ENKS decides to reopen offices amid Kurdish rapprochement in northern Syria

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region- The Syrian Kurdish National Council (ENKS) on Sunday officially announced it would reopen offices as a “gesture of good faith” as part of ongoing attempts to strengthen ties with ruling Kurdish authorities in northern Syria.

“As our supporters know, throughout the past years, offices of the Kurdish National Council in Syria and the offices of its parties were not closed based on the Council’s decisions, but rather by the decision of the Democratic Union Party and its gunmen, forcefully and through different types of prevention,” the ENKS said in a statement on Sunday. 

The Kurdish camp in Syria is divided along two lines, with the ruling Kurdish parties in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) on one and the ENKS on the other. 

The NES is supported by its military wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). 

Members of the ENKS have previously been subject to arrest and exile from NES-controlled areas due to perceived links with Turkey. 

In 2016, Rojava authorities banned the activities of ENKS in the region, closed about 40 of their offices and jailed hundreds of ENKS members who were later released. The crackdown was launched after the latter refused to follow NES’ procedure on opening political offices.

The NES said in a December 17 statement that it would allow the ENKS to reopen offices in the region, but the latter refused to do so - citing a lack of trust in authorities. 

“As a response to the calls made for the unity of the Kurdish position, and as a gesture of good faith, the presidency of the Council decided to re-open its offices and the offices of its parties to bolster confidence and build on it to resolve most of the outstanding disputes,” the council added. 

Turkey’s October launch of Operation Peace Spring, intended to clear northeast Syria of the SDF, weakened the NES, prompting outreach to other Kurdish factions, spearheaded by Kurdistan  Region President Nechirvan Barzani and SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi.

The NES has made previous attempts to placate the ENKS,  releasing detained ENKS members and launching investigations into the fate of missing members. 

Last Thursday, Mikhail Bogdanov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, and Special Presidential Representative on the Middle East, urged Kurdish parties to unite, especially for future dialogue with the Syrian regime in Damascus.

"We always say that the Kurdish position has to be cohesive, united, constructive, and realistic to form the basis for dialogue with the other parties in a serious, responsible manner," he told Kurdish media outlets.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi praised the decision by the ENKS “brothers” to reopen offices as an “important step”.

“We praise this step and affirm our commitment to sparing no effort to bring perspectives together and unify the Kurdish ranks,” Abdi said, adding that the move “contributes in an active manner to finding a just resolution for the Kurdish cause in Syria."