r/syriancivilwar • u/flintsparc Rojava • 4d ago
Was Rojava Surrendered? Mazloum Abdi Answers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_F2B5XFDa0"Why was the SDF dissolved? What happened to the Autonomous Administration, and what future remains for Kurdish rights and self-government in Syria?
"In this interview for The Amargi, journalist Irfan Aktan questions Mazloum Abdi about the January 29 agreement with Damascus, the dissolution of the SDF, the loss of independent military and administrative power, and the opportunities he says were not fully used.
"Abdi discusses the departure of the Global Coalition, the threat of renewed war and displacement, and why he considered the agreement necessary despite acknowledging that it was not what Kurdish people had wished for.
"He also speaks about Abdullah Öcalan’s letter, relations with Turkey and Israel, the possibility of a new Kurdish political movement, constitutional guarantees and his new position as an adviser to the Syrian presidency."
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u/SHEIKH_BAKR 3d ago
The title does not do the Interview Justice. And we see it from the other comments, that are answering this click-baity title with snarky comments. Which was also my first instinct, to do such a comment, but then I actually listened to the Video.
Abdi basically argues, that the existing of Rojava / Autonomous Administration was a result of the particular situation of its time. The alternative was to integrate with Assad, which of course they won't do, and neither would the Salvation Government. The second being the fight against ISIS the SDF being the primary partner of the Coalition in fighting ISIS. These parameters changed, therefore the existence of the Autonomous Administration was basically no more justified, at least not in the same way. And Abdi is right. For any Arab, living under SDF / AANES was better than living under Assad. Anyone who has another opinion is basing that opinion on ideology, and not on facts.
This parameter change was basically the fall of Assad, the rise of HTS as a pragmatic and powerful force, and the emergence of Al Sharaa as a president.
SDF / AANES did not know how to deal wit this. In a matter of months their whole world changed. And this rapid change hit of all us, not only the fall of Assad, but also the integration of the STG into the global community.
Abdi was always the most rational actor. He signed the March 10th deal, in my opinion against the will of other leaders. We don't know.
Other SDF actors were just not as rational or working against Abdi. Farhad Shami did not leave out any opportunity to contradict Abdi. Sipan Hamo was everyday out there giving speeches that no one really understood. Ilham Ahmad seemed to have little grasp about the military situation and military reality, her calling for Israeli support does not show desperation but also a lack of understanding about how strong the SDF really was, and what it can deliver. And Rohilat Afrin acted extremely irrational, releasing videos calling the STG basically "ISIS" and then saying "Abdi tells me nothing".
What happened after liberation, is that the SDF instead of moving away from Ideology and towards pragmatism, they radicalized. Suddenly Ocalan was on books and pictures everywhere. Freedom of speech limited. Prohibition of celebration on Dec 8th. Arresting people for raising syria flag. They killed all the good will through those actions.
And that basically all happened, because they were unable to deal with the changed parameters.
The extreme contrast is basically the STG and Al-Sharaa. They as well had to de-radicalize and move away from ideology, and they have been doing that since basically 2019. I had an interesting discussion with u/kaesura about that topic. And then since liberation they have opened up extremely, leaving ideology behind them. And finally, they have closed ranks. Conflicts are dealt with internally not out in the open.
And the reason for that is, that Rojava or the autonomous administration just had no reason to continue existence. All the arguments for it were nothing but hot air. And clinging to that idea basically put the SDF in a very desperate position.
Alhamudlillah, eventually integration was done mostly peacefully almost at eye level. This is good for the future of Syria. Now almost all the people mentioned above either have roles in the new Syria. Even the YPJ leader is like "ok, will join police" which is not something we expected.