KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council Co-chair Cemil Bayık stated that the defeat of ISIS in Raqqa is inevitable and that ISIS will try to continue their existence mainly on the Iraqi-Syrian border. Cemil Bayık said: “The future of Rojava and Northern Syria will mainly be determined with the liberation of Raqqa. Of course it won’t just be the situation of the Rojava Revolution and Northern Syria that will take shape, the character of the democratic Syria will become clearer after the liberation of Raqqa.”

KCK Executive Council Co-chair Bayık spoke to the Yeni Özgür Politika newspaper and said the following on the future of Syria, Rojava and Northern Syria and the Raqqa Operation:

“It is known that Raqqa is the capital of ISIS. As the liberation of Mosul took a long time, it is apparent that clearing Raqqa of ISIS completely will take a long time as well. On the other hand, the battle in Mosul and the battle in Raqqa are different in style. The SDF’s advance in Raqqa is very careful so as to avoid a mass civilian loss and any harm to civilians. Because an approach like Mosul won’t be right. We know that hundreds of civilians died in aerial raids and artillery fire in Mosul. In this sense, the SDF forces are acting very carefully in Raqqa. Maybe there wasn’t much of a reaction in Iraq. ISIS kills dozens of people with bombs in Iraq. In that sense, the public didn’t speak up too much against the Iraqi state fighter jets, tanks and artillery bombings killed many civilians. It was talked about occasionally, but civilian deaths were excused in the fight against ISIS. But it is different in Raqqa. First of all, the SDF forces’ understanding of war and their approach towards civilians is different. On the other hand, SDF is very careful because if they did something like that, the anti-Kurdish forces would use civilian deaths as black propaganda - Turkey already raises hell for any and all tiny negativity. The SDF forces fighting in Raqqa are said to be 80% Arabs. And most of them are Raqqan youth. So the Arabs and the youth of Raqqa don’t want too much destruction in the city they grew up in and have family in, and they don’t want civilian losses. So the SDF fighters are very careful to avoid destruction in Raqqa. In this sense, it should be understood that Raqqa will be liberated step by step.

This much is clear: The fate of ISIS has been determined since Kobanê. Turkey pushed ISIS onto Kobanê. That way they were to smother the Rojava Revolution, and have a long border with ISIS. Through their border relations they were calculating to have more influence in Syria and the Middle East. But they were defeated in Kobanê. The defeat of ISIS in Kobanê was when they started to fail. The defeat in Mosul was created by the defeat in Kobanê. ISIS’ withdrawal in other areas also started with their defeat in Kobanê. They lost their most important fighters in Kobanê. They lost their most important fighters fighting against Kurds. In a way, ISIS fell into the Turkey trap. Turkey wanted to smother the Rojava Revolution using ISIS, and achieve influence in the Middle East over Syria. But they both failed in their goals, and paved the way for ISIS to receive great blows and disband. In this sense, after the Rojava Revolution hit ISIS hard, and after they were defeated in Manbij, it will be hard for ISIS to regroup in Syria. Their defeat in Raqqa is inevitable.

ISIS CAN’T RESIST IN RAQQA FOR LONG

And there is this: ISIS is not an organization that actually came out of Syria. They have origins in Iraq. They are the Iraqi Al Qaeda later spreading into Syria. The state they ‘founded’ is called the Iraq-Damascus state. Their headquarters were in Iraq. They had some intelligence officers and some military units from the Saddam period. In this sense as well, ISIS will disband and lose influence in Syria. Because their roots are not here. It is understood that if ISIS is pushed back in Syria, they will settle in Iraq. It won’t be wrong to say this now. So, the war between ISIS and the Iraqi state will continue. On the other hand, the powers who will see that ISIS won’t be able to hold on in Syria, certain Sunni circles, will try to support ISIS in Iraq and try to weaken the Shia and break the Iranian influence. That is what it looks like now. Because it is not possible for ISIS to resist for long in Raqqa. It is no longer possible for ISIS, other gangs, Al Qaeda or the Muslim Brotherhood to spread in Syria. Even though Turkey tried to support Al Nusra and disband the others, and thus increase their negotiation power by blackmailing the regime, Iran and Russia like they did in Idlib, now it is the end for not only ISIS but also Nusra and the other gangs. Turkey sees this too. They are only employing policies to create chaos and gather some compromise by forcing certain powers. The developments in and around Idlib are definitely Turkey’s tricks, conspiracies and Turkey pushing their play in Syria to a new level. Syria, Russia and the US must be able to see this as well. I’m sure these powers hat fight in the field and know Turkey’s mindset and policies can see what the Kurds can see, what we see. In short, it is no longer the case for ISIS or such powers to have influence in Syria.

