Syrian Turkmens form new opposition front

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Syrian Turkmens announce the formation of a new movement titled ‘the Syrian Democratic Turkmen Movement’ at a press conference in Istanbul. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

Syria’s Turkmens have created a new opposition front, the Syrian Democratic Turkmen Movement, with the support of Turkish nationalist groups in Istanbul amid plans by the Syrian National Council to also meet next week in Istanbul to bring other dissident groups under its umbrella.

“Even though there are 3.5 million Turkmens in Syria, no one has paid attention to our rights. We plan to cooperate with all the various actors of the Syrian opposition to achieve a democratic and civilized Syria, and to take an active role in Syrian politics,” said the leader of the Syrian Democratic Turkmen Movement, Abdulkerim Ağa. The leader of the Islamist Great Unity Party (BBP), Mustafa Destici, as well as representatives of the Iraqi Turkmen front and the “Ülkü Ocakları” (Idealist Hearths), the “Gray Wolf” branch of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), also attended the meeting in support of the Syrian Turkmens.

The Syrian National Council is set to meet next week in Istanbul with other Syrian opposition groups with the aim of integrating them into the council ahead of the Friends of Syria meeting April 1 in Istanbul. The group’s Turkey representative, Khaled Khoja, said the national council would be inviting all the other Syrian opposition groups to the meeting in order to unite them under one roof.