Syria's new president issues decree granting Kurdish language and citizenship rights
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree on January 16 granting Kurdish citizens language rights and citizenship while declaring the Persian and Kurdish new year Nowruz a national holiday, state news agency SANA reported.
The decree affirms that "Syrian Kurdish citizens are an integral and authentic part of the Syrian people, and that their cultural and linguistic identity is an inseparable component of Syria's unified and diverse national identity," according to the document published by the president's office.
The decree followed violent clashes in Aleppo last week that killed at least 23 people and forced more than 150,000 to flee two Kurdish-run neighbourhoods, according to Syria's health ministry reported by Reuters. Kurdish fighters withdrew following the confrontations.
Kurdish was declared a national language and will be permitted for teaching in state-run and private schools in areas where Kurds constitute a significant percentage of the population, as part of the elective curriculum or cultural activities, in a turnaround of fortunres from recent weeks of clashes between Damascus authorities and Kurdish leaders in the north.
The decree annuls all exceptional laws and measures resulting from the 1962 census in Al-Hasakah province and grants Syrian citizenship to all residents of Kurdish origin living in Syria, including those previously unregistered, with full equality in rights and duties.
Nowruz, the ancient festival celebrating the start of the new year on March 21, was recognised as a paid official public holiday across Syria. The decree prohibits any discrimination based on ethnicity or language.
Al-Sharaa addressed the Kurdish population in a video message posted on social media, urging displaced Kurds to return safely without conditions other than laying down weapons.
"Our Kurdish brothers, descendants of Salah al-Din, beware of believing the narrative that we wish harm upon our Kurdish people. By God, whoever harms you is our adversary," al-Sharaa said.
The move came hours before a meeting between US Syria envoy Tom Barrack and Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Kobane in Erbil.
Barrack is expected to secure agreement for SDF withdrawal from territory west of the Euphrates River, a key demand from Syrian and Turkish governments.
Kurds constitute between 10% and 15% of Syria's population and represent the second-largest ethnic group, living primarily in northeastern regions, TASS reported.
Shortly after the decree's announcement, the Syrian military launched operations against positions "of the terrorist PKK militias and remnants of the ousted regime allied with the SDF organisation" in Dayr Hafir, east of Aleppo, i24NEWS reported.
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