Even though Murat Karayilan has announced that the PKK is willing to leave Shingal, it is unlikely that the group will easily give up that position which it has gained through long efforts. First of all, it begs a serious question as to why the PKK crawled into Shingal in the first place. The PKK has been able for quite a long time, even during the days of Saddam Hussein, to get a foothold among Kurds outside the borders of the Kurdistan Region. Therefore those, especially the Yezidi areas, have been for a decade a point of contention between the PKK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Both parties have marketed themselves as protectors of Kurdistan’s different religious and faith communities as a way to win more international support. That way too, they could also control areas and communities that could link up the different parts of Kurdistan as a bridge. A quick look at PKK and its actions proves how it tries to control the borders. Shingal is a valuable trump card in PKK hands and it is not going to give it back to the KDP easily. The KDP must do something for the PKK first, and PKK’s top priority for now is a guarantee of protection by the KDP. The KDP is in full throttle now while the PKK is in recession. They could use Shingal as something to secure some respectable negotiations between them and Ankara, especially now that they know leaving Shingal is an international demand, too. In this picture the KDP is the one with the strong hand and no one is willing to come to PKK’s rescue. The ultimate goal is to link up Rojava with the Kurdistan Region and whoever may want to stand against this, should expect the same fate as Ansar al-Islam [which came under US attack in 2003 in Hawraman region]. Under PKK rule Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) has been stripped of all national and patriotic values and become a mere region named northern Syria. And it is swirling around in a storm that is only the outcome of PKK’s foolish policy and tactics. No one, including locals, have any idea who the PKK is with now. For years now KDP and its leader Masoud Barzani have been portrayed as the biggest adversary of PKK in Rojava and that is what it may look like from the outside. But in reality, Barzani has been the main backer of PKK in Rojava. By bringing its fighters to Rojava, PKK could carve a Kurdish region out of Syria while Barzani managed to get them international air support. And all those who want to redraw Syria’s future know very well that PKK’s presence there—which it has imposed by force of arms—is temporary and in the end all eyes are on Barzani. What the PKK is fighting for today as natural rights in Rojava, could in fact have been achieved by Barzani five years ago had the PKK kept its promises and honored the agreements. Have those people who support the PKK and its policies in Rojava today ever asked themselves: if it is such a democratic group why do so many Rojava refugees still prefer life in the camps to going home? The PKK must accept Barzani’s position and stature as it has been accepted by all parties in the Kurdistan Region and eastern Kurdistan (Iran) otherwise the people [whom the PKK keeps to use in every other sentence] will not accept this group’s maneuvers anymore. There is a chance for the Democratic Union Party (PYD) to save itself from burning in the fire of the PKK and become a force against terrorism. If the PKK wants to continue its autocratic rule Barzani will then turn his back on them and will never put in a good word for them anywhere. The PKK should once again review its list of friends and foes because time will show no one any mercy. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.
