He said the PYD was missing “a golden opportunity” by trying to hurriedly seize unilateral control over the Syrian Kurdish areas, or Rojava, Kurdish news website rudaw.net reported.
“This is autocracy and marginalization of the other Kurdish parties in Rojava,” Barzani said in a statement.
“We only support the steps that have the consensus of all Kurdish parties in Rojava,” he added. “We refuse to deal with unilateral actions.”
On Tuesday, the PYD leadership announced an interim government over Syria’s Kurdish areas in the northeast. It said Kurdish, Arab and Christian leaders had agreed to turn Rojava into three semi-independent provincial areas, within a larger Kurdish autonomy in the northeast.
Barzani warned that the PYD was driving Syrian Kurds down a dead end.
PYD leader Salih Muslim has confirmed that Syrian President Bashar Assad would not accept Kurdish autonomy.
Several major Kurdish groups also rejected the declaration of formation of the transitional autonomous administration in northern Syria, which were formerly mooted in July.
Currently, the transitional authority is formed by the powerful Kurdish Democratic Union Party and several other smaller groupings, but not the Kurdish National Council (KNC).
“I think the [PYD] is moving in the wrong direction by individually announcing the local administration,” said Nuri Brimo, a member of the KNC.
The latest announcement comes amid a general strengthening of Kurdish rights in neighboring Turkey, and increasing moves toward independence by Iraq’s own autonomous Kurdish region.
BA/BA