and agricultural engineering; physics, chemistry, history, psychology, geography, mathematics and primary school teaching and Kurdish literature.<ref name=k24education/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anfenglish.com/kurdistan/university-of-rojava-to-be-opened|title='University of Rojava' to be opened|publisher=ANF|date=2016-07-04|accessdate=2016-07-04}}</ref> Its language of instruction being Kurdish, and having an agreement with ] in France for cooperation, the university opened registration for students in the academic year 2016-2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/08/rojava-university-seeks-eliminate-constraints-education-syrias-kurdish-region/|title=Rojava university seeks to eliminate constraints on education in Syria’s Kurdish region|publisher=ARA News|date=2016-08-15|accessdate=2016-08-15}}</ref> | |||
| * In August 2016 ] police forces ] of the remaining parts of ] city, which included the Hasakah campus of Arabic-language ], and with mutual agreement the institution continues to be operated under the authority of the Damascus government Ministry of Higher Education. | |||
| ===Media=== | |||
| {{See also|Media of Syria}} | |||
| Incorporating the ], the ], the ], as well as other internationally recognized human rights conventions, the 2014 ] guarantees ] and ]. As a result, a diverse media landscape has developed in Rojava,<ref name=FreedomHouse2015>{{cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/syria|title=Syria Country report, Freedom of the Press 2015|work=Freedom House|date=2015|accessdate=2016-07-09}}</ref> in each of the ], ], ] and ] languages of the land, as well as in English, and media outlets frequently use more than one language. Among the most promenent media in Rojava are ''ANHA'' and ''ARA'' news agencies and websites as well as TV outlets ''Rojava Kurdistan TV'' and ''Ronahî TV'' or the bimonthly magazine ''Nudem''. A landscape of local newspapers has developed. However, media often face economic pressures, as demonstrated by the shutting down of news website ''Welati'' in May 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/05/blow-kurdish-independent-media-syrian-kurdish-website-shuts/|title=In blow to Kurdish independent media, Syrian Kurdish website shuts down|publisher=ARA news|date=2016-05-15|accessdate=2016-07-09}}</ref> Political extremism incited by the context of the Syrian Civil war can put media outlets under pressure, the April 2016 threatening and burning down of the premises of ] ("the first, and only, independent radio station staffed and broadcast by Syrians inside Syria") in ] by unidentified assailants being the most prominent example.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/b2cd5731-94cf-4181-94bf-debfa4208992/Syria%E2%80%99s-first-Kurdish-radio-station-burnt|title=Syria’s first Kurdish radio station burnt|publisher=Kurdistan24|date=2016-04-27|accessdate=2016-07-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/04/syrian-kurdish-administration-condemns-burning-radio-arta-fm-office-amude/|title=Syrian Kurdish administration condemns burning of radio ARTA FM office in Amude|publisher=ARA news|date=2016-04-27|accessdate=2016-07-09}}</ref> | |||
| International media and journalists operate with few restrictions in Rojava, the only region in Syria where they can operate freely.<ref name=FreedomHouse2015/> This has led to a rich trove of international media reporting on Rojava being available, including major TV documentaries like or . | |||
| Internet connections in Rojava are usually very slow due to a lack of adequate infrastructure. | |||
| ===The arts=== | |||
| The leap in political and societal liberty with the establishment of Rojava has created a blossom of artistic expression in the region, in particular with the theme of political and social revolution as well as with respect to Kurdish traditions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/07/syria-kurdish-rojava-revolutionary-art.html|title=Kurdish art, music flourish as regime fades from northeast Syria|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=2016-07-19|accessdate=2016-07-20}}</ref> | |||
| ==Economy== | |||
| {{See also|Economy of Syria}} | |||
| ===Development=== | |||
| ]In 2012, the PYD launched what it originally called the Social Economy Plan, later renamed the People’s Economy Plan (PEP). The PEP's policies are based primarily on the work of ] and ultimately seek to move beyond ] in favor of Democratic Confederalism.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Small Key Can Open a Large Door: The Rojava Revolution|date=4 March 2015|publisher=Strangers In A Tangled Wilderness|edition=1st}}</ref> | |||
| ] and entrepreneurship are protected under the principle of "ownership by use", although accountable to the democratic will of locally organized councils. Dr. Dara Kurdaxi, a Rojavan economist, has said that: "The method in Rojava is not so much against private property, but rather has the goal of putting private property in the service of all the peoples who live in Rojava."<ref>Michael Knapp, .</ref> | |||
| Rojava's private sector is comparatively small, with the focus being on expanding social ownership of production and management of resources through communes and collectives. Several hundred instances of ] have occurred across towns and villages in all three cantons, with each commune consisting of approximately 20–35 people.<ref>http://sange.fi/kvsolidaarisuustyo/wp-content/uploads/Dr.-Ahmad-Yousef-Social-economy-in-Rojava.pdf</ref> According to the Ministry of Economics, approximately three quarters of all property has been placed under community ownership and a third of production has been transferred to direct management by ]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Small Key Can Open a Large Door: The Rojava Revolution|date=4 March 2015|publisher=Strangers In A Tangled Wilderness|edition=1st|quote=According to Dr. Ahmad Yousef, an economic co-minister, three-quarters of traditional private property is being used as commons and one quarter is still being owned by use of individuals...According to the Ministry of Economics, worker councils have only been set up for about one third of the enterprises in Rojava so far.}}</ref> | |||
| There are also no taxes on the people or businesses in Rojava. Instead money is raised through border crossings, and selling oil or other natural resources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/poor-in-means/|title=Poor in means but rich in spirit|work=Ecology or Catastrophe|accessdate=18 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="diclenews.com">{{cite web|url=http://diclenews.com/en/news/content/view/436354|title=Efrîn Economy Minister Yousef: Rojava challenging norms of class, gender and power|publisher=|accessdate=18 February 2015}}</ref> In May 2016, The ''Wall Street Journal'' reported that traders in Syria experience Rojava as "the one place where they aren’t forced to pay bribes.".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-syrias-mangled-economy-truckers-stitch-together-warring-regions-1464106368|title=In Syria’s Mangled Economy, Truckers Stitch Together Warring Regions |publisher=Wall Street Journal|date=2016-05-24|accessdate=2016-05-24}}</ref> | |||
| ] are managed by democratic committees per canton, which can set the price of basic goods such as for food and medical goods. This mechanism can also be used for managing public production to, for instance, produce more wheat to keep prices low for important goods.<ref name="diclenews.com"/> | |||
| The economy of Rojava has on average experienced less destruction in the Syrian civil war than other parts of Syria, and masters the challenges of the circumstances comparatively well. In May 2016, Ahmed Yousef, head of the Economic Body and chairman of Afrin University, estimated that at the time, Rojava's economic output (including agriculture, industry and oil) accounted for about 55% of Syria's gross domestic product.<ref name="Will Syria's Kurds succeed at self-sufficiency?">{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/04/kurdish-areas-norther-syria-economy-self-sufficiency.html|title=Will Syria's Kurds succeed at self-sufficiency?|date=2016-05-03|accessdate=2016-05-18}}</ref> | |||
| Investment in public infrastructure is one priority of the Rojava administration. The ''Rojavaplan'' website lists some projects currently underway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rojavaplan.com/rojavaplan.html|title=Rojavaplan|publisher=Rojava administration|accessdate=2016-05-10}}</ref> | |||
