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Islamists in Syria Empowering PKK

The Islamization of the Syrian opposition is giving the PKK and its local affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a new source of strength and local support, writes Denise Natali.
Islamist fighters carry their flag during the funeral of their fellow fighter Tareq Naser, who died during clashes on Sunday, near the village of Fafeen in Aleppo's countryside September 17, 2012. REUTERS/Zain Karam (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR382U8

The Islamization of the Syrian opposition is giving the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its local affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a new source of strength and local support. The Muslim Brotherhood’s influence in the Syrian National Council (SNC) and Al-Nusra’s willingness to militarily target the PKK/PYD has helped reinforce the radical Kurdish nationalist group’s image as a defender of a secular Syrian state and Kurdish rights. This trend is occurring as moderate opposition groups fail to coalesce into a viable alternative distinct from Turkish interests. Left unchallenged, the PKK/PYD will become increasingly difficult to extricate from Kurdish-populated territories, making it the only real power broker with whom to negotiate among the disparate Kurdish groups. 

The PKK/PYD influence may have taken root in anti-Turkish sentiments shared with the Asad regime, but it has expanded due to misguided strategies of Syrian opposition groups and their external patrons. Attempts to use Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani and the Kurdish National Council (KNC) to influence Syrian Kurds have been a political mistake. Barzani’s influence is limited in Syria, and the KNC remains fragmented and virtually irrelevant. Divisions between factions tied to Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, as well as the Kurds’ strict nationalist demands, continue to impede an alliance with the SNC and a larger pact between Kurds and Arabs. Even though youth groups can mobilize the Kurdish streets and are considered by average Kurds to be the only real group in the revolution, they lack the institutional patronage networks, military forces and finances to effectively challenge the PYD/PKK.

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