ISIS will be defeated in Raqqa and in Deir ez-Zor. They will take up base in Iraq mostly, and they will concentrate their forces in Iraq. But in this framework, they will try to continue to exist on the Iraqi-Syrian border, because some parts of the Iraqi-Syrian border are deep desert. The Arab fighting character includes controlling the deep desert and the culture includes surviving in those conditions. Desert fighters might have lost their former advantage with the UAVs of our day, but still, it is apparent that ISIS will try to gather influence in the Sunni region of Iraq, and to exist on the Syrian border to some level. But ISIS will not have influence in Raqqa or the inner regions of Syria. In short, ISIS will return to the lands they were born and gathered strength in. They will try to have their main presence and their forces there with the social forces they feed off of.

RAQQA’S LIBERATION WILL DETERMINE SYRIA’S CHARACTER

The future of Rojava and Northern Syria will mainly be determined with the liberation of Raqqa. Of course it won’t just be the situation of the Rojava Revolution and Northern Syria that will be determined, the character of the democratic Syria will increasingly be clear after the liberation of Raqqa. Everybody will be able to see further into the future regarding Syria. Raqqa will have such a historic role. With the liberation of Raqqa, the integrity of Northern Syria will be achieved. With the liberation of Raqqa, Northern Syria will become a complete geography, and a complete federation. In this sense, Raqqa is important for the Northern Syria Federation. It is specifically an Arab city. With mostly Arab fighters with Kurds among them liberating the city, a city will emerge which is governed by the Raqqa Council, which will include Arabs first, and Kurds and other forces as well. Raqqa will also strengthen the foundation of the Arab-Kurdish alliance in Northern Syria. Arabs and Kurds have built an important alliance in Rojava and Northern Syria with the fight against ISIS, they became partners. Maybe it wasn’t reflected to the public too much, but the Arabs have hundreds of martyrs in the fight against ISIS. Today they have martyrs in Raqqa as well. All these strengthen the democratic nation perspective of the Democratic Northern Syria Federation. The democratic nation project based on an organized society by Leader Apo and the democratic confederal structure has taken shape in Northern Syria.

Elections to be held in Northern Syria soon are founded on these outcomes that have been created. Now the elections in Northern Syria won’t just be elections to determine the autonomous administrations of Kurdish regions under democratic autonomy. There will undoubtedly be autonomous regions within the Northern Syria Federation. There will be the Kurdish autonomous zones now called cantons. The Kurds will govern themselves in these places with their own identity and culture. The Syriacs will again have influence where they live. The Arabs will live their own autonomy based on local democracy in their regions, and will govern themselves. Undoubtedly this self governance will not be just Arabs or Kurds having power in one place, it will be all the peoples governing themselves. In the councils, communes and administrations in the cantons, the Kurds will be in majority. But this majority is not a relationship of hegemony. All will still be equal and free there. The majority of the population of course will govern themselves where they live, they will have their own schools and culture. They will live with their identity and culture. This is true for all. For Kurds, for Arabs, for Syriacs, for Chechens and for Turkmens.