| ===Resources and external relations=== | |||
| The government is seeking outside investment to build a power plant and a fertilizer factory.<ref name="Poor in means but rich in spirit">{{cite web|url=http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/poor-in-means/|title=Poor in means but rich in spirit|work=Ecology or Catastrophe|accessdate=21 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
| Oil and food production exceeds demand<ref name=Econ1>{{cite news |title = Striking out on their own|url = http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21628887-syrias-kurds-are-enjoying-more-autonomy-striking-out-their-own |work = The Economist}}</ref> so exports include oil and agricultural products such as sheep, grain and cotton. Imports include consumer goods and auto parts.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://online.wsj.com/articles/kurds-fight-islamic-state-to-claim-a-piece-of-syria-1415843557 |title= Kurds Fight Islamic State to Claim a Piece of Syria|work = The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> The border crossing with ] is intermittently closed by the ] side, it was opened again on June 10, 2016.<ref>{{cite news|title=US welcomes opening of border between Rojava and Iraqi Kurdistan|url=http://aranews.net/2016/06/us-welcomes-opening-border-rojava-iraqi-kurdistan/|date=2016-06-10|accessdate=2016-06-10}}</ref> Turkey does not allow businesspeople or goods to cross its border <ref>{{cite web|title=Syrian Kurds risk their lives crossing into Turkey|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/syrian-kurds-risk-lives-cross-turkey-33769556|publisher=Middle East Eye|accessdate=11 January 2015|date=29 December 2014}}</ref> although Rojava would like the border to be opened.<ref name="Efrîn_Economy Minister_interview">{{cite news|title=Efrîn Economy Minister: Rojava Challenging Norms Of Class, Gender And Power|url=https://rojavareport.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/efrin-economy-minister-rojava-challenging-norms-of-class-gender-and-power/|date=22 December 2014}}</ref> Trade as well as access to both humanitarian and military aid is difficult as Rojava remains under a strict embargo enforced by Turkey.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/isku/erklaerungen/2014/05/14.htm|title=Das Embargo gegen Rojava|accessdate=7 August 2015|publisher=TATORT (Kurdistan Delegation)}}</ref> | |||
| Before the war, Al-Hasakah governorate was producing about 40,000 barrels of crude oil a day. However, during the war the oil refinery has been only working at 5% capacity due to lack of refining chemicals. Some people work at primitive oil refining, which causes more pollution.<ref>{{cite news|title=Control of Syrian Oil Fuels War Between Kurds and Islamic State|url= http://online.wsj.com/articles/control-of-syrian-oil-fuels-war-between-kurds-and-islamic-state-1416799982 |work = The Wall Street Journal|date=23 November 2014}}</ref> | |||
| In 2014, the Syrian government was still paying some state employees,<ref name= ICG1>{{cite web |title= Flight of Icarus? The PYD’s Precarious Rise in Syria|format = PDF |url = http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf |publisher = International Crisis Group}}</ref> but fewer than before.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.zamanalwsl.net/en/news/7359.html |title = Zamana LWSL}}</ref> The Rojavan government says that "none of our projects are financed by the regime".<ref name="Efrîn_Economy Minister_interview"/> | |||
| ==Law and security== | |||
| {{See also|Constitution of Rojava|Human rights in Rojava}} | |||
| ===The legal system=== | |||
| The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, which in Syria is still based on ]<ref>{{cite web|title=Syria|url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/Syria_APS.doc|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|page=13|accessdate=2016-11-16}}</ref> and applied by Sharia Courts,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/islamic-family-law/home/research/legal-profiles/syria-syrian-arab-republic/|title=Islamic Family Law: Syria (Syrian Arab Republic)|publisher=Law.emory.edu|accessdate=2016-11-16}}</ref> where strictly ] Rojava proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on ] as well as ] was introduced,<ref name=jolie>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37337908|title=Kurdish 'Angelina Jolie' devalued by media hype|work=BBC|date=2016-09-12|accessdate=2016-09-12}}</ref> while underage marriage was outlawed as well.<ref name=underage>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/11/syrian-kurds-tackle-underage-marriages-polygamy/|title=Syrian Kurds tackle conscription, underage marriages and polygamy|work=ARA News|date=15 November 2016|accessdate=2016-11-16}}</ref> For the first time in Syrian history, ] is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds.<ref name=marriage>{{cite web|title=Syria Kurds challenging traditions, promote civil marriage|url=http://aranews.net/2016/02/syria-kurds-challenging-traditions-promote-civil-marriage/|publisher=ARA News|date=2016-02-20|accessdate=2016-08-23}}</ref> | |||
| A new criminal justice approach has been implemented that emphasizes ] over retribution.<ref name="Financial Times">{{cite web|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/50102294-77fd-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html|title=Power to the people: a Syrian experiment in democracy|publisher=Financial Times|date=2015-10-23|accessdate=2016-06-06}}</ref> The death penalty has been abolished.<ref name="The New Justice System in Rojava">{{cite web|url=http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/justice-system-in-rojava/|title=The New Justice System in Rojava|publisher=biehlonbookchin.com|date=2014-10-13|accessdate=2016-06-06}}</ref> Prisons are housing mostly those charged with terrorist activity related to ISIL and other extremist groups.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian Kurds Get Outside Help to Manage Prisons |url=http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-kurds-prisons/2976077.html|accessdate=2016-06-06|publisher=Voice of America|date=2015-09-23}}</ref> A September 2015 report of ] noted that 400 people were incarcerated,<ref name=AI-prisonreport>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/09/syria-abuses-mar-pyd-fight-against-terrorism/|title=Syria: Arbitrary detentions and blatantly unfair trials mar PYD fight against terrorism|publisher=Amnesty International|date=7 September 2015|accessdate=12 September 2016}}</ref> which based on a population of 4,6 million makes an imprisonment rate of 8.7 people per 100,000, compared to 60.0 people per 100,000 in Syria as a whole, and the second lowest rate in the world after ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison_population_rate|title=Highest to Lowest - Prison Population Rate|publisher=World Prison Brief}}</ref> However, the report also noted some deficiencies in ].<ref name=AI-prisonreport/> | |||
| The new justice systems in Rojava reflects the revolutionary concept of ]. At the local level, citizens create ''Peace and Consensus Committees'', which make group decisions on minor criminal cases and disputes as well as in separate committees resolve issues of specific concern to women's rights like domestic violence and marriage. At the regional level, citizens (who are not required to be trained jurists) are elected by the regional ''People's Councils'' to serve on seven-member ''People's Courts''. At the next level are four ''Appeals Courts'', composed of trained jurists. The court of last resort is the ''Regional Court'', which serves Rojava as a whole. Distinct and separate from this system, the ''Constitutional Court'' renders decisions on compatibility of acts of government and legal proceedings with the constitution of Rojava (called the Social Contract).<ref name="The New Justice System in Rojava"/> | |||
| ===Policing and security forces=== | |||
