Al-Sharaa issues decree granting Kurdish Syrians full Syrian nationality, legal protections
In the decree consisting of eight articles, it was stated that “Syrian Kurdish citizens are an indispensable and integral part of the Syrian people.”
Syrian President Ahmed al Shara issued a decree. Kurdish Syrians On Friday, full Syrian citizenship and discrimination against Kurds are criminalized, according to Syrian state news outlet SANA.
The announcement of the decree comes as the Al Shara government has come under heavy criticism for its treatment of Syria’s ethnic minorities, including the Kurds.
The eight-article decree states that “Syrian Kurdish citizens are an indispensable and integral part of the Syrian people” and that the Kurds’ “cultural and linguistic identity is an integral part of the diverse and unified Syrian national identity.”
In the fourth article of the decree, it was announced that “laws and measures resulting from the 1962 census in Hasakah Province” would be repealed and Syrian citizenship would be granted to “all citizens of Kurdish origin residing in Syrian territory with full equality in rights and duties.”
The decree stated that “Any discrimination or exclusion based on ethnic origin or language is legally prohibited” and that “anyone who provokes national conflict will be punished in accordance with the applicable laws.”
Additionally, the decree includes a commitment to “protect cultural and linguistic diversity” and guarantees the rights of Kurdish citizens to revive their heritage, arts and develop their native language.
While Syrian Kurds participate in the protest organized in solidarity with the public in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in Hasakah, Syria, a member of the Kurdish internal security forces stands guard with a gun. (Source: REUTERS/Orhan Qereman)
‘Arabs, Kurds and Turks have no superiority’
In a pre-recorded speech also broadcast on Friday, al-Sharaa said it was an honor to issue the decree and said, “There is no superiority of the Arab, the Kurd, the Turk… regardless of their ethnic origin.”
Al-Sharaa stated that he “wants nothing but the prosperity, development, reconstruction and unity of the country and its people”, discouraging Kurdish Syrians from “believing the narrative that we want evil for our Kurdish people”.
Qushish-Syrian conflict in Aleppo
Al-Sharaa’s decree comes as tensions between his administration and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reached an all-time high, with violent clashes in the city of Aleppo resulting in Syrian forces pushing SDF troops out of Kurdish-controlled neighborhoods.
More than 150,000 Syrian Kurds have fled the region. Reuters It was reported on Wednesday after more than 20 people were killed in clashes.
Seth J. Frantzman and Reuters contributed to this report.
