Syrian Kurdish politician doctor Ethem Basho, the problems experienced by the Kurds in Syria and difficulties, the current situation of the Kurds, the PKK / PYD issue, the situation of the Arab tribes in the region, new Syrian Constitution studies, meetings between ENKS and PKK / PYD, answered İLKHA's questions on important issues such as Turkey's situation in Syria.

The full text of the interview with Ethem Başo, who tells about the events in the region in every aspect, is as follows:

- Who is Ethem Başo? Can you introduce yourself?

Thank you. I extend my greetings and regards to you and your valuable audience and listeners. I am Dr. Ethem Başo. I am originally from Koban. I've been doing politics since the 80's. I have been in Kurdish parties for most of this time. I have been up to the Politburo level in Kurdish parties. I am currently standing in front of you as an independent personality. Nevertheless, my relations with my own people continue. I studied in Syria. I completed my medical education in Moscow. In short, I can say that as a Kurdish doctor, I work here among my people.

"PYD was against the revolution in the region"

-What do you think about the constitutional work in Syria and the representation of the Kurds in these studies?

The Syrian revolution started in March 2011. The Kurds had revolted against the regime before that date. The uprising in Syrian Kurdistan started in Qamishli in 2004 and spread to Damascus. As a result of the developments and events that took place in 2004 and 2011, the fear on the Kurds was lifted. Like the Kurds, Arabs rebelled. And as a result, the Arab Spring has begun. Before the revolution, two powerful political forces had formed in the Kurdish regions. One of them was ENKS, the other was the PYD and those with them with their military forces. ENKS had relations with people who participated in other Syrian revolution in places like Dera, Aleppo, Hama and Homs. Likewise, they had international relations. But the other power, the PYD, had a relationship with the regime and supported the regime. Opponents in Syria trusted some Kurds, but did not trust others. Because ENKS was with them, they trusted them. ENKS supported them in Kurdish regions during the marches. But the other power, the PYD, opposed this revolution in the region.

Kurds were among the Arab opponents in Syria. So, they were part of the opposition. Kurds were among the opponents in Syria under the name of independent organizations such as ENKS. The Kurds were with them on international issues, and they were attending the meetings in Geneva. And the Kurds also played an active role in those meetings. 150 dissidents were elected for the new constitutional committee. The delegation, consisting of 550 people, consisted of 50 state, 50 dissidents and 50 international representatives. Then they reduced that number to 45. They would discuss the new Syrian constitution. There were also Kurds in that committee. Then they reduced the number to 15. Kurds took their place in that committee under the name of ENKS. During the meetings, the ENKS demanded the rights of the Kurds as well. If the Kurds are not given their rights, there will be no progress and improvement in Syria.

"The primary problem in Syria is not the new constitution"

Activities in Syria took two forms. One peacefully, the other with guns, war and killing. Weapons and warfare method took place only in Idlib region. In other places, work is currently under way politically. Negotiations are taking place with countries that have decisions in Syria. Among these countries, there are countries such as Turkey, Saudi, Jordan, Egypt. In the same way, there are America, European countries such as Russia, France. Europe and America want the government to leave Bashar Assad and hand it over to the provisional government other than Bashar, which is accepted by the people. So, they want the regime to go. But some do not want this either: like Iran and Russia. These countries support the Bashar regime and do not want it to go easily. Some want the elections to take place, some want Bashar to go. Here there is a difference between the opponents of Iran, Russia, America and Syria.

"Arab tribes helped Kurds before the Syrian revolution"

- What is the relationship between Arab tribes and Kurds in Syria?

Arab tribes were helping the Kurds before the Syrian revolution. I remember Hadi Deham, one of the Shaer Sheikhs of the Arab tribe before the revolution, slaughtered 60 sheep when President Massoud Barzani came there and said: "If I wasn't afraid of God, I would slaughter people for you." Likewise, in the September Revolution carried out by Barzani in Iraqi Kurdistan, this Arab tribe also went to help Barzani. In fact, once there was no rain in Syria, the Kurdistan administration opened its doors to them to graze their animals. As I said, Arabs have had relations with Kurds since the past. But now we can say that Arabs are also divided into two or even 3 groups. Some of them have relations with the PYD in the canton of Qamishli, and an originally Arab is the head of the administration there. Likewise, someone from the Şemera tribe, named Ahmed Cerba, formed a political force with ENKS. Some Arabs in the Dêrê region support the regime. Apart from these, Saudi also provides financial aid to some Arabs. In short, this is the situation of the Arabs, and they do not support the regime or the Kurds at the moment, but there are Arabs who are fighting with the Kurds with their weapons and men, but not that much.