| {{Main article |Asayish (Syria)|Sutoro}}The police function in Rojava cantons is performed by the ] armed formation. Asayish was established on July 25, 2013 in order to fill the gap of security when the Baath regime security forces withdrew and the Rojava revolution began.<ref name="asayish">{{cite news|title=Rojava Asayish: Security institution not above but within the society|url=http://www.anfenglish.com/features/rojava-asayish-security-institution-not-above-but-within-the-society|accessdate=2016-06-06|publisher=ANF|date=2016-06-06}}</ref> Under the ], policing is a competence of the cantons. Overall, the Asayish forces of the cantons are composed of 26 official bureaus that aim to provide security and solutions to social problems. The six main units of Rojava Asayish are Checkpoints Administration, Anti-Terror Forces Command (HAT), Intelligence Directorate, Organized Crime Directorate, Traffic Directorate and Treasury Directorate. 218 Asayish centers were established and 385 checkpoints with 10 Asayish members in each checkpoint were set up. 105 Asayish offices provide security against ISIL on the frontlines across Rojava. Larger cities have general directorates that are responsible for all aspects of security including road controls. Each Rojava canton has a HAT command and each Asayish center organizes itself autonomously.<ref name="asayish"/> | |||
| Throughout Rojava, the municipal Civilian Defense Forces (HPC)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://modernslavery.calpress.org/?p=949|title=Rojava Dispatch Six: Innovations, the Formation of the Hêza Parastina Cewherî (HPC)|publisher=Modern Slavery}}</ref> and the cantonal ] (HXP)<ref>{{cite web|author=Rudaw|url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/04062015|title=Rojava defense force draws thousands of recruits|work=Rudaw|date=6 April 2015|accessdate=22 June 2015}}</ref> also serve local-level security. In ], the Asayish are further complemented by the Assyrian ] police force, which is organized in every area with Assyrian population, provides security and solutions to social problems in collaboration with other Asayish units.<ref name="asayish"/> | |||
| All police force is trained in non-violent conflict resolution as well as ] before being allowed access to a weapon. Directors of the Asayish police academy have said that the long-term goal is to give all citizens six weeks of police training before ultimately eliminating the police.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/no-this-is-a-genuine-revolution/|title=ZCommunications » "No. This is a Genuine Revolution"|work=zcomm.org}}</ref> | |||
| ===Militias=== | |||
| ] play a significant combat role in Rojava.]] | |||
| {{Main article |Syrian Democratic Forces|Self-Defense Forces (Rojava)}} | |||
| Rojava's most important defence militia is the ] (''{{lang|ku|Yekîneyên Parastina Gel}}'', YPG). The YPG was founded by the PYD party after the ], but it was not active until the Syrian civil war.<ref name=Vice>{{cite web|last = Gold |first= Danny|url = http://www.vice.com/read/meet-the-ypg |title = Meet the YPG, the Kurdish Militia That Doesn't Want Help from Anyone |work =Vice|date=31 October 2010|accessdate= 9 October 2014}}</ref> It is under the control of the ] (TEV-DEM). Another militia closely related to Rojava is the ] (MFS), an Assyrian militia associated with the ]. The YPG, the MFS, and all other militias in Rojava, like the ] with many subsidiary groups or the ], are under the umbrella of the ] (SDF). The same is true for the municipal military councils which have been established in ], like the ], the ] or the ]. | |||
| The ] (HXP) is a multi-ethnic territorial defense militia and the only conscript armed force in Rojava. HXP is locally recruited to garrison their municipal area and is under the responsibility and command of the respective cantons of Rojava. Occasionally HYP units have supported the YPG, and SDF in general, during combat operations against ISIL outside of their own municipaliy and canton. | |||
| === Human rights issues === | |||
| {{main|Human rights in Rojava}} | |||
| In the course of the Syrian Civil War, accusations of alleged war crimes have also been ], in particular members of the ] (YPG), including 2014 and 2015 reports by ] and ], both of which operate freely in Rojava.<ref>{{cite web|date=2014-06-18|publisher=]|title= Syria: Abuses in Kurdish-run Enclaves|url= http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/06/18/syria-abuses-kurdish-run-enclaves}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/syria-us-allys-razing-of-villages-amounts-to-war-crimes/|title=Syria|work=]|date=13 October 2015}}</ref> Accusations have been comprehensively debated and contested by both the YPG and other human rights organizations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Amnesty-accuses-US-backed-Syrian-Kurdish-group-of-demolishing-homes-423773|title=Amnesty accuses US-backed Syrian Kurdish group of demolishing homes|work=The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Syria: Kurdish Forces Violating Child Soldier Ban Despite Promises, Children Still Fight|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/interview-syrian-kurds-have-risen-out-of-nowhere-since-2011.aspx?pageID=238&nID=90267&NewsCatID=386|publisher=Hurriyet Daily News|date=2015-10-24|accessdate=2016-06-13}}</ref> YPG members since September 2015 receive human rights training from ] and other international organizations.<ref name="perry">{{cite news |last1=Perry |first1=Tom |last2=Malla |first2=Naline |date=10 September 2015 |title=Western states train Kurdish force in Syria, force's leader says |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/10/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUKKCN0RA1MO20150910 |agency=] |quote=Amnesty International this month faulted the Kurdish administration for arbitrary detentions and unfair trials.... Ibrahim said ... efforts were underway to improve its human rights record.... The Geneva Call ... promotes good treatment of civilians in war zones... }}</ref> | |||
| The Rojava civil government has been hailed in international media for human rights advancement in particular ], concerning ], concerning ], with respect to ] and for ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/syrian-kurds-women-equal-rights-snubbing-jihadists-193905057.html|title=Syrian Kurds give women equal rights, snubbing jihadists|publisher=Yahoo|date=9 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/50102294-77fd-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html|title=Power to the people: a Syrian experiment in democracy|publisher=Financial Times|date=23 October 2015}}</ref><ref name=meredith/><ref name=Sheppard /> The political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.<ref name=underage /> Enforcing conscription into the ] (HXP) has been called a human rights violation from the perspective of those who consider the Rojava institutions illegitimate.<ref name=assyrian-accuses /> | |||
| Some persistent issues under the Rojava administration concern ]. One issue of contention is the consequence of the ] of Arab tribal settlers, expropriated for the purpose from its previous Kurdish owners in 1973 and 2007,<ref name="OHCHR-2009" /><ref name="CSmonitor-2005" /><ref name="HRW-1996" /> There are persistent calls to expel the settlers and return the land to their previous Kurdish owners among the Kurdish population of the region, which have led the political leadership of the Rojava Federation to press the Syrian government for a comprehensive solution.<ref>{{cite web|title=Syria rejects Russian proposal for Kurdish federation|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/turkey-russia-mediates-between-kurds-and-assad.html|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=24 October 2016}}</ref> Another issue has been Rojava's law of "ownership by use", under which a real estate owner loses title when he does not make personal use of the property. In particular among the ] community in ], persistent opposition was voiced. Following earlier statements, 16 Assyrian organizations of the region in October 2016 published a statement making accusations of seizing private property, demographic changing and ethnic cleansing.<ref name=assyrian-accuses>{{cite news|url=http://aranews.net/2016/03/assyrian-leader-accuses-pyd-monopolizing-power-syrias-north/|publisher=ARA|title=Assyrian leader accuses PYD of monopolizing power in Syria’s north|date=23 March 2016|accessdate=22 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/05/27/report-christian-assyrians-accuse-syrian-kurds-imposing-education-curriculum-alters-old-testament/|publisher=]|title=Christian Assyrians: Kurdish Muslims in Syria Imposing Distorted, Pro-Kurd Bible Education|date=27 May 2016|accessdate=22 October 2016}}</ref> | |||
| ==Demographics== | |||
| {{See also|Demographics of Syria}} | |||
