By Asbarez | Thursday, 17 March 2016
RMEILAN(Reuters) — Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northern regions voted to seek autonomy under a federal system on Thursday, angering both the Damascus government and neighboring power Turkey with a move that could complicate new U.N.-backed peace talks.
The vote to unite three Kurdish-controlled provinces appears aimed at creating a self-run entity within Syria, a status that Kurds have enjoyed in neighboring Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
The proclamation is nevertheless an open challenge to many of the sides in Syria’s 5-year-old civil war, as well as their international sponsors, who have mainly been battling for control of what they say must remain a unified state and have dismissed any unilateral move toward federalism.
According to the Associated Press, representatives of more than 30 parties came together for a meeting in the town of Rmeilan in Syria’s Hassakeh province.
The two-day forum featured more than 200 delegates, including Arab, Kurdish, Armenian, Turkmen, Chechen, Syriac and many other folks from Northern Syria, Rojava, Shehba region, Aleppo-Minbic areas, the Kurdish Firat News Agency reports.
The forum was held under the slogan “Democratic Federative Syria – the guarantee of co-existence and friendship of peoples.”
The Syrian government and its opponents have rejected a declaration by Syrian Kurds of a federal region in northern Syria.
A statement issued by the Syrian Foreign Ministry says the declaration made in the town of Rmeilan in Syria’s Hassakeh province Thursday is unconstitutional and worthless.
It warned against any attempt to encroach upon the integrity of Syrian territories.
comments
Iran Holds Massive War Games Near Armenian, Azeri Borders
Putin Invites Pashinyan, Aliyev for Talks, Slams Macron
Armenian Man Arrested In Russia Over Crimea Bridge Blast
U.S. Again Calls on Azerbaijan to Pull Back Troops in Armenia
Russia Calls on Azerbaijan to Pull Back Troops in Armenia
France Demands Withdrawal of Azerbaijani Forces from Armenia
Aliyev Says No One or Nothing Can Stop His Forces
CSTO Secretary-General Arrives in Armenia as Putin Calls for Restraint
Tehran Vows Strong Resistance Against Effort to Damage Iran-Armenia Border
Aliyev Anticipates Yerevan-Baku Peace Treaty Will be Signed in a Few Months