QAMISHLI KURDS CELEBRATE NOWRUZ WITHOUT SARG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000228 SIPDIS LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR WALLER DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2019 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL PTER SCUL SY SUBJECT: QAMISHLI KURDS CELEBRATE NOWRUZ WITHOUT SARG REPRISALS PART II OF II. REF: A. 06 DAMASCUS 01297 ¶B. 07 DAMASCUS 00318 ¶C. 08 DAMASCUS 00203 ¶D. DAMASCUS 00224 Classified By: CDA Maura Connelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Hundreds of thousands of Kurds gathered throughout Syria on March 21, especially in the al-Jazira region, to participate in Nowruz, the ancient Kurdish and Persian celebration of the new solar year. At 18 different sites in al-Jazira alone, Kurds erected temporary tent cities, complete with stages for folk dancing, singing, and amateur theatrics. Each stage was sponsored either by a Kurdish business entity or, more commonly, a Kurdish political party who used the occasion to rally crowds with a mix of cultural and political programming. PolEconoffs joined a diplomatic delegation, which included representatives from the UNDP, Norwegian, Swedish, Canadian, British, and Finnish embassies, to visit two sites near Qamishli: Alifaro and al-Qahtaniyeh. PolEconoffs estimated the crowd at each site to be between 80,000-100,00 people. Throughout the day, representatives of the Yeketi, Kurdish Future Movement (KFM), and the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) publicly met with PolEconoffs despite the heavy presence of the mukhabarat (plain-clothed security services),who shadowed us. Despite a significant police and military presence at al-Qahtaniyeh, the daytime events passed with only minor harassment of the Kurds. Elsewhere in al-Jazira region, however, SARG security did disrupt events, forcing Kurds to find new locations at which to celebrate on the spur of the moment. Nevertheless, no arrests have been reported for March 21 events anywhere in Syria. END SUMMARY. -------------- THE SARG VS. THE KURDS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) According to members of the KFM, Yeketi and KDP, Nowruz sites enjoyed even greater turnouts in years past than those witnessed in 2009. Since the 2004 Qamishli riots, attendance has depended on how strongly the SARG has cracked down on Kurdish participants in the days leading up to Nowruz, especially Nowruz Eve (refs A-D). In 2007, Qamishli celebrations were peaceful (ref B),while in 2008 three Kurds were killed in clashes with security services on Nowruz Eve (ref C). In 2009, Nowruz Eve in Qamishli proceeded without incident, but the Yeketi Party and the Kurdish Committee for Human Rights (DAD) reported many arrests in Aleppo and Hasaka (ref D). We heard from representatives of the KDP and the Yeketi that SARG authorities had attempted to prevent Nowruz Day celebrations near the small towns of Diryk (near Malikiyeh),Dirbaspi, Haleiq, Amuda, as well as around the city of Hasaka. Muhammad Khalil, a leader in the Kurdish Committee for Human Rights told us that the affected Kurds quickly found alternate sites for their festivals. -------------- A FUSION OF CULTURE AND POLITICS -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In Alifaro, approximately 10 kilometers to the west of Qamishli and a few kilometers south of the Turkish border, the diplomatic delegation observed three major political rallying points. The Yeketi and KFM each staged folk dancing, singing, and theatrical sketches before a Kurdistan-flag-waving audience of several thousand. At the KFM site, the delegation heard a Nowruz celebratory poem read in English and Arabic that in addition to rhapsodizing on the pleasures of the holiday, also linked the resilience of the Kurdish spirit and fealty to Kurdistan to undying support for Mashaal Tammo, the KFM leader who is currently on trial in Damascus. Many in the audience had small photos of Tammo pinned to their shirts. ¶4. (C) Most intriguing, however, was the large stage sponsored by the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party (PYD). Perhaps the most well organized of all the rallies, the PYD event was marked by dozens of large PYD party banners, flags with portraits of imprisoned PKK leader Oclan, as well as a massive mural backdrop to the stage featuring a DAMASCUS 00000228 002 OF 002 larger-than-life Oclan with his arms outstretched in a gesture of welcome (Note: PolEconoffs observed this spectacle from a significant distance and did not approach the stage.) In addition to the traditional dance, Kurdish pop, and political speeches, the delegation observed a theatrical sketch that featured a PKK raid on an unspecified target, complete with actors dressed in full camouflage and carrying mock AK-47s. We asked Messud Akko (strictly protect),a Kurdish journalist and human rights activist who claims no specific party affiliation, and who stood with us on the fringe of the rally, if PYD and PKK were really the same thing. He said they were not. "PYD," he told us, "is political." When we asked him if the camouflaged guerrillas marching in formation across the stage were PYD, he smiled and said, "No, they're PKK." Other Kurds with whom we spoke made the same distinction as Akko. ¶5. (C) Yeketi Party leader Fuad Aliko presided over a lunch for the delegation at the Yeketi Party's main tent. While he was circumspect in his comments, given the hovering security forces, other Yeketi members managed to communicate their general views on U.S.-Syria relations. One member told us that he thought sending a U.S. Ambassador to Damascus would be "good for the Kurds" as long as re-engagement with Syria did not mean "ignoring the Kurdish situation," especially the ongoing problem of the 150,000 to 300,000 stateless Kurds. On the subject of President Obama's Nowruz message to the people of Iran, another member noted regretfully that, unlike in previous years, this year's greeting was exclusive to Iran and did not recognize other Nowruz celebrants. ¶6. (SBU) Al-Qahtaniyeh, situated east of Qamishli along the Turkish border, had a large military and police presence at the entrance to the festival site. PolEconoffs observed one armored transport vehicle, approximately 30-40 armed soldiers, and five support vehicles. No uniformed police or military were observed inside the festival proper. In a meeting between KDP representatives and the delegation, KDP Secretary General Abdul Hakeem Bashar told us there had been minor harassment from the military that morning, but no aggressive behavior after the festival started. We did not observe, nor were there reports of, Kurds taunting the onlooking soldiers. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: Kurds claim Nowruz celebrations serve as an important expression of Kurdish cultural and linguistic identity. It was clear to the us, however, that the political nature of the rallies serve to establish "Kurdistan" both culturally and geographically in the minds of participating Kurds. As reported in ref D, Kurdish leaders met openly with the diplomatic delegation within site of mukhabarat, and their willingness to do so may suggest a degree of maneuverability within their zones of influence. We note this was the first visit by U.S. diplomats to a Nowruz event in al-Jazira since 2004, if not longer. END COMMENT. CONNELLY