| The demographics of the region has historically been highly diverse. One major shift in modern times was in the early part of the 20th century due to the ] and ]s, when many Assyrians and Armenians fled to Syria from Turkey. This was followed by many Kurds fleeing Turkey in the aftermath of ]. Another major shift in modern times was the Baath policy of settling additional Arab tribes in Rojava. Most recently, during the ], Rojava’s population has more than doubled to about 4.6 million. Among the newcomers are Syrians of all ethnicities who have fled from violence taking place in other parts of Syria. Many ethnic Arab citizens from Iraq have fled to Rojava as well.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian Kurds provide safe haven for thousands of Iraqis fleeing ISIS|url=http://aranews.net/2016/07/syrian-kurds-provide-safe-haven-thousands-iraqis-fleeing-isis/|accessdate=2016-07-02|publisher=Ara News|date=2016-07-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Rojava hosts thousands of displaced Iraqi civilians as war on ISIS intensifies|url=http://aranews.net/2016/10/rojava-hosts-thousands-of-displaced-iraqi-civilians-as-war-on-isis-intensifies/|accessdate=2016-10-18|publisher=ARA News|date=17 October 2016}}</ref><ref name=Sheppard>{{cite web|url=http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/10/kurds-rojava-syria-isis-iraq-assad/505037/|title=What the Syrian Kurds Have Wrought. The radical, unlikely, democratic experiment in northern Syria|author=Si Sheppard|publisher=The Atlantic|date=25 October 2016|accessdate=2016-10-25}}</ref> | |||
| ===Ethnic groups=== | |||
| {{Further information|Kurds in Syria|Syrians|Syrian-Assyrians|Syrian Turkmen|Yazidis in Syria}} | |||
| Two ethnic groups have a significant presence throughout Rojava: | |||
| *''']''' are an ]<ref>, '']'', "The Dutch court said it considered "legally and convincingly proven that the Kurdish population meets requirement under Genocide Conventions as an ethnic group"."</ref> living throughout Rojava, culturally and linguistically classified among the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Kurds.html |title=Kurds |date=2014 |work=The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.|publisher=Encyclopedia.com |accessdate=29 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Mehrdad R. |last=Izady |title=The Kurds: A Concise Handbook |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=I9mr6OgLjBoC&pg=PA198 |year=1992 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-8448-1727-9 |page=198}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter=Kurds, Kurdistan |last1=Bois|first1=T.|last2=Minorsky|first2=V.|last3=MacKenzie|first3=D.N.|title=Encyclopaedia Islamica|editor1-first=P.|editor1-last=Bearman |editor2-first=T.|editor2-last=Bianquis |editor3-first=C. E.|editor3-last=Bosworth |editor4-first=E.|editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W. P.|editor5-last=Heinrichs |publisher=Brill |year=2009 |quote=The Kurds, an Iranian people of the Near East, live at the junction of more or less laicised Turkey. ... We thus find that about the period of the Arab conquest a single ethnic term ''Kurd'' (plur. ''Akrād'') was beginning to be applied to an amalgamation of Iranian or iranicised tribes. ... The classification of the Kurds among the Iranian nations is based mainly on linguistic and historical data and does not prejudice the fact there is a complexity of ethnical elements incorporated in them.}}</ref> Many Kurds consider themselves descended from the ancient Iranian people of the ],<ref>{{cite book|author=Barbara A. West|title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&pg=PA518|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-1913-7|page=518}}</ref> using a calendar dating from 612 B.C., when the ]n capital of ] was conquered by the Medes.<ref name="Iranica Frye">{{cite encyclopedia |last=]|first=Richard Nelson|title=IRAN v. PEOPLES OF IRAN (1) A General Survey |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |accessdate=2016-03-04|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-v1-peoples-survey}}</ref> Kurds form the majority or plurality in much of Rojava.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rojava's Sustainability and the PKK's Regional Strategy|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/rojavas-sustainability-and-the-pkks-regional-strategy|publisher=Washington Institute|date=24 August 2016}}</ref> During the Syrian civil war, many Kurds who had lived elswhere in Syria fled back to their traditional lands in Rojava. | |||
| *''']''' are a ] living throughout Rojava, mainly defined by ] as their ]. They encompass ] tribes who trace their ancestry to the ] as well as ] indigenous peoples. Arabs form the majority or plurality in some parts of Rojava, in particular in the southern parts of the ], in ] and in ]. While in ] the term Arab is mainly used to denote Arabized ], in ] and in ] it mainly denotes ethnic Arab bedouin population. | |||
| Two ethnic groups have a significant presence in certain cantons of Rojava: | |||
| *''']''' are an ].<ref>For Assyrians as indigenous to the Middle East, see | |||
| *Mordechai Nisan, Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-Expression, p. 180 | |||
| *James Minahan, Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A-C, p. 206 | |||
| *Carl Skutsch, Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities, p. 149 | |||
| *Steven L. Danver, Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues, p. 517 | |||
| *UNPO Assyria | |||
| *Richard T. Schaefer, Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society, p. 107</ref><ref>James Minahan, Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A-C, pp. 205-209</ref> Their presence in Syria is in ] of Rojava, particularly in the urban areas (], ], ]), in the northeastern corner and in villages along the ] in the ] area. They traditionally speak varieties of ].<ref>For Assyrians speaking a Neo-Aramaic language, see | |||
| *The British Survey, By British Society for International Understanding, 1968, p. 3 | |||
| *Carl Skutsch, Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities, p. 149 | |||
| *Farzad Sharifian, René Dirven, Ning Yu, Susanne Niemeier, Culture, Body, and Language: Conceptualizations of Internal Body Organs across Cultures and Languages, p. 268 | |||
| *UNPO Assyria</ref> There are many Assyrians among recent refugees to Rojava, fleeing Islamist violence elsewhere in Syria back to their traditional lands.<ref>{{cite news|title=Glavin: In Iraq and Syria, it's too little, too late|url=http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/iraq-and-syria-too-little-too-late|accessdate=7 May 2016|work=Ottawa Citizen|date=14 November 2014|language=en-US}}</ref> In the secular polyethnic political climate of Rojava, the ''Dawronoye'' modernization movement has a growing influence on Assyrian identity in the 21st century.<ref name=Dawronoye/> | |||
| *''']''' are an ] with a major presence in ], where they form regional majorities in the countryside from ] and ] to ], and a minor presence in ] and ]. | |||
| There are also smaller minorities of ] (throughout Rojava) and ] (in ]). | |||
| *''']''' are an ] with a presence in Kobanî Canton, Afrin Canton (]) and Jazira Canton (]). | |||
| ===Languages=== | |||
| Four languages from three different language families are spoken in Rojava: | |||
| *] (in ] dialect), a ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kurdish-language-i|title=HISTORY OF THE KURDISH LANGUAGE|publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=D. N. MacKenzie |year=1961 |title=The Origins of Kurdish |journal=Transactions of the Philological Society |pages=68–86}}</ref> from the family of ] | |||
| *] (in ] dialect, in writing ]), a ] from the family of ] | |||
| *] in the ], ] and ] variety, ] from the family of ] | |||
| *] (in ] dialect), from the family of ] | |||
| For these four languages, three different scripts are in use in Rojava: | |||
| *The ] for Kurdish and Turkish | |||
| *The ] for Arabic | |||
| *The ] for Syriac-Aramaic | |||
| ===Religion=== | |||
| Most ethnic Kurdish and Arab people in Rojava adhere to Sunni Islam, while ethnic Assyrian people generally are ], ] or ] Christians. There are also adherents to other faiths, such as ] and ]m. Many people in Rojava support ] and ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Could Christianity be driven from Middle East?|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32287806|accessdate=15 April 2015|publisher=BBC|date=15 April 2015}}</ref> The dominant PYD party and the political administration in Rojava are decidedly secular and laicist and contrary to most of the Middle East, religion is no marker of socio-political identity.<ref name=Dawronoye>{{cite web|author=Carl Drott|url=http://www.warscapes.com/reportage/revolutionaries-bethnahrin|title=The Revolutionaries of Bethnahrin|publisher=Warscapes|date=25 May 2015|accessdate=8 October 2016}}</ref> | |||