RAQQA WILL BE AN IMPORTANT MODEL

With the council including different identities and the autonomous administration, Raqqa will be an important model. Raqqans will govern Raqqa. Raqqa will be governed by the owners of Raqqa. Who are they? They are the Arabs. They are the Kurds. They are the Syriacs, with however big a population they have, and it is other groups of people. No outsiders will govern Raqqa. Raqqa will be governed by its owners and democratic councils. The Syrian Democratic Forces will be their self defense force. In this sense, there won’t be a situation where Kurds go create a hegemony over where Arabs live, or Arabs go create a hegemony over where Kurds live. Right now, Manbij is governed by the people of Manbij. And most of them are Arabs. Raqqa will be governed by Raqqans. They will be mostly Arabs as well. But there will also be Kurds. Because Kurds have a significant population in Raqqa. After the ISIS attacks, Kurds may have left Raqqa. But when Raqqa is liberated, it will go back to the societal makeup before ISIS. The demographic structure before ISIS and the social groups will govern themselves there as the democratic council through local councils. In the Northern Syria Federation, every city will govern itself in any case. In the Northern Syria Federation, there will be no central government. It will be a federation based on local autonomies and local democracy. That is why this characteristic of the Northern Syria Federation will affect Syria as well. It is no longer possible for a hegemonic central government to exist in Syria.

Of course there will be a general administration and Syria will have a democratic administration. But the Democratic Syrian administration will not be centralized, it won’t be that villages are governed from the center in Damascus. In the age of democracy and freedom, there will be local democracy, local councils and local autonomies. These will govern themseles, and the cantons or autonomous regions won’t be centralized either. Every town and city will govern itself. The issues that concern the general population will be handled in the general assembly, but other issues will still be under city councils, town councils, neighborhood councils and such local administration forces. The system in Rojava will continue its existence within the Northern Syria Federation based on local democracy and local councils. In this basis, a more and more democratic federal Syria structure will emerge. And in this sense, the liberation of Raqqa will not just determine the future of Rojava and the Northern Syria Federation. Undoubtedly Northern Syria will be clearer after Raqqa. A true Northern Syria Federation in full will emerge afterwards.

NOTHING WILL COME OUT OF GENEVA AND ASTANA

The reality of the Northern Syria Federation that will affect the whole of Syria will become stronger with Raqqa. This will certainly be this way. A Democratic Northern Syria Federation will emerge on the foundation of democratic confederalism based on local democracy and autonomies and organized society that the Rojava Revolution set out defending. Of course this will affect the structuring of the democratic Syria. The coming period will continue to shape the Democratic Syria Federation. So nothing will come out of the Geneva and Astana meetings. Those were the talks to understand each other in the war period. They were arm wrestling matches. They were not geared towards a solution. The solution will now come out of the Syrian lands, centered in the Northern Syria Federation. There won’t be a solution anymore in a Syria that doesn’t heed the Northern Syria Federation or be affected by it. A democratic Syrian federation independent of and unaffected by the Northern Syria federation will not emerge. A democratic Syria has to be based on the Northern Syria Federation and assume its core values for the most part.

Of course there will be a rapprochement, but it can’t be based on the mindset and project of neither the central regime nor the aftermath of Al Qaeda, nor the groups or gangs that call themselves the opposition or the moderate Muslims, but in truth refuse all differences. The new Syria can’t be built upon these. A democratic Syria can’t be founded based upon the Baath ideology or the central government’s projects. A democratic Syria can’t be founded based upon the views of the gangs that call themselves the opposition. A new Syria can’t be founded based upon the political and social understanding of Turkey, Qatar or other various powers. As it can’t be founded based upon these, the only basis the current Syrian regime, the US, Russia and all forces that call themselves the opposition will reconcile on is the Democratic Northern Syria Federation. There can only be a reconciliation based around those values. The current Syrian regime can’t impose itself, nobody will accept that. The gangs that call themselves the opposition, the oppositional circles that feed off of various powers can’t create a new Syria. Those are not grounds for reconciliation. The only basis for reconciliation, the only project all can agree upon, the project to bring all peoples, groups and political forces together is the democratic Syria project based on the Democratic Northern Syria Federation. The Democratic Syria Federation project. In this sense, the Northern Syria Federation will have more initiative in the political sense as well after Raqqa is liberated, it will have more influence and it will be more effective in the founding of the Democratic Syria Federation.

