Syrian National Council leader denies the rights of Kurds

Written on April 16, 2012 by Editor in Kurdistan, Syria

News and Comment by The Kurdistan Tribune:

Burhan Ghalyoun

Burhan Ghalyoun, president of the Syrian National Council, has told Rudaw that there is no Kurdish problem in Syria and that “we are not prepared to accept autonomy for the Kurds because there isn’t any area populated 100 percent by Kurds”. When its president so bluntly denies Kurds their rights, it isn’t surprising that the Syrian National Council is also failing to effectively assemble all the other opposition forces – nationalist, pan-Islamist, leftist, communist, etc.

This statement is a further blow to the already divided Syrian opposition and so a disservice to those who have fought from house to house and died in the struggle against this brutal regime.

And for Syria’s Kurds – why should they keep fighting to overthrow one dictatorship if it will only be replaced by another repressive regime that refuses to recognise their national rights?

Burhan Ghalyoun was educated in France and should know more about the history of the region and the Kurds. Ours is a history full of struggle and sacrifice. We must point out to Ghalyoun that the rights of the Kurds have never been freely granted to us by Arab nationalism – instead we have had to seize them.