The Syrian affiliate of the PKK terrorist organization, the People's Protection Units (YPG), are poised to ramp up autonomous plans in northeast Syria by introducing a cryptocurrency program to avoid dependence on the currency of the Bashar Assad regime.
Erselan Serdem, the leader of the technological development program of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (Rojava), the so-called de facto autonomous region of the YPG in Syria, said on Thursday to the Coin Desk website that they are planning the use of cryptocurrency, with the aim to gradually print their own paper currency.
"Alongside a system of self-governing communes, Rojava plans to implement new technological academies, with a particular emphasis on cryptography and cryptocurrency," Serdem said. He also stated that using their currency is crucial for achieving the vision of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, who foresees a form of governance called "democratic confederalism." Pointing out that they have to think about the future of the new system he said, "We do not like to depend on the Syrian government money, which is state money, we want to trade in our own cryptocurrency."
The YPG has organic organizational and operational links with the PKK, a group considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., the EU and Turkey. The YPG and PKK's ultimate aim is to establish an autonomous region in some parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
The power vacuum sparked by the Syrian civil war gave the YPG an opportunity to practically apply its form of governance and form communes as dictated by its ideology. After was Daesh cleared from the region with the help of the U.S., the YPG tightened its grip on these areas by establishing nine committees similar to ministries. Moreover, the YPG last month formed a political entity called the General Council of Self-Administration in northern and eastern Syria, hinting to their autonomous plans. In July and August, the YPG held talks with Damascus in a bid to convince the regime to recognize an autonomous administration in the north and east of Syria, similar to the one in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to deliver arms to the terrorist organization, transporting on Thursday 300 armored cars to YPG forces, according to the official site of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq. The U.S. has been giving truckloads of military support and providing military training to the YPG under the pretext of fighting Daesh.
The U.S. backing of the YPG, which facilitated the group's efforts to form an autonomous region, has strained relations with Turkey. In response to the YPG threat near its borders, Turkey launched two cross-border military campaigns in the past two years. In the wake of the continued threat near the Turkish border, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed yesterday to expand Turkey's military campaign into the much larger YPG territory east of the Euphrates.
