Turkey’a unease over armed Kurdish fighters just across the border in Syria has been turning into alarm, especially after the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) recently routed the radical Islamic Jabhat al-Nusrah in Serekaniye, and recaptured the Kurdish border town.
Hours after the fierce fighting for Serekaniye (also known as Ras al-Ayn), YPG fighters showed reporters passports seized from Islamist guerrillas, noting they had traveled through Turkish airports on different passports, including American and of several Arab countries.
It goes without saying that, from the beginning of the Syrian uprising more than two years ago, Turkey’s Islamist government -- the Justice and Development Party (AKP) -- has facilitated the arrival of jihadist fighters from across the Muslim world, and supplied them with weapons and field hospitals.
Turkey’s unease turned to alarm on July 19, when officials of the dominant but controversial Democratic Union Party (PYD) announced their intention of declaring autonomy.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu immediately reacted, saying: “It’s not possible to accept any de facto declaration of an autonomous entity in Syria, and that could only lead to further crisis.”
On the other hand, since the Kurdish fighters have been gaining strength in Syria in the face of Arab rebels, the Turkish army has been building up its presence with heavy weaponry at the border. Its unmanned drones scan the area.
This is not the first time Turkey reacts to events in the PYD-controlled areas of Syria.
Ankara is deeply suspicious over the PYD’s close ties to the militant and outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey. The PYD is accused of surreptitious ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and holds sway over most of Syria’s Kurdish regions.
Turkey has already warned that, although it did not react when Iraqi Kurds declared autonomy, Ankara would not just stand by if Syrian Kurds made a similar bid.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told journalists in December that, “Should a similar development take place (in Syria), we would react differently than how we did in the case of Iraq.”
Though the Turkish military has beefed up border forces and gone on alert in response to Kurdish developments in Syria, it did not react similarly when fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Al-Qaeda affiliates controlled the area until several weeks ago.
It is important to ask if Turkey’s fears of an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria are really justified. Is it foreign Islamist fighters that pose a threat to Syrian stability, or is it a Kurdish free enclave that threatens the region?
The 20-year history and experience of Iraqi Kurdistan testifies that an autonomous Kurdish region is not a threat to any of its neighbors. On the contrary, it can be a stabilizing factor in the region.
Initially Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria were apprehensive of Iraqi Kurdistan’s self-rule. But now proven wrong, they should weigh twice their suspicions about the Syrian Kurds and their ambitions for autonomy.
If Kurds run their eastern areas in Syria, the world will have one less jihadist enclave to worry about.
A stable Syrian Kurdistan could also give Turkey great economic opportunities. It would be yet another market for Turkish exports. Approximately 60 percent of Syria’s oil is located in the Kurdish areas. Ankara can access these fields in the future, the same way it is doing in Iraqi Kurdistan.
At this time, it would be wiser if Syria’s Kurds did not defer to Turkish fears and continue to keep jihadist fighters at bay. Turkey’s threats to cross the border militarily could well be nothing but a bluff.
A second course of action would be to engage Ankara diplomatically and reassure the Turks that a Kurdish entity will not endanger Turkey’s national security or economic interests.
PYD leader Salih Muslim has already made some conciliatory statements to Turkey. But he could do more. He could tell the Turks of the future plans of the Kurds across the border.
On the other hand, leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan can and should mediate between PYD and Ankara, to ensure that the two sides do not go to war.
Yerevan Saeed is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston. He is a regular commentator on Kurdish and Middle East affairs in the international media.
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