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Syrian Kurds feel left out of Geneva II

Syrian Kurds fear the upcoming Geneva II conference will ignore their voice and not recognize a form of Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria.
Kurdish protesters shout slogans during a rally in Athens January 18, 2014. A few hundred members of the Kurdish community in Greece marched to the office of the European Commission to request that the situation of Kurds in Syria be discussed at the upcoming Geneva 2 Conference. REUTERS/Giorgos Moutafis (GREECE - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17JVY

AMSTERDAM — During a Jan. 15 press conference in Paris, Salih Muslim, leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said he was disappointed that the Russians and Americans did not allow the Kurds to have their own delegation at the Geneva II conference, scheduled to take place on Jan. 22. "If the Kurds did not attend with their own independent delegation, then no one there will represent the Kurdish people, and their legitimate rights in the country will not be ensured," he said.

On Dec. 24, members of the two main Kurdish blocs, the Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the PYD, agreed that the Syrian Kurds would go to Geneva II with a single Kurdish voice, as an independent delegation or as part of the Syrian National Coalition.

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