"USA and Europe do not act according to the interests of the Kurds"

- What is the content of the talks between ENKS and PKK / PYD and at what stage are the talks now? In addition, why hasn't there been a consensus on the talks so far?

As we mentioned at the beginning, the PYD has an armed force and is supported from outside. Likewise, the Syrian regime is supported by Iran and even the Maliki government in Iraq once supported the regime. Whether it is the PYD, YPG or ENKS, I think we should live in peace. Because our poor people are harmed in this process. A year after the revolution, an agreement was made between PYD and ENKS in Arbil. This agreement was realized with the initiatives of President Mesut Barzani. They soon announced that the deal was broken due to several issues. The third time, another meeting took place in Duhok, and again it was fruitless. After a while, the fourth meeting took place outside of Kurdistan and Syria in France and lasted for 6 months. ENKS and PYD representatives were participating in the talks and this meeting was asked to be kept confidential. There was no result from that either. Even the USA and Britain were supporting those meetings. But be sure that the USA and Europe do not act in the interests of the Kurds.

An independent Kurdistan was wanted to be established in the 2017 referendum. Within 24 hours, the United States stopped its support for Southern Kurdistan. Hashdi Shabi came close to Shengal and Kirkuk. We are now turning to the negotiations taking place in France under the shadow of the USA and looking at whether a positive result will come out of there. But as I have stated before, I think there will be no result. At the political point of the negotiations; An agreement was reached on the point of view of neighboring countries, the regime and the opposition. But they left important issues to the end. One of them is economic power and the other is military power, they left it to the end. Currently, ENKS also has armed forces in Southern Kurdistan called Peshmergeyên Roj. Some do not accept the Peshmerga joining the PYD in groups and say, "They should come and join the PYD one by one." In short, they do not accept the union of the two powers.

“PYD is recruiting child soldiers”

With regarding to the economic and educational situation in the PYD-controlled areas, I can say the following; they want to reach the philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan in the schools. There are two types of school Qamişlo at the moment. One of them is the schools that teach the philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan. The other ones are the schools belong to Syrian regime. People are sending their children to the regime’s school in the other regions. Nobody was left in Kobani. Those who graduate from the schools in the PYD-controlled areas could not obtain the equivalence certificate. PYD is recruiting child soldiers as young as 14 years old. ENKS has wanted that to be ended.

Another problem is the relation between PKK and PYD. We respect the Kurds who lives in other parts of Kurdistan. They are our brothers. We can come together and discuss the problems of all Kurds. But we can accept they come and dictate their ideas. ENKS wants PYD to cut its bonds with PKK. But they didn’t do it. Therefore, I think the negotiation will be fruitless. The United States has retreated its special representative for Syria on the pretext of the election. As you know, the United States has long-term plans in Syria. I think there will not be an agreement on important issues.

“PYD are releasing the ISIL members, but they are handing over the Kurd politicians that they kidnaped to Syrian regime”

-What has been the fate of the ENKS members and other Kurdish politicians who were kidnapped by PYD? Why aren’t PYD releasing the ENKS members and other Kurdish politicians?

PYD claims that there aren’t any members of ENKS among the prisoners they have detained. The fate of some ENKS leaders are unknown. They went missing. Some members of the Union of Syrian Kurds, which is operating withing the umbrella of ENKS, were detained by PYD. Those Kurds who have been kidnaped or detained were civilians. They didn’t have any guns against PYD or Syrian regime. They have gone missing since 2011. ISIL attacked both Kurds and PYD. Many people were killed in the clashes. As you know, PYD are now releasing ISIL members in hordes. Maybe, PYD want to evacuate al-Hol Camp. Perhaps, the United States want to show European countries and Turkey that ISIL is still trying to reorganize in parts of both Syria and Iraq. Perhaps, USA and European countries want ISIL members to be released. According to the local sources, nobody helps al-Hol Camp. But back to our main point, in short, the PYD does not want it to be revealed that the Kurds were arrested by themselves.

“Kurds don’t receive any benefits of oil revenues”

-To whom is the oil from the PKK-controlled oil wells sold, and where does the income of this oil go and for whom is it spent?

