KURDWATCH, May 23, 2013—On May 19, 2013, fighters of the Democratic Union Party’s (PYD) People’s Defense Units (YPG) kidnapped a total of sixty-seven members of ʿAbdulhakim Bashar’s Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (el‑Partî) from various locations. Most were returning from cadre training in Iraqi-Kurdistan. ʿAbdulhakim Bashar told KurdWatch: »The YPG is taking over the work of the regime. It acts like the State Security Service, the Military Intelligence Service, and the Political Security Directorate.« To the question of what exactly the cadres would have been doing in Iraqi-Kurdistan, he replied: »The PYD cannot dictate how we become active. What our cadres do in Iraqi-Kurdistan only concerns us, not the PYD.« The PYD stated that the members of el‑Partî were arrested because they had crossed the border illegally. They were released as long as there were no other known accusations against them. According to information from a high-ranking member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party  (KDP), the Kurdish regional government (KRG) closed the Faysh Khabur border crossing (east of al-Mailikya [Dêrik]) on May 20, 2013 as an answer to the kidnapping.

KURDWATCH, May 22, 2013—ʿAbdulhakim Baschar, Secretary of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (el‑Partî), confirmed to KurdWatch media reports according to which the four parties of the Kurdish Democratic Political Union—Syria [further information on the Union] are planning the dissolution of their parties and the formation of a new party: »Yes, we have made this decision. We will form a committee that will prepare the merger. But this is not a matter of a couple of weeks. We are very close together, but we must ease into the process so that the merger does not fail.«

KURDWATCH, May 22, 2013—On May 18, 2013, members of the Asayiş, the security service of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), kidnapped the law student Sherko ʿAbdurrazzaq Khalil (b. 1992 in Raʾs al‑ʿAyn). The reasons behind the kidnapping remain unclear. An activist told KurdWatch: »Sherko’s family is accused of having debts of around ninety thousand Syrian Lira. Due to this, charges have been filed. I don’t believe, however, that the PYD is interested in detaining someone for such a sum. I think the reason for the detention is because one of Sherko’s close relatives was active for the Free Syrian Army.«

KURDWATCH, May 22, 2013—On May 16, 2013, members of the Asayiş, the security service of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), kidnapped Kajin Khalaf Sirajuddin (b. 1988 in al‑Qamishli). In a video that has been made public, the father of the student and member of the Shaykh-Maʿshuq-Khaznawi Battalion of the Kurdish Union Party in Syria (Yekîtî) stated that the Asayiş claimed his son was wanted, without, however, giving the reason for this. He demanded his son’s immediate release.

KURDWATCH, May 20, 2013—On May 13, 2013, members of the Asayiş, the security service of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), kidnapped Sardar Qare, member of the Kurdish Union Party in Syria (Yekîtî), in Tall Maʿruf (twenty kilometers southeast of al‑Qamishli). According to a statement by the Yekîtî, the context to the kidnapping is Qare’s military engagement for the party, which maintains several military battalions with a few dozen fighters each in the Kurdish regions.

KURDWATCH, May 18, 2013—On April 24, 2013, the Democratic Union Party’s (PYD) People’s Defense Units (YPG) released Muhammad Salim Muhammad Saʿid, member of the Kurdish Union Party in Syria’s (Yekîtî) Shaykh-Maʿshuq-Khaznawi Battalion. Muhammad Saʿid and six more members of the battalion were kidnapped by the YPG on April 17. The other fighters remain under the power of the YPG. A member of the Shaikh-Maʿshuq-Khaznawi Battailons told KurdWatch that Muhammad Saʿid was tortured by the YPG.

KURDWATCH, May 17, 2013—Ongoing fighting between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and government troops in the week from May 4 to 10, 2013 resulted again in numerous dead and injured. On May 10, demonstrators throughout the country demanded the fall of the regime. They gathered under the common slogan »Baniyas, sectarian cleansing under international protection«. Supporters of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) once again organized no demonstrations this week. In al‑Qamishli, one demonstration took place in each of the districts of al‑ʿAntariyah (organized by various youth groups) and Munir Habib (organized by the Kurdish National Council). In ʿAmudah, there was only one dissident demonstration, organized by various youth groups including Avahî. Supporters of the Kurdish National Council refrained from organizing a demonstration due to the start of the harvest season and the final exams of the current school year. In al‑Hasakah, two demonstrations took place, one organized by the Kurdish National Council, the other by Arab groups. The Kurdish National Council organized one demonstration in each of the cities of ad‑Darbasiyah, ʿAyn al‑ʿArab (Kobanî), al‑Jawadiyah (Çil Axa), and al‑Qahtaniyah (Tirbesipî). The Kurdish National Council’s weekly demonstrations in al‑Malikiyah and al‑Maʿbada (Girkê Legê) took place on Saturday. There were no protests in ʿAfrin or Raʾs al‑ʿAyn (Serê Kaniyê), nor in the majority Kurdish districts in Aleppo and Damascus. Overall, the number of demonstrators in the Kurdish regions is seen increasingly as in decline.

KURDWATCH, May 14, 2013—On May 6, 2013, members of the Asayiş, the security service of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), stopped a bus in which leading politicians for the parties of the Kurdish National Council were traveling at the Faysh Khabur border crossing east of al~Malikiyah (Dêrik). The bus was returning from a meeting with President Barzani in Erbil [further information]. The politicians had to leave the vehicle, which was then searched. Ibrahim Biro, secretary of the Kurdish Union Party in Syria (Yekîtî), was among those who confirmed the incident. He further stated that the members of the Asayiş had claimed to be acting on orders.

KURDWATCH, May 14, 2013—In a statement on May 1, 2013, Kamiran Haj ʿAbdu, a member of the steering committee for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Syria (Democratic Yekîtî), accused the secretary of the party, Muhiyuddin Shaykh Ali, and the steering committee of manipulating the political policies of the program passed at the last party congress [further information]. The closing statement, which he himself helped prepare, would have called for the fall of the regime. The published version, however, only discusses an end to the rule of the security apparatus. Due to this and other differences of opinion, a group of members of the Democratic Yekîtî announced their withdrawal from the party in early May. A member of the Democratic Yekîtî told KurdWatch: »Ali’s ambitions to control the party became clear at the party congress. Members of various party circles have called for a special party congress. Ali must not be allowed to simply ignore the demands of party members.«

KURDWATCH, May 12, 2013—From April 28 to May 6 2013, President Masʾud Barzani invited the heads of the parties in the Kurdish National Council as well as representatives of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) to Erbil to discuss a solution to the problems between the Kurdish National Council and the People’s Council of West Kurdistan. However, representatives of the PYD and the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party in Syria, which is accused of having close ties to the PYD, stayed clear of the meeting. In a statement the Progressive Party explained its absence by stating that similar meetings have repeatedly taken place without results. The Progressive Party further suggested that the Kurdish National Council should first solve its own problems. The PYD, which declined a meeting with representatives of the Kurdish National Council as it [the PYD] was »not part of the problem«, made similar statements. Moreover, the PYD made it clear that it would not sit down at a table with representatives of Mustafa Djumʾa’s Kurdish Freedom Party in Syria (Azadî) since this party was involved in the killing of Kurds. Independently of this, the PYD sent several delegates to Iraqi-Kurdistan to separately meet with Barzani.