Kurdish Supreme Committee
Desteya Bilind a Kurd | |
Emblem of the Kurdish Supreme Committee | |
Abbreviation |
DBK (Kurdish) KSC (English) |
---|---|
Formation | June 11, 2012 |
Founded at | Erbil |
Extinction | Late 2015 |
Purpose | Self-governance of Rojava |
Headquarters | Kobani |
Region served | Rojava, Northern Syria |
Official language | Kurdish |
The Kurdish Supreme Committee (Kurdish: Desteya Bilind a Kurd; DBK) was a self-proclaimed governing body of Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan), which was founded by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdish National Council (KNC), following the signing on 12 July 2012 of a cooperation agreement between the two parties in Hewlêr, Iraqi Kurdistan[1] under the auspice of the Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani.[2] The member board consists of an equal number of PYD and KNC members.[3]
The DBK sought to fill the power vacuum left behind by the retreating Syrian Army in mid-2012 during the Syrian Civil War.[4] It claimed self-governance for Rojava based on Kurdish ethnicity of the population. The committee's armed wing consisted of the People's Protection Units (YPG) and Women's Protection Units (YPJ) and was complemented with the Asayish police force.
The DBK became obsolete when the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in 2013 abandoned the coalition with tribalist Kurdish nationalists for the aim of creating a polyethnic and progressive society and polity in the Rojava region. The governing coalition in Rojava since is the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM). Rojava institutions initially founded under the DBK and based on Kurdish ethnicity have since undergone a transformation into a polyethnic character.
See also
References
- ↑ "The Kurdish National Council in Syria". Carnegie Middle East Center. 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ↑ "Member of National Council Says Committee Has Failed to Bridge Differences with PYD". Rûdaw. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ↑ "Now Kurds are in charge of their fate: Syrian Kurdish official". Rudaw. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ↑ "Who are the Kurds?". BBC News. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2015.