Apart from the Kurdish regions, oil wells in some Arab regions, such as Raqqa and Deyrizor, are also under the control of the PYD. The Kurds do not see any benefit from these oil revenues, it is the PYD that benefits from oil wells. Those areas have been under the control of the PYD since 2012, and no one knows where that money and oil went. Since there is no diesel fuel when winter comes in the Kurd regions, people try to heat their homes by burning wood and trees. In fact, a large number of oil tankers were traveling from these areas to areas under the control of the Syrian regime until the United States imposed a ban. The United States has troops only in the regions where there are oilfields. They don’t care about the other regions. The economy of Syria used to depend on Jazira region. There are important oil fields in the region. At the same, barley, wheat and cotton are grown in the region. But only the PYD benefits from these economic riches. These are of no use to the Kurdish people.

“Turkey and Syria National Army oppresses Kurdish people in Afrin”

- What is the latest situation in the areas that Turkey has taken under its control with operations of the Olive Branch, the Peace Spring and the Euphrates Shield? Are the public satisfied with the developments?

In fact, Afrin isn’t under the control of the Syrian National Army (SNA) but Turkey. There is SNA in Afrin, Ras al-Ayn and Tal Abyad. However, it is Turkey that takes decisions in those regions. Both Turkish Army and Turkish intelligence service are in the northern Syria. I think, SNA does not take any decisions before consulting with Turkish officials. For example, the governor of Hatay is calling the shots in Afrin. People live in Afrin are not satisfied with what goes on there. Some comes from Guta and their olive trees. Someone else usurps the lands belonging to Afrin’s natives. Nobody accepts that. In areas where the Free Syrian Army is located, if they know that someone is rich, they arrest him and ask for a ransom. I think the people in Africa are not happy with the situation they are in. Turkish troops and SNA members oppress Kurdish people in Afrin.

“Those who have money and opportunities flee to Europe and Turkey”

-Thousands of Kurds from PYD-controlled areas have migrated from their territory and become immigrants. What is the public reaction to the situation of peace, security and peace in PYD-controlled areas? Did the Kurds who emigrated from these regions because of the PYD/PKK return?

All control there is in the hands of the PYD. Before negotiations with ENKS began, ENKS' offices there were closed or burned down. In places like Amudê and Dirbêsiyê, ENKS members were killed. The buildings of PDK-S and Yekiti were burned down in Qamişlo. According to the mentality of PYD, you will either surrender to them or leave and go somewhere else. The people who live there are also desperate and have nowhere else to go and take refuge. The people cannot go to the Syrian regime-controlled areas, they cannot go to the areas of the Arabs because they are Kurds, nor can they go to Southern Kurdistan because all the borders are closed. Those who have money and opportunities flee to Europe and Turkey. They even come to Turkey illegally. The cost of illegally crossing the border is also high. If a member of the public reacts to this situation, he will be arrested. Because of this, no one can oppose them. One of the policies of PYD is to evacuate Kurdish regions. Before the Syrian civil war, 96 percent of Afrin's population was Kurdish when it was in the hands of the regime. That 4 percent were the few Arab villages in the region. After the civil war, when the entire region fell into the hands of the PYD, only 54 percent remained Kurd. Currently, only 50 percent of the population is Kurdish and the rest of the population is Arab. The PYD wants to evacuate Kurdish areas. If I went there as a Kobanian, maybe I wouldn't know most of my people, many of those who came and settled there came from other places. The situation is the same in Qamishlo. Because the Kurds are not pleased with them, they leave and migrate and settle elsewhere.

“America does not defend the Kurds as thought, it only cares about its own interests in the region”

What kind of changes have been in Syrian Kurdistan over the past year?

-There have been negotiations between PYD and ENKS. As a result of the negotiations, ENKS has been allowed to reopen its offices in Kurdish regions. But the members of ENKS that have been imprisoned by PYD have not been released yet. Our children are being taught the philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan in the schools. With the support of Iran and Russia, the Syrian regime are recapture the areas controlled by the opposition.  About 120 countries declared themselves as the friends of Syrian people before the civil war. But none of them has supported the Syrian people since the civil war began. They closed their diplomatic missions in Syria at the beginning of the war but they have now reopened them. Syrian people no longer want to hear something about the revolution. They are lamenting for their lost now. (ILKHA)