| ===Population centres=== | |||
| This list includes all cities, towns and villages controlled or claimed by Rojava with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The population figures are given according to the 2004 Syrian census.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbssyr.org/General%20census/census%202004/pop-man.pdf|title=2004 Syrian Census|date=2004|website=www.cbssyr.org|access-date=2016-05-22}}</ref> Cities highlighted in white are fully under the control of Rojava. Cities highlighted in light grey are partially controlled by Rojava and partially controlled by the Syrian government. Cities highlighted in dark gray are fully under the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or other Islamist forces. Cities in boldface are capitals of their respective cantons. | |||
| {|class="toccolours sortable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse" | |||
| |+ | |||
| |- bgcolor=#E6E6FA | |||
| !English Name | |||
| !] Name | |||
| !] Name | |||
| !] Name | |||
| !] Name | |||
| !] | |||
| !] | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Hesîçe | |||
| |الحسكة | |||
| |ܚܣܟܗ | |||
| |Haseke | |||
| |188,160 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- bgcolor=#DCDDDD | |||
| |''']''' | |||
| |Qamişlo | |||
| |القامشلي | |||
| |ܩܡܫܠܐ | |||
| |Kamışlı | |||
| |184,231 | |||
| |''']''' | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Menbîç | |||
| |منبج | |||
| |ܡܒܘܓ | |||
| |Münbiç | |||
| |99,497 | |||
| |]<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region">{{cite web|url=http://cantonafrin.com/en/news/view/1658.a-delegation-from-the-democratic-administration-of-self-participate-in-the-second-conference-of-the-el--shahba-region.html|title=Delegation from the Democratic administration of Self-participate of self-participate in the first and second conference of the Shaba region|date=4 February 2016|publisher=|accessdate=12 June 2016}}</ref> | |||
| |- bgcolor=#949597 | |||
| |] | |||
| |Bab | |||
| |الباب | |||
| | | |||
| |El Bab | |||
| |63,069 | |||
| |]<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region"/> | |||
| |- | |||
| |''']''' | |||
| |Kobanî | |||
| |عين العرب | |||
| | | |||
| |Arappınar | |||
| |44,821 | |||
| |''']''' | |||
| |- | |||
| |''']''' | |||
| |Efrîn | |||
| |عفرين | |||
| | | |||
| |Afrin | |||
| |36,562 | |||
| |''']''' | |||
| |- bgcolor=#949597 | |||
| |] | |||
| |Ezaz | |||
| |أعزاز | |||
| | | |||
| |Azez | |||
| |31,623 | |||
| |]<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region"/> | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Serêkaniyê | |||
| |رأس العين | |||
| |ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ | |||
| |Resülayn | |||
| |29,347 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Amûdê | |||
| |عامودا | |||
| | | |||
| |Amudiye | |||
| |26,821 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Dêrika Hemko | |||
| |المالكية | |||
| |ܕܪܝܟ | |||
| |Deyrik | |||
| |26,311 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Arpêt | |||
| |تل رفعت | |||
| | | |||
| |Tel Rıfat | |||
| |20,514 | |||
| |]<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region"/> | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Tirbespî | |||
| |القحطانية | |||
| |ܩܒܪ̈ܐ ܚܘܪ̈ܐ | |||
| |Kubur el Bid | |||
| |16,946 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- bgcolor=#949597 | |||
| |] | |||
| |Mare | |||
| |مارع | |||
| | | |||
| |Mare | |||
| |16,904 | |||
| |]<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region"/> | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Şeddadê | |||
| |الشدادي | |||
| | | |||
| |Şaddadi | |||
| |15,806 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Girkê Legê | |||
| |المعبدة | |||
| | | |||
| |Muabbada | |||
| |15,759 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Girê Spî | |||
| |تل أبيض | |||
| | | |||
| |Tel Abyad | |||
| |14,825 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| | | |||
| |السبعة وأربعين | |||
| | | |||
| |El Seba ve Arbayn | |||
| |14,177 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Cindarêsê | |||
| |جنديرس | |||
| | | |||
| |Cinderes | |||
| |13,661 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |Menacîr | |||
| |المناجير | |||
| | | |||
| |Menacir | |||
| |12,156 | |||
| |] | |||
| |- bgcolor=#949597 | |||
| |] | |||
| |Cerablûs | |||
| |جرابلس | |||
| |ܓܪܐܒܠܣ | |||
| |Cerablus | |||
| |11,570 | |||
| |]<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region"/> | |||
| |- bgcolor=#949597 | |||
| |] | |||
| |Qabasîn | |||
| |قباسين | |||
| | | |||
| |Kabasin | |||
| |11,382 | |||
| |]<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region"/> | |||
| |} | |||
| ==External relations== | |||
| ===Relations with the Syrian government=== | |||
| {{Main article|Rojava–Syrian government relations}} | |||
| {{See also|Federalization of Syria}} | |||
| ] ]] | |||
| For the time being, the relations of Rojava to the state of Syria are determined by the context of the ]. As for the time being, the ] and the ] are legally incompatible with respect to legislative and executive authority. Practical interaction is pragmatic ad hoc. In the military realm, combat between the Rojava ] (YPG) and Syrian government forces has been rare, in the most notable instances some of the territory still controlled by the Syrian government in Qamishli and al-Hasakah has been lost to the YPG. In some military campaigns, in particular in northern Aleppo governate and in al-Hasakah, there has been a tacit cooperation between the YPG and Syrian government forces against Islamist forces, the ] (ISIL) and other.<ref name=russia-mediates>{{cite news|title=Syria’s war: Assad on the offensive|url=http://www.economist.com/news/21690203-city-was-once-syrias-largest-faces-siege-assadu2019s-grip-tightens|accessdate=2016-05-01|work=]|date=2016-02-13}}</ref> | |||
| The ''Federation of Northern Syria{{snd}} Rojava'' is not drafted as an ethnic Kurdistan region, but rather a blueprint for a future ], decentralised and democratic Syria.<ref name=MiddleEastEye>{{cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/analysis-kurds-syria-rojava-1925945786|title=ANALYSIS: 'This is a new Syria, not a new Kurdistan'|publisher=MiddleEastEye|date=2016-03-21|accessdate=2016-05-25}}</ref> Rojava is the birthplace and main sponsor of the ] and the ], a military and a political umbrella organisation, with the agenda of implementing a secular, democratic and federalist system for all of Syria. In July 2016, Constituent Assembly co-chair Hediya Yousef formulated Rojava's approach towards Syria as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160712/1042855292/syrian-kurds-do-not-want-fragmentation.html|title=Syrian Kurdish Official to Sputnik: 'We Won't Allow Dismemberment of Syria'|publisher=Sputnis News|date=2016-07-12|accessdate=2016-07-12}}</ref> | |||
| {{quote|''We believe that a federal system is ideal form of governance for Syria. We see that in many parts of the world, a federal framework enables people to live peacefully and freely within territorial borders. The people of Syria can also live freely in Syria. We will not allow for Syria to be divided; all we want is the democratization of Syria; its citizens must live in peace, and enjoy and cherish the ethnic diversity of the national groups inhabiting the country.''}} | |||
