SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Region’s opposition Change Movement (Gorran) has expressed support for the Kurdish autonomous region declared by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) last month.
Muhammad Hajji, head of Gorran’s political bureau, said that a delegation visited the PYD office in Sulaimani on behalf of party leader Nawshirwan Mustafa to convey support for the three autonomous cantons established by the PYD in Rojava.
“Gorran supports the three cantons in Rojava,” Hajji told Rudaw after the visit.
With some of its smaller local allies, the PYD established three autonomous cantons -- Cizire, Afrin and Kobani -- last month to run the affairs of the Kurdish areas in northeastern Syria.
Other Kurdish groups in Rojava criticized the PYD move, saying the canton did not include their parties, which represent a significant portion of Syrian Kurds.
Hajji said that the Gorran delegation had advised the PYD to embrace other groups in its local administration.
“We told them that we are against the monopoly of power by any party,” said Hajji.
In the past two years, the PYD has been the most powerful Kurdish force in Rojava. It has successfully repelled attacks by radical Islamic groups on the Kurdish areas, while some Kurdish groups accuse it of sidelining them in the political process.
“We hope that they can solve their disagreements through dialogue,” said Hajji, who maintained that Gorran is willing to mediate between the rival Kurdish groups.
Also on Saturday, the leaders of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (Yekgirtu) called on all parties to stand behind the Rojava cantons “for the sake of guaranteeing the rights of the Kurds in Syria.”
