Swedish MP’s Call for Kurdish Entity in Syria Draws Sharp Criticism From Assyrians

AINA – 21/1/19

Stockholm (AINA) — Assyrians in Sweden have raised concerns concerning an op-ed by MP Lars Adaktusson in the Swedish national daily Svenska Dagbladet calling for a de facto Kurdish zone in the northeastern part of Syria. In his op-ed Mr. Adaktusson used the need for protection of Assyrians as an argument for establishing a Kurdish entity, implying Assyrians are better off under the rule of the PKK affiliated YPG militia in Syria.

Related: Kurds in Syria Shutdown Assyrian School for Refusing Kurdish Curriculum

The editor in chief of Assyria TV, a news channel based in Sweden, wrote a scathing response to Mr. Adaktusson, which was also published by the paper. In his rebuttal Mr. Dikran Ego described the systematic oppression Assyrians are facing by the Kurdish entity, urging the Swedish politician to “take the first step to be a voice for the Christians you claim to defend instead of calling for aid for their oppressors.”

Related: Assyrians Under Kurdish Rule: the Situation in Northeastern Syria

In the following interview with Assyria TV, Mr. Adaktusson reluctantly admitted the oppression of Assyrians by the YPG, contradicting his own words in the op-ed he wrote only a few days before.

Related: The Kurdish YPG Treatment of Non-Kurdish Groups in Northwest Syria

The acts of Lars Adaktusson have drawn criticism by Assyrian groups before. He is accused of maintaining a pro-Kurdish policy and failing to adequately address the extensive and systematic oppression by Kurdish groups against Assyrians in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

Lars Adaktusson became a member of parliament for the Swedish Democratic Party Kristdemokraterna after leaving his post as a member of the European Parliament in 2018.

© 2019 Assyrian International News Agency.

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