Mustafa Bali: Turkey continues to violate ceasefire deals, targets Kurds

Mustafa Bali, head of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) media office, told Rudaw on Sunday that Turkey has launched 200 attacks outside of the ceasefire-designated areas of northern Syria, has occupied 80 villages, and committed mass killings in flagrant disregard for US and Russian-brokered deals. 

Speaking to Rudaw in Erbil, Bali said although the US decision to pull out of northern Syria created “hopelessness” among Kurdish forces, the SDF does not consider it a betrayal, because US troops continue to act as a “guarantor” in Derik, Qamishli, and Kobane.

Amid reports of further talks between Syria’s Kurds and the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Bali said the SDF will only engage in talks with Damascus to strike a political deal. Regime institutions will not be allowed to return to the Autonomous Administration region under the guise of a military deal, he added.

Turkey is trying to convince the international community to designate the SDF and other Kurdish forces as terrorists. Bali said “the world is not a fool” and has struck deals with the SDF to fight ISIS terrorists.

Rudaw: Dear Mr. Mustafa Bali, let me start off the questions with the latest developments on the ground. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) once again engaged in talks with the Syrian government. What is your take on this subject and why did you return to Damascus?

Mustafa Bali: We have not directly engaged in talks with the Syrian government. Our talks are with the Russian government and army and through them we have forged contacts with the Damascus government. There is not a new agreement, like a military one. There is just that the Syrian government troops have been tasked to patrol border areas from the Euphrates to Tigris waters, according to the Sochi Agreement. There is nothing new happening on the ground.

Backed by Russia, Syria is getting itself in order in northern Syria and the country as a whole. These developments will allow Damascus to regain its strength. Do you trust Bashar al-Assad to strike deal under the auspices of Moscow?

Well, there is an agreement on the ground. All we have struck is for [government] forces to be deployed along the border. Nothing else has been done other than that. No change will be made to our Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, the security matters of Rojava, and our institutions. In other words, there will not be any state institutions in our region. For these institutions to be present in our region there must be a political agreement, not military. Now Russia is a guarantor who has promised a political dialogue with commence between the Kurds and the government. And this dialogue will not be between the SDF and the Syrian government, but between the Kurdish political parties, the Autonomous Administration of Rojava, and the Syrian government for a solution. Like I said, this is a political matter, not military. Military agreements cannot resolve the issues. However, such dialogue has not yet started. No Syrian government institution has so far returned to the region and they will not come without a political agreement.

Do you trust Russia to mediate between you and Damascus? After US President Donald Trump decided to pull out their forces from Syria, you started to engage in talks with Moscow. It is seen in media that Rojava authorities and Russia are trading criticisms against each other currently.

In politics, we do not work on the basis of trust. There are just interests in politics. There are issues and we should find out what steps need to be taken to resolve them. America, as you just said, made a decision to pull out their troops. They created hopelessness. There is nothing like the US betrayal. American is still on the ground in the region. They are still present as a guarantor. Their troops are in Rimelan and Qamishli, Derik, and the regions of Western Kurdistan as well as Deir ez-Zor. We do not view America and Russia as two normal states but as two countries that run global affairs. So, this is not a matter of trusting or not, but that these are countries that have missions in the region where there is turmoil and have roles in resolving them in a positive way. Maybe we do not 100 percent like the mechanism of the solution they offer. We want a political solution to exist. Therefore, we believe for stability to exist, a political solution must be established. And undoubtedly the guarantors of such solutions are Russia and America or the United Nations.

I would also like to ask – Turkey has been trying to convince the international community to label the SDF and YPG as terrorists for a long time now. They made such efforts in the latest NATO meetings in London, but they were not successful. For your part, what have you done to legitimize yourself and prove Turkey wrong?

Unfortunately, Turkey has an antagonistic stance against Kurds. Not just against the PYD or YPG, they have hostile stances against the South [Kurdistan Region of Iraq] as well. We well remember Erdogan’s speeches when the Kurdish nation of the South decided to hold its referendum. Referendums are a very normal thing to be held in any country of the world. You just ask your nation ‘what do you want?’. Erdogan appeared threatening saying we will close our roads to them, we will go kill them. He threatened. Unfortunately, such stances do not bring solutions for the Turkish nation either. At the end of the day, we are historical neighbors. The Turkish and Kurdish nations have been neighbors for centuries. The Turkish state’s policies create rifts and hostility between the Turkish and Kurdish nations and do not bring them together. The AK Party within this framework, unfortunately, supported Daesh (ISIS) for six years in front of the whole world. They opened wide their airports for Daesh. And now they have come trying to label a force [SDF] who protected all nations of northern Syria, including Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Turkmen, as terrorists. The world countries are not fools... The counter-Daesh coalition comprises 81 countries. There is America in it, there is Germany in it, there is France in it. The whole world is in it. All these countries have struck an agreement with the SDF, YPG, and PYD to fight Daesh. It is impossible for Turkey to be able to convince them to label such forces as terrorists.

Additionally, the Kurdish politics including the Kurdish leadership, the Autonomous Administration of Rojava, the South Kurdistan region and other political parties should work towards preventing Turkey from making efforts to label the SDF as terrorists. We should exert our efforts on a diplomatic level.

What is the situation in Sari Kani and Gire Spi under the control of Turkey and their backed Syrian opposition groups?

Sari Kani and Gire Spi were occupied. A new genocide took place. Demographic changes were made. Not a single Kurd, Assyrian, or Yezidi is left in the region. Arabs also were forced to flee their homes. Nearly 400,000 displaced persons from Sari Kani and Gire Spi have been sheltered across schools in Kobane, Raqqa, Hasaka, and Qamishli. This is a genocide and a very dangerous demographic change.

A ceasefire was brokered on the 17th of last month. We were hoping to see, under the auspices of Russia and the US, this ceasefire prevail. But, unfortunately, Turkey has not yet implemented it. Every day it carries out attacks outside of the designated ceasefire regions. So far, they have launched 200 attacks resulting in mass killings in some places. A massacre took place in Qonfuli village. It is a village in Kobane, not Sari Kani or Gire Spi. Just because they were Kurds, their warplanes attacked them, committing genocide. Since the ceasefire was brokered, 80 villages have been occupied. This reality must be seen on an international level. They must see the degree of the grudge Turkey holds against the Kurdish nation. We also want the ceasefire guarantors to see the reality on the ground. The US and Russia must see what is happening still on the ground.

Let me ask a hypothetical question. After many years, Turkey recognized the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. If such a status quo was created in Rojava and Turkey had no option but to deal with you, what would your reaction be?

Even without that fantasy, from 2012 until today, we have reiterated that we do not pose a threat to any side, as Kurds, YPG, PYD, and the Autonomous Administration. We are ready to become a best neighbor with all the sides. We have wished all the best and peace and still do, for the Turkish nation, because nations never become enemies. We are historical friends. We and the Turkish nation, us and the Arab nation, us and the Persian nation, us and the Assyrian nation are friends and neighbors. Nations exist in the region have been living together for centuries. The hostility the AKP is creating is the project of al-Qaida and Muslim Brotherhoods. In the past, present time, and the future, we will always consider the Turkish nation as our neighbor. And we hope our issues are resolved so we can live together.

Interview by Ali Tahsin, translation by Zhelwan Z. Wali