| In March 2015, the Syrian Information Minister announced that his government considered recognizing the Kurdish autonomy "within the law and constitution."<ref>{{cite web|title=KRG: Elections in Jazira are Not Acceptable|publisher=Basnews|url=http://basnews.com/en/news/2015/03/14/krg-elections-in-jazira-are-not-acceptable/|date=14 March 2015|accessdate=15 March 2015}}</ref> While the Rojava administration is not invited to the ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUSKCN0YE2NI|title=Syrian Kurds point finger at Western-backed opposition|publisher=Reuters|date=2016-05-23|accessdate=2016-05-24}}</ref> or any of the earlier talks, in particular Russia, which calls for their inclusion, does to some degree carry their positions into the talks, as documented in Russia's May 2016 draft for a new constitution for Syria.<ref name="Now.MMedia/Al-Akhbar">{{cite web|url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/567021-russia-finishes-draft-for-new-syria-constitution-report|title=Russia finishes draft for new Syria constitution|publisher=Now.MMedia/Al-Akhbar|date=2016-05-24|accessdate=2016-05-24}}</ref> In October 2016, a Russian initiative for federalization with a focus on northern Syria was reported, which at its core called to turn the existing institutions of the ''Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava'' into legitimate institutions of Syria; also reported was its rejection for the time being by the Syrian government.<ref name="Al-Monitor">{{cite web|title=Syria rejects Russian proposal for Kurdish federation|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/turkey-russia-mediates-between-kurds-and-assad.html|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=24 October 2016}}</ref> The Damascus ruling elite is split over the question whether the new model in Rojava can work in parallel and converge with the Syrian government, for the benefit of both, or if the agenda should be to centralize again all power at the end of the civil war, necessitating preparation for ultimate confrontation with the Rojava institutions.<ref name=chatham>{{cite web|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/publications/research/2016-09-15-kurdish-self-governance-syria-sary_0.pdf|title=Kurdish Self-governance in Syria: Survival and Ambition|author=Ghadi Sary|publisher=Chatham House|date=September 2016}}</ref> | |||
| ===Rojava as a transnational topic=== | |||
| {{See also|Libertarian socialism|Libertarian municipalism}} | |||
| ], 2014]] | |||
| The socio-political transformations of the "Rojava revolution" have inspired much attention in international media, both in mainstream media<ref name=utopia>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/magazine/a-dream-of-utopia-in-hell.html|title=A Dream of Secular Utopia in ISIS' Backyard|work=New York Times|date=2015-11-24|accessdate=2016-05-20}}</ref><ref name="Financial Times"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/opinion/the-kurds-democratic-experiment.html|title=The Kurds' Democratic Experiment|work=New York Times|date=2015-09-30|accessdate=2016-05-20}}</ref><ref name="Graeber">{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/08/why-world-ignoring-revolutionary-kurds-syria-isis|title=Why is the world ignoring the revolutionary Kurds in Syria?|work=The Guardian|date=2014-10-08|accessdate=2016-05-20}}</ref> and in dedicated ] media.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/jo-magpie/regaining-hope-in-rojava|title=Regaining hope in Rojava|work=Slate|date=2016-06-06|accessdate=2016-06-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/11/25/rojava_is_a_radical_experiment_in_democracy_in_northern_syria_american_leftists.html|title=American Leftists Need to Pay More Attention to Rojava|work=Slate|date=2015-11-25|accessdate=2016-05-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-revolution-in-rojava|title=The Revolution in Rojava|work=Dissent|date=2015-04-22|accessdate=2016-05-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/evangelos-aretaios/rojava-revolution|title=The Rojava revolution|publisher=OpenDemocracy|date=2015-03-15|accessdate=2016-05-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://new-compass.net/articles/statement-academic-delegation-rojava|title=Statement from the Academic Delegation to Rojava|publisher=New Compass|date=2015-01-15|accessdate=2016-05-20}}</ref> The narrative was first established with an October 2014 piece by ] in '']'':<ref name="Graeber"/> | |||
| {{quote|''The autonomous region of Rojava, as it exists today, is one of few bright spots{{snd}} albeit a very bright one{{snd}} to emerge from the tragedy of the Syrian revolution. Having driven out agents of the Assad regime in 2011, and despite the hostility of almost all of its neighbours, Rojava has not only maintained its independence, but is a remarkable democratic experiment. Popular assemblies have been created as the ultimate decision-making bodies, councils selected with careful ethnic balance (in each municipality, for instance, the top three officers have to include one Kurd, one Arab and one Assyrian or Armenian Christian, and at least one of the three has to be a woman), there are women's and youth councils, and, in a remarkable echo of the armed Mujeres Libres (Free Women) of Spain, a feminist army, the "YJA Star" militia (the "Union of Free Women", the star here referring to the ancient Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar), that has carried out a large proportion of the combat operations against the forces of Islamic State.''}} | |||
| The "Rojava revolution" in its diverse aspects is a hotly debated topic in libertarian socialist and communalist as well as generally anti-capitalist circles worldwide.{{#tag:ref|Diverse aspects of the Rojava revolution have led some anti-capitalists to criticise the revolution for not going far enough e.g., ; Gilles Dauve, ; Alex de Jong, ; Anti-war, , and Devrim Valerian, . Other anti-capitalists have been significantly less critical e.g. David Graeber, ; Janet Biehl, , and the .|group=note}} | |||
| ===Kurdish question=== | |||
| {{See also|Kurdistan|Kurdish nationalism}} ] ]] | |||
| Rojava's dominant political party, the ] (PYD), is a member organisation of the ] (KCK) organisation. As KCK member organisations in the neighbouring states with autochthonous Kurdish minorities are either outlawed (Turkey, Iran) or politically marginal with respect to other Kurdish parties (Iraq), PYD-governed Rojava has acquired the role of a model for the KCK political agenda and blueprint in general. | |||
| There is much sympathy for Rojava in particular among ]. During the ], a large number of ethnic Kurdish citizens of Turkey crossed the border and volunteered in the defence of the town. Some of these upon their return to Turkey took up arms in the ], where skills acquired by them during combat in Kobanî brought a new quality of urban warfare to the conflict in Turkey.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/09/turkey-kurds-pkk-daglica-war-be-sustained-bloody-day.html|title=6 reasons why Turkey's war against the PKK won't last|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=2015-09-08|accessdate=2016-05-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/kurdish-militants-and-turkeys-new-urban-insurgency/|title=Kurdish Militants and Turkey’s New Urban Insurgency|publisher=War On The Rocks|date=2016-03-23|accessdate=2016-05-20}}</ref> | |||
| The relationship of Rojava with the ] in Iraq is complicated. One context being that the governing party there, the ] (KDP), views itself and its affiliated Kurdish parties in other countries as a more conservative and nationalist alternative and competitor to the KCK political agenda and blueprint in general.<ref name="MiddleEastEye"/> The "Sultanistic system" of Iraqi Kurdistan<ref>{{cite web|url=http://carnegie-mec.org/2015/08/17/kurdistan-s-politicized-society-confronts-sultanistic-system/ieta|title=Kurdistan’s Politicized Society Confronts a Sultanistic System|publisher=Carnegie Middle East Center|date=2015-08-18|accessdate=2016-06-08}}</ref> stands in stark contrast to the ] system of Rojava. | |||
| Like the KCK umbrella in general, and even more so, the PYD is critical of any form of nationalism,<ref name=musliminterview>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/08/syrian-kurdish-leader-will-respect-outcome-independence-referendum/|title=Syrian Kurdish leader: We will respect outcome of independence referendum|publisher=ARA News|date=2016-08-03|accessdate=2016-08-04}}</ref> including Kurdish nationalism. They stand in stark contrast to Kurdish nationalist visions of the Iraqi Kurdish KDP sponsored ] in Syria.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/08/kurdish-national-council-announces-plan-setting-syrian-kurdistan-region/|title=Kurdish National Council announces plan for setting up ‘Syrian Kurdistan Region’|publisher=ARA News|date=2016-08-04|accessdate=2016-08-04}}</ref> | |||
| ===International relations=== | |||
| {{Main article|Foreign relations of Rojava}} | |||
| {{see also|Syrian Democratic Forces# Support by the United States, France and other Western nations}} | |||
| ], co-chairman of Rojava's leading Democratic Union Party (PYD) with ] at ] in ]]] | |||
