Background to Rojava's cantons
Rojava is the Kurdish word for “west” and refers to the area of Western Kurdistan/Northern Syria, where the Kurds form a major population group. Today Rojava also refers specifically to three self-administrative cantons – Afrîn, Kobanî and Cizîre – which have successfully defended themselves against attacks during the civil war and are now ambitiously trying to build democratic institutions and provide services for their inhabitants.
The cantons have proclaimed a Charter called The Social Contract which offers an inclusive political model for a democratic and pluralistic Syria. Afrin, Kobane and Jazera are geographically cut off from each other and their borders have often been closed by hostile neighbours. Hundreds of thousands of people from around Syria, and now also from Iraq, have sought refuge in Rojava, making the humanitarian situation ever more challenging. Political context During the Syrian civil war, Rojava’s Kurds have refused to side with the Assad regime or the Sunni-Arab opposition, proposing instead a 'Third Way' to ensure fair representation of all peoples and identities within a unitary Syria. The driving force of Rojava’s self-governing cantons has been the Democratic Union Party (PYD) which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a guerrilla organisation that has been struggling for the recognition of Kurdish identity and equal rights in Turkey since the 1970s. PKK is labelled by the United States and many EU countries as a terrorist organisation due to Turkey’s importance as a NATO member. However, it is Rojava's People’s Defense Units (YPG) and Women’s Defense Units (YPJ) as well as the PKK itself which have proved themselves to be the only force capable of resisting the advance of the Islamic State (IS) in northern Syria and Iraq. They were also instrumental in saving the Yezidi people in Iraq from further massacres by the IS in August 2014, establishing a humanitarian corridor and setting up the Newroz refugee camp in the Jazera canton of Rojava. This has caused a shift in the international community’s opinion towards the Kurdish movement, which is now under sustained attack by IS. |
| |
The Social ContractFrom the Preamble to The Social Contract: Sinam Mohamad (Co-chair of Peoples Council in Rojava) and Rima Tüzün (Head of Foreign Affairs, European Syriac Union) discuss the situation in Rojava during their recent visit to Finland. Articles about Rojava
|
▼ THIS IS YOUR POP WINDOW ▼