Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) dismisses media coordinator in Europe after outburst on TV program

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA – The media office of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) published two clarifications via its official website. Both statements come in response to an outburst by SDC Media Coordinator in Europe Mr. Ibrahim Ibrahim during an interview.

The first SDC statement announced Mr. Ibrahim’s dismissal as Media Coordinator of Europe. In the second statement, the SDC rebuke the statements made by Mr. Ibrahim and the manner in which they were made.

During an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Ibrahim, a Kurd originally from the Afrin area currently under Turkish-backed militia occupation, engaged in a there was an intense debate about the situation in Syria’s northwestern Idlib Governorate with TV-presenter Muath Muharib.

The exchange between Mr. Ibrahim and the host became heated, Ibrahim describing half of Idlib’s four million residents as “terrorists” that deserve to die.

Ibrahim later issued an apology via Facebook, clarifying that he did not mean that the civilians in Idlbi were terrorists but was only referring to “terrorist groups”.

“People misunderstood my speech that I accused my people and brothers in Idlib of being terrorists. This was not true at all: I meant the terrorist groups of the Muslim Brotherhood and Nusra. But because of continues provocative speech of the presenter, I couldn’t concentrate…” read Ibrahim’s apology.

The majority of Idlib Governorate is held by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly named Jabhat al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. HTS denies any current links to Al-Qaeda but remains a designated terrorist organization according to the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Turkey.

********** PRESS STATEMENT ANNOUNCING DISMISSAL OF MR. IBRAHIM **********

Mr. Ibrahim Ibrahim, the SDC media coordinator in Europe made statements that do not represent the stances of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), but rather express his personal views and stances. Accordingly, we assure to the public opinion that the Syrian Democratic Council is not concerned with these statements and that Mr. Ibrahim Ibrahim was dismissed on the 15th of April 2020 due to these statements. He is no longer concerned with the SDC activities, and therefore required mention.

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********** PRESS STATEMENT REBUKING MR. IBRAHIM’S COMMENTS **********

SDC media coordinator in Europe, Ibrahim Ibrahim, participated in a talk show broadcasted by a satellite station in which they talked about the dangers of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in northern Syria and the failure of the international parties concerned to provide health support to the regions of North and East Syria in particular. The show presenter provocatively insisted on accusing the policy of the SDC, which caused Mr. Ibrahim Ibrahim to lose his temper and deviated from the reality of the Syrian Democratic Council stances that categorically reject any provocative speech against Syrian civilians.

Therefore, we in the SDC Media Office will take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such errors and we apologize for the wounds of all the Syrian civilians who suffered the greatest harm during the tragic nine-years-long Syrian war. We would like to stress that the SDC stance has not changed and we are still in solidarity with the suffering and displacement of civilians in the Idlib region. We are ready to host the displaced and refuse to threaten the security of civilians or consider them a party in any conflict. The Council expresses its deep regret at exploiting such errors in any provocation against it.

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