| Rojava's most notable role in the international arena is comprehensive military cooperation of its militias under the ] (SDF) umbrella with the ] and the ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Inside Syria: Kurds Roll Back ISIS, but Alliances Are Strained|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/10/world/middleeast/syria-turkey-islamic-state-kurdish-militia-ypg.html|date=10 August 2015|accessdate=2016-10-28|work=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=ANALYSIS: Kurds welcome US support, but want more say on Syria's future|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/kurds-syria-us-general-292550977|date=23 May 2016|accessdate=2016-10-28|author=Wladimir von Wilgenburg|publisher=MiddleEastEye}}</ref> In a public statement in March 2016, the day after the declaration of the ''Federation of Northern Syria{{snd}} Rojava'', U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter praised the Rojava ] (YPG) militia as having "proven to be excellent partners of ours on the ground in fighting ISIL. We are grateful for that, and we intend to continue to do that, recognizing the complexities of their regional role."<ref>{{cite web |title=Pentagon chief praises Kurdish fighters in Syria|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pentagon-chief-praises-kurdish-fighters-in-syria.aspx?pageID=238&nID=96609&NewsCatID=352|work=Hurriyet Daily News|date=18 March 2016|accessdate=2016-10-28}}</ref> Late October 2016, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of the international Anti-ISIL-coalition, said that the SDF would lead the impending assault on ], ISIL's stronghold and capital, and that SDF commanders would plan the operation with advice from American and coalition troops.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.stripes.com/news/us-general-syrian-democratic-forces-will-lead-the-assault-on-raqqa-1.435953|publisher=Stars and Stripes|title=US general: Syrian Democratic Forces will lead the assault on Raqqa|date=26 October 2016|accessdate=2016-10-31}}</ref> However, on 7 November 2016, when asked about the federalization of Syria, Mark C. Toner, the Deputy Spokesperson for the Department of State, said "We don’t want to see any kind of ad hoc federalism or federalist system arise. We don’t want to see semi-autonomous zones. The reality is, though, as territory is liberated from Daesh, you got to get some kind of governance back into these areas, but by no means are we condoning or – any kind of, as I said, ad hoc semi-autonomous areas in northern Syria".<ref>{{cite web |title=Mark C. Toner, Deputy Spokesperson. Daily Press Briefing. Washington, DC. November 7, 2016|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2016/11/264175.htm|work=United States Department of State|date=2016-11-07|accessdate=2016-11-07}}</ref> | |||
| In the diplomatic field, Rojava lacks any formal recognition. While there is comprehensive activity of reception of Rojava representatives<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/turkey-france-kurdish-guerillas-elysee.html#|title=Hollande-PYD meeting challenges Erdogan|accessdate=7 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jinha.com.tr/en/ALL-NEWS/content/view/25309|title=YPJ Commander Nesrin Abdullah speaks in Italian Parliament|publisher=JINHA|date=2015-06-23|accessdate=2016-06-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://ekurd.net/kurdish-pyd-hdp-ocalan-athens-2016-02-17|title=Syrian Kurdish PYD, Turkey’s HDP leaders attend ‘Ocalan conference’ in Athens|publisher=eKurd|date=17 February 2016|accessdate=2016-10-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/news/report-kurdistan-region/|title=Build Kurdistan relationship or risk losing vital Middle East partner - News from Parliament|publisher=UK Parliament|access-date=2016-05-22}}</ref> and appreciation<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kurdishquestion.com/oldsite/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/rome-declares-kobane-sister-city.html|title=Rome Declares Kobane 'Sister City'|publisher=Kurdishquestion|date=2015-04-05|accessdate=2016-08-19}}</ref> with a broad range of countries, only ] has on occasion openly and boldly supported Rojava's political ambition of ] in the international arena.<ref name="Now.MMedia/Al-Akhbar"/><ref name="Al-Monitor"/> However, the ''Federation of Northern Syria{{snd}} Rojava'' over the course of 2016 opened official representation offices in ],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalia.info/new/10714/rojava-first-representation-office-outside-kurdistan-opens-in-moscow|title=Rojava's first representation office outside Kurdistan opens in Moscow|website=Nationalia|date=11 February 2016|accessdate=2016-10-28}}</ref> ],<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/04/syrian-kurds-inaugurate-representation-office-sweden/|title=Syrian Kurds inaugurate representation office in Sweden |date=2016-04-18|publisher=ARA News|language=en-US|access-date=2016-05-22}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.evrensel.net/haber/279449/berlinde-rojava-temsilciligi-acildi|title=Berlin’de Rojava temsilciliği açıldı|date=2016-05-07|website=Evrensel.net|language=tr-TR|access-date=2016-05-22}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/05/24/Syrian-Kurds-open-unofficial-representative-mission-in-Paris-.html|title=Syrian Kurds open unofficial representative mission in Paris|publisher=Al Arabiya|date=2016-05-24|access-date=2016-05-22}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://aranews.net/2016/09/syrian-kurds-inaugurate-representation-office-in-the-netherlands/|title=Syrian Kurds inaugurate representation office in the Netherlands|publisher=ARA News|date=2016-09-08|accessdate=2016-09-08}}</ref> The YPG militia has an official representation in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://praguemonitor.com/2016/04/04/kurdish-militia-ypg-opens-office-prague|title=Kurdish militia YPG opens office in Prague |work=Prague Monitor |access-date=2016-05-22}}</ref> A broad range of public voices in the U.S. and Europe have called for more formal recognition of Rojava.<ref>{{cite web|author=Steven A. Cook|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/turkey/2016-03-14/between-ankara-and-rojava/|title=Between Ankara and Rojava|work=Foreign Affairs|date=14 March 2016|accessdate=2016-06-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/10/kurds-rojava-syria-isis-iraq-assad/505037/|title=What the Syrian Kurds Have Wrought. The radical, unlikely, democratic experiment in northern Syria|author=Si Sheppard|publisher=The Atlantic|date=25 October 2016|accessdate=2016-10-25}}</ref><ref name=meredith>{{cite web|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2016-10-14/rojava-model|title=The Rojava Model|author=Meredith Tax|publisher=Foreign Affairs|date=14 October 2016|accessdate=2016-10-28}}</ref> Notable international cooperation has been in the field of educational and cultural institutions, like the cooperation agreement of ] with the newly founded ] in ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/08/rojava-university-seeks-eliminate-constraints-education-syrias-kurdish-region/|title=Rojava university seeks to eliminate constraints on education in Syria’s Kurdish region|publisher=ARA News|date=15 August 2016}}</ref> or planning for a ] cultural centre in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lejdd.fr/Culture/Livres/L-ecrivain-Patrice-Franceschi-veut-creer-un-centre-culturel-au-Kurdistan-syrien-778553|title=L’écrivain Patrice Franceschi veut créer un centre culturel au Kurdistan syrien|publisher=Europe1|date=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nrttv.com/EN/Details.aspx?Jimare=9371|title=French delegation seeks to open cultural center in Rojava|publisher=NRT|date=9 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/09/kurds-plan-set-french-institute-syria/|title=Kurds plan to set up French institute in Syria|publisher=ARA News|date=8 September 2016}}</ref> | |||