The Democratic Northern Syria Federation will have relationships with everybody, they will meet with everybody, and it will create a reconciliation that all will agree on for the foundation of the new Syria. Because the Democratic Northern Syria Federation is the only force that has the democratic character and the democratic politics that can achieve reconciliation. In this sense, it should be seen that the Democratic Northern Syria Federation that will take shape after Raqqa will have great influence in the new Syria and the whole Middle East. Even though Turkey carries out an operation and resorts to blackmail in Idlib, even though the Baath regime carries out operations in various places to try to strengthen their position, these can’t be the basis for the democratic Syria to be newly founded. They can’t make the Democratic Syria to be founded around them. Those impositions won’t be accepted by the people, and neither will the current Syrian political reality accept them. The impositions of various forces outside of the Northern Syria Federation’s projects will certainly not lead to stability in Syria. On the contrary, they will prolong the war in Syria, they will bring about the continuation of the chaos. In this sense, whoever wants stability and peace and the formation of a democratic Syria, should approach the founding of a new Syria on the basis of the Northern Syria Federation and a reconciliation with its values. They should be part of such a reconciliation.

Different social groups and forces in Syria today need democracy. Alevis, Syriacs, Kurds and Sunni Arabs need democracy. A new Syria where everybody preserves their existence and continue their social life with their own values can only be possible through democratization. A non-democratic Syria is no good for Alevi Arabs either. Unless Syria is democratized, Alevi Arabs as well as Kurds will face great dangers. The forces that have to defend democratization in Syria the most are Kurds, Syriacs and Alevi Arabs. This much is clear. That is the only way they can guarantee their future. Alevi Arabs as the governing force can feel safe today, based on the power of government, but in a non-democratic Syria, the balance can change any time and Alevi Arabs can face serious threats. Looking at it from this angle, the new Syria being founded on the basis of a democratic federation is in the interests of all. It is in the interests of Sunni Arabs as well. Otherwise, Sunni Arabs can grow dissentful of a non-democratic regime like in the past. This should especially be known. In this sense, everybody needs to reconcile on the basis of a Democratic Syria. The stability of Syria can only be established this way. The different societies in Syria can only express themselves with their own identity, culture and faith in a democratic Syria. I would like to stress this specifically.

KURDS ARE THE GUARANTEE OF SYRIA’S UNITY

The Kurds organizing within the Northern Syria Federation is certainly not to found a state or a statelet. It doesn’t mean fracturing Syria. On the contrary, by expanding outside of Rojava and forming the Democratic Northern Syria Federation in partnership with Arabs, they have set forth that they are in favor of a united Syria. The Democratic Northern Syria Federation is the guarantee of Syria’s unity. If the Kurds had just stayed within the confines of Rojava, that could always evolve into a different situation. Provocations to found a Kurdish statelet in Syria could have emerged with nationalistic tendencies. In this sense, the Kurds achieving democratic autonomy within Syria in the form of cantons, them governing themselves and taking their place in the Democratic Northern Syria Federation based on this is for sure a project to strengthen the unity of Syria. It is a project for the Kurds to achieve a free and democratic life within the unity of Syria. Everybody should handle it as such. Approaches like ‘The Kurds have a weight in the SDF, the Kurds have a weight in the Democratic Northern Syria Federation. It was the Kurds who first started this revolution, so they are dominant there. The Democratic Northern Syria Federation is fracturing Syria’ are completely mistaken and do not reflect the reality.

The peoples of Syria and the peoples of the Middle East should see that the Kurds are in favor of the democratic unity of Syria, and that they prefer a life within the cantons based on local democracy and democratic autonomies in the Democratic Northern Syria Federation. The cantons are the democratic autonomy of Rojava. They will take their place within the Democratic Northern Syria Federation with many other democratic autonomous zones. So there will be the Democratic Northern Syria Federation, and there will be the autonomous regions of Kurds, Arabs and Syriacs within it. The old Kurdish cantons will continue with their existence as democratic autonomous zones within the Democratic Northern Syria Federation then. But it won’t be just Kurdish-majority areas that are democratically autonomous, it won’t be only them who have local democracy. Every region, every city within the Democratic Northern Syria Federation will govern itself on the basis of local democracy. This is what we understand from the Democratic Northern Syria Federation and the project. That is how we understand the statements. There will be elections soon, and they will show more concretely that the Democratic Northern Syria Federation is such a place, and it is a federation based on democratic autonomous zones.