Who are the Democratic Council of Syria? And when was it founded?
The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) is an outcome of Derek Conference on Dec 8-9 of 2015. It’s a Syrian Political, National, and Democratic project.
The SDC include all components and political entities during the exceptional and fateful time in Syria in order to save the country from the tragic situation, to achieve the aspirations of their people in a comprehensive democratic change and to build an alternative democratic system.
The SDC will be fighting by civil forces and political figures the upcoming political battles during the country’s transitional period from tyranny, violence and extremism to State of pluralistic democracy. [It is] able to restore peace and justice to Syria, within the framework of [a form of] political decentralization that guarantees the rights of all components of the Syrian society.
What are your duties at the Council?
We work primarily to stop the bloodshed and to bring back the revolution to its peaceful path. Syria today is under a state of violence and chaos, grappling with the danger of fragmentation. It is cluttering to the point where it requires all patriotic, democratic forces to be held responsible to save the Syrian homeland and the people. We want to stop the humanitarian tragedy created by the years of violence in this war. We are committed to democracy and national principles for Syria and the unity of all its components.
Do you have social links with the Syrian clans and communities?
Yes. Many of the tribal leaders’ representatives attended the Derek Conference. There were also tribes represented in the political body of the SDC from the opposition forces. Syrian society components from different religions, beliefs and ethnicities such as Arabs, Kurds, Syriacs and Turkmens have participated in the conference. The SDC was founded by Syrian Democratic Forces, Syrian Tribes, Movement of Pluralistic Society, the National Democratic Alliance, Syrian Stream of Wheat, Self-Management in the Rojava (Northern Syria) and many other civic institutions. All parties adopted the political discourse of the SDC.
What is the relationship in between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC)?
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) finds the SDC as its political front. The SDC considers the U.S.-led coalition as a key partner and a strategic ally and we seek to strength this partnership.
How would you describe the situation today in northern Aleppo?
The situation in Shahba areas (rural North Aleppo) is critical because of the population cleansing as a result of the terrorist policies by the extremist forces of al-Qaida and the forces of the Islamic militants, also the advance of regime’s forces and preempting bombing. All those factors are causing a humanitarian disaster in northern Aleppo especially when Turkey’s government shut their borders for the refugees and the fleeing displaced people because of violence in Aleppo. Yet Turkey’s borders are open for extremists to enter Syria but closed for the exit of the displaced people and humanitarian relief aid.
Recently the SDF managed to achieve victory over the terror groups of ISIS and Ahrar Al-Sham in northern Aleppo which prevented the incursion of ISIS to the northern countryside and restore peace to the liberated areas.
How was the reaction of the people of Tel Rifat and other areas after the liberation? Did any armed opposition groups join the SDF?
Majority of the residents welcomed the advance of the SDF and have been cooperating with them given a good percentage of SDF fighters are from Shahba areas (rural Aleppo) and many moderate factions joined the SDF such as Ahrar Menag (Freemen of Menag) and the Turkman brigade of Seljuk.
A formation of the Shahba Council was created (under the SDC) to facilitate citizens’ affairs and to provide basic services to civilians returning to their homes. Also we formed the Shahba Senate and the Internal Security forces (Asayish) to help the SDF to maintain the security of the liberated areas.
We seek to establish the concept of democracy with participation of youths and women to achieve a democratic federal Syria.
Can you describe your relations with the Kurds and the People’s Defense Units (YPG)?
With Kurds in Syria we have brotherly relationship and joined coexistence. Since our troops in Jaysh Al-Thwar (Army of Rebels) began to cooperate with YPG, we were able to maintain the Kurdish regions and liberate it from terrorism, both in Kobani and Afrin.
Now, those forces [YPG] also help our troops of Jaysh Al-Thwar in the liberation of our areas, whether in the Raqqa countryside, Tell Abyad, and areas of Shahba.
Coordination and cooperation shifted to a military relationship under the umbrella of joint forces of the SDF.
Are Arab tribes satisfied with alliance with the Kurds?
Everyone is. Arabs and Turkmens are satisfied with the alliance with the Kurds and are calling for brotherhood between the people of the region.They want to ensure the rights of all components of the Syrian mosaic according to the principles of pluralism, democracy, the fight against terrorism, non-subordination to regional or international agendas that want to spread discord and division among the components of the Syrian society.
There are claims that the SDF cooperate with Asaad regime. How accurate are those claims?
We as the SDC do not have any cooperation with the regime. We only have a direct relationship with the U.S.-led coalition. We as the SDC look forward to building relationships with all the countries seeking to help Syrian people in their fight against ISIS and to build a democratic federal Syria.
How do the Syrian people react to some of the opposition factions that carry extremist ideologies and even similar banners to that of ISIS?
Syrian Peoples’ first and foremost concern is to stop the war through cutting foreign support to terrorist organizations, and to bring peace to Syria. Some regional countries worked to support the introduction of extremism and extremists to Syria under the pretext of fighting the regime, although these terrorist factions were initially fighting the Syrian opposition factions. Many of these extremist groups have strangled the people and changed the path of the revolution from freedom and democracy to terrorism under the name of the religion. Indeed, their acts paved the way for the regime forces and other countries to destroy the infrastructure of Syria, which itself led to thousands of deaths and displacements. Moreover, the support by some regional countries for extremists has not ceased up until now.
What is your message to the international community especially the United States?
We appeal to the international community to bear responsibilities towards defenseless people that resist all forms of violence, cleansing, and terrorism by stopping the violence in Syria and putting pressure on the countries involved in the ongoing proxy war in Syria.
We ask the international community to put pressure on the neighboring states to open their borders to allow humanitarian organization bring urgent aid for our people.
We want to initiate a comprehensive political solution that does not exclude any political factions.
Note: This interview is translated from Arabic to English.