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Syria's Shadow: ANF's Timed HTS Critique Amidst Kurdish Peace Overtures




The self-dissolvement of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a move ostensibly paving the way for a "final settlement" of the Kurdish issue in Turkey, was almost immediately overshadowed by series of factors. For example, in addition to the criticism inside of Turkey, almost simoulteously, the pro-PKK ANF news agency published a scathing analysis, "HTS's Five-Month Rule in Syria: Oppression, Massacre, and Pressure", directly attacking Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the interim government in post-Assad Syria, and, crucially, an ally of Ankara. This timing is no mere coincidence; it is a strategically deployed piece designed to exert pressure, expose contradictions in Turkish policy, and underscore the indivisibility of the Kurdish question across borders.

The ANF article paints a grim picture of HTS's five-month tenure (December 2024 - May 2025) following the fall of the Ba'ath regime. It meticulously details atrocities: systematic massacres of over 1,500 Alawite, Druze, and Christian civilians, torture of 5,000 detainees resulting in 800 deaths, the abduction of 4,000 individuals, and the displacement of 300,000. The report highlights explicitly HTS’s imposition of a Sharia-based regime, sectarian violence, severe oppression of women (including forced veiling and a spike in suicides), and the targeting of youth. Jolani's initial promises of "coexistence" are dismissed as a facade for a brutal reality comparable to, if not exceeding, Assad's tyranny.

The critical element here is not just the severity of the accusations – HTS's jihadist ideology and history make such claims plausible, regardless of ANF's inherent bias – but the deliberate linking of this brutality to an "ally of Ankara." By publishing this damning indictment immediately after the PKK's supposed historic concession, ANF achieves several objectives. Firstly, it signals that the Kurdish movement's concerns are far from resolved and extend deeply into Syria, where Turkish-backed groups now hold significant power. The future of Syrian Kurds, particularly under a regime like the one ANF describes HTS to be, becomes an immediate and pressing issue.

Secondly, the article serves as a sharp critique of Turkey's foreign policy and its choice of allies. If Ankara is genuinely seeking a sustainable peace with its Kurdish population, its alignment with a group portrayed as committing sectarian "genocides" and systematic human rights abuses in Syria presents a glaring contradiction. This is designed to undermine Turkey's credibility in the dialogue process, questioning how it can be a genuine partner for peace while propping up such a regime. The ANF piece effectively weaponizes HTS's alleged conduct to frame Ankara as duplicitous or, at best, dangerously naive.

Finally, the timing suggests that the PKK's "self-dissolution" might be conditional or part of a broader strategy that doesn't cede influence in the region, particularly in Rojava. The harsh focus on HTS, a group ideologically opposed to the secular, multi-ethnic governance model championed by Syrian Kurdish groups, serves as a reminder of ongoing conflicts and unresolved power struggles in Syria. ANF, by amplifying these alleged horrors, implicitly warns that any "final settlement" in Turkey cannot ignore the precarious situation of Kurds and other minorities in a post-Assad Syria shaped by Ankara's allies.

The ANF article is a masterful piece of political communication that skillfully transforms a potential Turkish diplomatic triumph into acute discomfort. It frames the “turmoil in post-Assad Syria” not merely as a challenge, but as a festering wound, exposing the problematic nature of Turkey’s regional partnerships and undermining the very foundation of the new dialogue process. The message is unequivocal: peace in Turkey is intrinsically linked to justice and stability in Syria, and Ankara’s choices of allies will be closely scrutinized.

Photo: ANF


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