Sipan Hemo: A new chapter opens despite Israel

Rastinews — Sipan Hemo, a founding figure of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has made striking remarks on the new process that began in Syria after military and security integration. Warning that forces whose regional calculations have been upended — Israel chief among them — will try to sabotage the process, Hemo said: "They will certainly try new tactics to disrupt this climate of peace and create new fault lines."

Following the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces into Syria's military, security and administrative institutions, attention has turned to the political dimension of the process.

Speaking to the Turkish daily Türkiye, Hemo, a founding figure of the SDF, said one of the biggest risks of the new period would be outside interference and provocation.

"Israel will try new tactics"

Hemo argued that certain forces uneasy with Syria's new balance of power — Israel foremost among them — would try to derail the process, and said the climate of peace must be protected.

"They will certainly try new tactics to disrupt this climate of peace and create new fault lines," Hemo said. "But we must learn from past mistakes and build our future on a foundation of peace and brotherhood."

Hemo said that circles seeking to use the Kurds as a potential military force in the region, pursuing their own separate calculations, had lost out, and that the new landscape now taking shape was a major opportunity for Turks, Kurds and Arabs alike.

"Damascus is now our shared capital"

Hemo said the Kurdish side had done its part on military and security integration, and that responsibility now rested with political actors.

Saying the region had undergone major shifts, Hemo said the new period must be built on coexistence rather than conflict.

"Now is the time to build brotherhood in this climate of peace," Hemo said, continuing:

"Yes, we have passed the hardest stage, but difficulties remain ahead. Damascus is now our shared capital."

He pointed to the structure of the Syrian state

Hemo said military integration alone would not be enough, and that how the Syrian state approaches ethnic, religious and cultural diversity would determine the fate of the process going forward.

Stressing that how the country's different communities are represented in the new state order is critical, Hemo signaled that political and social arrangements must complete the work of military integration.

"No one can steal our success"

Hemo said the new process would succeed if integration proceeds on a foundation of sincerity and mutual trust. "If we move forward on a sincere, trust-based footing, no one can steal our success, our victory," he said.

Hemo said the Damascus government and Ankara had acted "boldly and sincerely" in the process leading to integration, and that the Kurdish side had responded in kind.

The SDF's integration process

Hemo's remarks came after months of ongoing military, security and administrative integration between the SDF and Damascus.

Hemo had previously said the SDF, in its current form, had "completed its mission," and that Syria would not have "two authorities under one state."

Under the process, steps have been taken to fold SDF units into the Syrian army, register weapons, and merge security institutions into the central state structure.

Hemo himself was appointed deputy defense minister for eastern Syria in March.

"A difficult process lies ahead"

Hemo stressed that the new period would not be easy, and said all sides must be especially wary of attempts to provoke the process.

"A difficult process lies ahead of us, but we will succeed together," Hemo said.