| Neighbouring ] is persistently hostile, because it feels threatened by Rojava's emergence encouraging activism for autonomy among ] and the ], and in this context in particular Rojava's leading ] (PYD) and the YPG militia being members of the ] (KCK) network of organisations, which also includes both political and militant assertively Kurdish organizations in Turkey itself, including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey's policy towards Rojava is based on an economic blockade,<ref name=meredith/> persistent attempts of international isolation,<ref name=OIC></ref> opposition to the cooperation of the international Anti-ISIL-coalition with Rojava militias,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-erdogan-slams-us-over-ypg-support.aspx?PageID=238&NID=99783&NewsCatID=510|title=Turkish President Erdoğan slams US over YPG support|work=Hurryiet Daily News|date=28 May 2016|accessdate=2016-11-02}}</ref> and support of ] Syrian Civil War parties hostile towards Rojava,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lobelog.com/how-can-turkey-overcome-its-foreign-policy-mess/|title=How Can Turkey Overcome Its Foreign Policy Mess?|publisher=Lobolog (Graham E. Fuller)|date=2016-02-19|accessdate=2016-10-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews=44027|title=The Rise of Jaysh al-Fateh in Northern Syria|author=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|publisher=Jamestown Foundation|date=12 June 2015|accessdate=2016-10-28}}</ref> in past times even including ISIL.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/research-paper-isis-turke_b_6128950.html|title=Research Paper: ISIS-Turkey Links|author=David L. Phillips|publisher=Huffington Post|date=11 September 2014|accessdate=2016-10-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/links-between-turkey-and-isis-are-now-undeniable-2015-7|title=Senior Western official: Links between Turkey and ISIS are now 'undeniable'|publisher=Businessinsider|date=28 July 2015|accessdate=2016-10-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meforum.org/5317/turkey-isis|title=Turkey's Double Game with ISIS|author=Burak Bekdil|publisher=Middle East Quarterly|date=Summer 2015|accessdate=2016-10-28}}</ref> Turkey has on several occasions also been militarily attacking Rojava territory and defence forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/27/turkey-shells-kurdish-held-village-in-syria|title=Turkey accused of shelling Kurdish-held village in Syria|work=The Guardian|date=27 July 2015|accessdate=2016-06-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/02/turkey-bombs-kurdish-city-of-afrin-northern-syria-civilian-casualties-reported/|title=Turkey strikes Kurdish city of Afrin northern Syria, civilian casualties reported|publisher=Ara News|date=19 February 2016|accessdate=2016-06-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://europe.newsweek.com/turkeys-syria-intervention-sign-weakness-not-strength-501516|title=Turkey’s Syria Intervention: A Sign of Weakness Not Strength|author= Christopher Phillips|publisher=Newsweek|date=22 September 2016|accessdate=2016-10-28}}</ref> The latter has resulted in some of the most clearcut instances of international solidarity with Rojava.<ref name=Tastekin>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/turkey-syria-intervention-wreck-arab-kurdish-alliance.html|title=US backing ensures Arab-Kurd alliance in Syria will survive|author=Fehim Taştekin|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=9 September 2016|accessdate=2016-10-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iraqinews.com/baghdad-politics/germany-warns-turkey-attacking-kurds-syria/|title=Germany warns Turkey from attacking Kurds in Syria|work=Iraqi News|date=28 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sputniknews.com/politics/201610211046579169-turkey-strikes-syria/|title=Moscow Concerned Over Turkish Airstrikes on Kurdish Positions in Syria - Lavrov|work=Sputnik News|date=21 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/10/statement-by-sasc-chairman-john-mccain-on-turkish-government-attacks-on-syrian-kurds|title=Statement by SASC Chairman John McCain on Turkish Government Attacks on Syrian Kurds|author=U.S. Senator John McCain, Chairman of the United States Senate Armed Services Committee|date=27 October 2016}}</ref> | |||
| Turkey has received PYD co-chair ] for talks in 2013<ref>{{cite web|title=PYD leader arrives in Turkey for two-day talks: Report|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pyd-leader-arrives-in-turkey-for-two-day-talks-report.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51439&NewsCatID=338|publisher=Hurriyet Daily News|date=25 July 2013}}</ref> and in 2014,<ref>{{cite web|title=Syrian Kurdish leader holds secret talks in Turkey: reports|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/syrian-kurdish-leader-holds-secret-talks-turkey-reports-140034309.html|publisher=Yahoo|date=5 October 2014}}</ref> even entertaining the idea of opening a Rojava representation office in ] "if it's suitable with Ankara's policies."<ref>{{cite web|title=Salih Muslim’s trip to Turkey and Incirlik Base|url=http://www.yenisafak.com/en/columns/abdulkadirselvi/salih-muslims-trip-to-turkey-and-incirlik-base-2015919|publisher=Yeni Safak|date=7 July 2015}}</ref> Still, Turkey recognizes the PYD and the YPG militia as identical to the ] (PKK),{{cn|date=November 2016}} which is listed as a "terrorist organisation" by Turkey, the ], the United States and others. However, the EU, the US, ] and others cooperate with the PYD and the YPG militia in the fight against the ] (ISIL) and do not consider either a "terrorist organisation".<ref name=YpgState>{{cite web|title=U.S. says YPG not a terrorist organization|url=http://aranews.net/2015/09/u-s-says-ypg-not-a-terrorist-organization/|publisher=ARA news|accessdate=22 November 2015}}</ref> About its loss in international standing, the consequence of domestic and foreign policies of ], the Turkish government is contemptuous.<ref>{{cite web|title=Turkey's domestic policy losing its foreign friends|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-with-fewer-friends-than-ever.html|publisher=Al Monitor|date=8 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Erdogan muddies Syrian and Iraqi political waters|url=https://www.ft.com/content/75d9710e-a02b-11e6-86d5-4e36b35c3550|work=Financial Times|date=1 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Only Problems. How Turkey Can Become an Honest Mediator in the Middle East, Again|url=http://www.kas.de/wf/en/33.46609/|author1=Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Bağcı|author2=Dr. Çağlar Kurç|publisher=Konrad Adenauer Stiftung|date=10 October 2016|accessdate=2016-11-09}}</ref> The Turkish foreign minister called the PYD a "terrorist organisation" in his speech at the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers of the 13th Islamic Summit of the ] on 12 April 2016 at Istanbul, Turkey.<ref></ref> In November 2016 official '']'' accused the educational institutions of Rojava of "prejudice against Islam".<ref>{{cite web|title=PKK/PYD indoctrinating schoolchildren in N.Syria|url=http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/pkk-pyd-indoctrinating-schoolchildren-in-nsyria/690266|agency=Anadolu Agency|date=21 November 2016}}</ref> U.S. Defense Secretary ] admitted to links between the PYD, the YPG, and the PKK.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> Secretary Carter replied, "Yes," to a ] panel when Sen. ] (R-SC) asked whether he believed the Syrian Kurds are “aligned or at least have substantial ties to the PKK.”<ref></ref> Rojava and YPG leaders insist that the PKK is a separate organization.<ref name="Ivan Watson and Gul Tuysuz">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/29/world/us-newest-allies-syrian-kurds/index.html|title=Meet America's newest allies: Syria's Kurdish minority|author=Ivan Watson and Gul Tuysuz|publisher=CNN|access-date=2016-05-22}}</ref> YPG representatives have persistently reiterated that their militia has an all Syrian agenda and no agenda of hostility whatsoever towards Turkey.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-syria-euphrates-from-kurdish-perspective.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter|title=A look at battle for Raqqa from a Kurdish perspective|publisher=Al Monitor|date=8 November 2016}}</ref> However, according to the Turkish '']'', at one occasion in January 2016 "a YouTube video has appeared of an English-speaking man, believed to be a fighter from the Democratic Union Party's (PYD) armed wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG) (...) making a call for Westerners to join the ranks of the armed group and conduct terrorist attacks against the Turkish state."<ref></ref> In the perception of much of the Turkish public, the Rojava federal project as well as U.S. support for the YPG against ISIL are elements of a wider conspiracy scheme by a "mastermind" with the aim to weaken or even dismember Turkey, in order to prevent its imminent rise as a global power.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Tin-Foil Hats Are Out in Turkey. From Zionist plots to CIA conspiracies, Turkey’s favorite pastime is believing that the world is out to get it. |url=http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/09/12/the-tin-foil-hats-are-out-in-turkey/|publisher=Foreign Policy|date=12 September 2016}}</ref> | |||
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Revision as of 21:25, 27 November 2016
There is no self declared federation. Federations cant be declared. Stop propaganda