Namık Tan declares 'There is no longer an SDF in Syria': Summarizing the CHP's view on the region

While there is curiosity about how the process will unfold following the announcement that the US continues to support Shara despite the negative outcome of the talks between Syrian President Shara and SDF leader Abdi, striking assessments regarding the region have come from the CHP's Tan.

Beginning his evaluations with the words 'There is no longer an SDF in Syria,' Namık Tan stated that the allegations made regarding Israel have thus been proven baseless.

CHP Deputy Chairman responsible for Foreign Affairs Namık Tan used the following expressions in the assessment he shared on his social media account:

"There is no longer an SDF in Syria.

Once Assad was toppled and ISIS was eliminated, the US no longer had a need for the SDF. The Europeans, meanwhile, have their hands full.

The narratives that the government has been pushing for ten years—about a 100,000-strong terrorist army that the US allegedly equipped to the teeth with heavy weapons via thousands of trucks, a terror corridor from the Zagros to the Amanus, and a battering ram that Israel would use to reach our doorstep—have all clearly been revealed to be nonsense.

The local Arab tribal forces, which made up two-thirds of the SDF, followed the power and the money, switched sides, and the SDF ended in 24 hours.

Therefore, it is more accurate to use a map of Syrian provinces from now on.

The area east of the Euphrates, referred to as 'Rojava' or 'DAANES,' was not 'Syrian Kurdistan,' and it never was.

In Syria, Kurds were a majority in three separate pockets: Afrin, Kobane, and settlements in the northeastern tip of the map known as the 'duck's beak,' such as Qamishli, Amuda, and Derik.

However, almost the entire population of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is Kurdish, and almost the entire Kurdish population of Iraq lives in the KRI.

Furthermore, the KRI is distinguished from the rest of the country by its mountainous topography.

The 'pockets' where Kurds live in Syria, with the exception of Afrin, are completely flat.

While Afrin has been a home to Kurds for perhaps a thousand years, the Kurdish population in the other pockets adjacent to the border are the descendants of tribes that migrated or fled from Turkey following uprisings during the founding period of the Republic.

The KRI also has no outlet to the sea, but its underground wealth and the relationships it has developed with its capital Baghdad and its neighbors Iran and Turkey are diametrically different from the now-defunct DAANES.

As the CHP, we advocate for the foreign policy of our secular Republic to also be secular.

We prioritize avoiding sectarian and ethnicist approaches.

Secular Republican citizenship and 'communalism' are incompatible.

Communalism was telling various minority groups arriving in England as the British Empire collapsed—such as Hindus or Pakistani Muslims—'You do not need to integrate into society; enjoy your citizenship rights in the places allocated to you and in groups, and remain limited to your own faith and your own language.'

In a secular order, as in France, another colonial empire, the state is blind and deaf to faiths and ethnic origins: Citizens are free, equal, and live as brothers and sisters.

Therefore, what the CHP says to the Kurdish citizen, the religious citizen, the non-believing citizen, the Black Sea native, the Thracian, the nationalist, and the communist is clear: Under the constitutional roof of the Republic, we are all equal before the law; our rights and responsibilities are the same.

Turkey's borders are also clear: These borders were drawn with blood, fire, and steel while the Republic was being founded, a modern nation was created from the people living within these borders, and the members of this nation became equal citizens of the Republic.

This is the vision of the Republic.

This is the path to take and the destination to reach by addressing shortcomings, correcting mistakes, and facing history.

Beyond this, the bond of affection between the Turk and the Kurd is the fundamental mortar of our Republic.

Our essence and our magic are different. Our homeland, our future, and our story are shared.

As the CHP, for us, there is no guide in foreign policy other than reason, no subject to defend other than national interests, and no priority other than national sovereignty.

In this context, when the CHP looks at Syria, Iraq, or Iran, it sees separate countries above all else.

The CHP respects the will of the peoples of Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

It advocates for providing all possible support for these countries to achieve prosperous, peaceful, and integrated structures, and for strengthening the institutional infrastructure of these states.

When correct Republican policies are adopted, Kurds across the border will naturally form a security belt for Turkey and a gateway to the Middle East.

If an opportunity is to be granted to transform from a terrorist into a statesman, this must be valid for everyone. The recipients of the offered opportunity must also know how to evaluate this opportunity in a timely manner, not miss it, and adopt an attitude accordingly.

We view the developments in Syria within this framework in general terms.

We believe that the developments in Syria are opening the door to positive outcomes."

Suriye’de artık SDG yok

Esat devrilip, IŞİD ortadan kalkınca ABD'nin SDG'ye ihtiyacı kalmadı. Avrupalıların ise başı kalabalık

On yıldır iktidarın ABD'nin binlerce kamyonla dişinden tırnağına ağır silahlarla donattığını iddia ettiği 100.000 kişilik terörist ordusu, Zagros'tan…

— Namık Tan (@NamikTan) January 19, 2026

News Source: 12punto