The Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria is a secular Kurdish party and founding member of the Kurdish National Council. It is the Syrian affiliate of Massoud Barzani’s Kurdish Democratic Party in Iraq and one of the most powerful Kurdish parties in Syria. The party calls for a secular, democratic, decentralized Syria, and for the recognition of Kurdish rights as well as Kurdish self-determination.

Major Figures

Dr. Abdul Hakim Bashar: secretary-general

Background

The Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria is one of the many Kurdish parties that emerged from the 1957 Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria(1957 KDPS), founded by ‘Uthman Sabri, ‘Abdulhamid Hajji Darwish, Hamzah Diweran, and other Kurdish politicians. Prior to the Syrian uprising, the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria was part of the Kurdish Political Congress formed in 2009.

In October 2011, it joined other Kurdish parties to form the Kurdish National Council. The party’s secretary-general, Dr. Abdul Hakim Bashar, was appointed by Massoud Barzani in 2008 and is the current chairman of the Kurdish National Council.

This Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria is not to be confused with the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria led by Nasreddin Ibrahim, which also took on the name of “al-Parti” to advertise its genealogy to the 1957 KDPS.

Platform

Policy Toward the Crisis

  • Calls for external military intervention
  • Calls for arming the opposition
  • Rejects dialogue with the regime
  • Supports the Annan peace plan

Political Objectives

  • A secular state, a democratic form of government as well as political decentralization
  • Free elections
  • Separation of powers
  • Freedom of assembly and speech
  • A modern law on political parties
  • Equality of men and women
  • Separation of state and religion
  • Constitutional recognition of Kurdish rights and the lifting of discriminatory policies against the Kurds
  • Kurdish self-determination within Syria’s unity and integrity

Foreign Policy Issues

  • Accuses Turkey of exerting too much influence on the Syrian National Council and of pressuring the latter to omit Kurdish rights and demands from the final document outlining a transition plan for Syria