Faisal Youssef Criticizes U.S. Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack

ARK News.. Faisal Youssef, member of the Presidency of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) in Syria and the Council’s official spokesperson, criticized remarks made by U.S. Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack regarding decentralization and its alleged failure in the Middle East and the Balkans.

In a post on his Facebook page, Youssef said: “Mr. Thomas Barrack’s statement at the Doha Forum—that decentralization has not succeeded in the Middle East and the Balkans, citing the experiences of Iraq, Yugoslavia, and Lebanon—ignores a fundamental truth: it was not decentralization that caused devastation, but rather the rigid centralization imposed by those states’ regimes, which deprived peoples of their national rights and rejected democracy and pluralism. The resulting crises and divisions continue to burden the peoples of the region to this day—not to mention the consequences of the Sykes–Picot Agreement in our region.”

He added: “The solution is clear and simple: democracy, decentralization, and empowering peoples to manage their own affairs—not returning to old prescriptions whose failure has long been proven, no matter how lengthy the debates in Syria and elsewhere over forms of governance become.”

Youssef continued: “There is no doubt that Mr. Thomas knows well that the most successful experiences globally are those built on decentralization, which has preserved stability and fostered development and prosperity.”

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