Open letter to
The Honorable Thomas J. Barrack Ambassador of the United States to Turkey
Special Envoy for Syria
Dear Mr. Ambassador,
The growing sense of dissatisfaction among the Kurdish people throughout the four parts of Kurdistan and in the diaspora has compelled us to write this open letter. Our people have serious concerns about your public statements following the meeting with the representatives of Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) in Damascus on July 9.
We had hopes that you would make a positive contribution to resolving the political issues between DAANES and the Syrian transitional government dominated by former members of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
On May 25, you stated on X, “A century ago, the West imposed maps, mandates, penciled borders, and foreign rule. Sykes-Picot divided Syria and the broader region for imperial gain—not peace. That mistake cost generations. We will not make it again”.
We share this view and hope that your words will be matched by principled actions. Yet, we see troubling echoes of that very legacy in recent developments. It would be a historic mistake to again disregard the aspirations of millions who have suffered in the struggle for freedom and dignity.
Since 2012, at least 15,000 Kurdish fighters gave their lives fighting the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group, a brutal force that continues to pose a major regional and global security threat. The DAANES model has emerged as a rare beacon of democracy, secular governance, gender equality, and religious coexistence amid the devastation of the Syrian civil war. During over a decade of civil war, the territories administered by DAANES or its predecessors served as a safe haven for all Syrians, especially members of vulnerable minority groups including Yazidis and various Christian communities. DAANES has expressed a willingness for dialogue, though you are aware of the reservations that its representatives have concerning the transitional government, which is dominated by former members of a Salafist jihadist group.
DAANES stands for a decentralised solution that offers all peoples of Syria the freedom to organise themselves and have a voice in their futures, while the transitional government shows reluctance to embrace democratic principles. Just months after seizing power, interim President Ahmad al-Shara’, former leader of HTS, signed a constitutional declaration granting himself sweeping authority. Meanwhile, religious minorities have faced alarming levels of violence and persecution including Christians in Damascus, Druze in Suwayda, and Alawites in Syria’s coastal region. It is not realistic to expect sweeping and unreciprocated concessions from the Kurds and their allies to a regime that has not yet developed a culture of political dialogue, let alone democracy.
More than a century after Sykes-Picot, the will of the Kurdish people and all of those in Syria yearning for freedom, democracy, and dignity, cannot be easily ignored. We urge the United States and the international community to avoid repeating the mistakes of Sykes-Picot, and support a political process that respects the aspirations of the Kurdish people and all Syrians rather than let one group dictate the future of the country.
We thank you for your attention to these concerns and for your consideration of this important matter.
Executive Council of the Kurdistan National Congress
13 July 2025
