If you think the sad plight of Syria's Kurds started with Bashar al-Assad you would be dead wrong. Under the rule of his father Hafez Assad, things were practically the same for the Kurds of Syria. They were regarded as "nobodies" in the country, denied citizenship and birth certificates and they were not allowed to own land or enter state service.
Ironically the PKK terrorist organization, which was and is currently waging a secessionist violent campaign in Turkey, that is also known as the "Kurdish Workers Party" but has nothing to do with political activity, was held in high esteem by Hafez Assad.
The elder Assad helped the PKK establish training bases in Afrin, Latakia as well as in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon also controlled by Syria. The Syrian regime financed the PKK as it continued its terrorist activities in Turkey. Assad wanted the PKK to concentrate on the southern Hatay province of Turkey as he had territorial claims over this land. He used Afrin as a base to send PKK terrorists into Turkey.
This was a constant source of friction between Ankara and Damascus. Syria denied it was supporting the PKK and that it was hosting PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in Damascus. Yet, in 1998 then Turkish Land Forces Cmdr. Atilla Ateş declared that "Turkey's patience was at a boiling point," which forced Assad to send Öcalan out of the country.
After a chase Turkey caught up with Öcalan in Africa and, following a trial, sent him to serve a life sentence at the prison island of İmralı near Istanbul.
When Hafez Assad died and his son Bashar took over things did not improve for the Kurds of Syria, despite the fact that he undertook some reforms to ease the iron fisted rule of the Baath regime. Things also remained the same under Bashar Assad for the PKK. They still had bases in Syria and were protected but kept a relatively low profile. Turkish-Syrian relations improved as Assad established a warm relationship with then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The Kurds of Syria tried to rebel at times but were crushed by the iron fist of Assad. After the start of the civil war in Syria on Sept. 15, 2011, Erdoğan advised Assad not to use an iron fist against his people and urged him to extend rights to the Kurds of Syria.
Relations between Turkey and Syria cooled and Assad, as an act of revenge, pulled out his regime troops from the areas bordering Turkey and allowed the PKK to occupy these areas from Kamışlı on the border near Iraq up to the eastern banks of the Euphrates River. Afrin remained under PKK dominance. The PKK killed its Kurdish opponents, forced many to flee the country and jailed the remainder. Nearly 350,000 thousand Kurds migrated to Turkey. As a token gesture of the PKK-Assad cooperation, an airfield near Kamışlı remains under the control of the Assad regime and there are daily flights from there to Damascus and Beirut.
So, Assad continues to hate the Kurds but has a special affection for the PKK, which he hopes will remain a menace for Turkey. It is also ironic that the PKK has established a cozy relationship with the United States with the pretense that it will fight Daesh terrorists. The U.S. has armed the PKK and its affiliates the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People's Protection Units (YPG) and knowingly or unknowingly has helped them expand their territories into Arab and Turkmen lands. The Kurds of Syria form 8 percent of the population; the U.S. has let PKK invade 25 to 30 percent of Syrian territory.
So ironically the PKK receives support not only from Assad but also from the U.S., which claims it detests the Damascus regime.
With the Afrin campaign "Operation Olive Branch," Turkey is spoiling the game for Assad, the PKK and even for the Americans. Turkey aims to stamp out the PKK from Syria and hand over the lands back to their rightful owners, the Arabs, Turkmen and the Kurds.
So those who think Assad should regain control over Afrin and all the border areas across Turkey should think twice because this will never solve the vital security interest of our country.
