DAMASCUS: President Ahmad Al-Sharaa has issued a decree affirming 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.
The decree is the first formal recognition of Kurdish national rights since Syria’s independence in 1946.
The decree designates Kurdish as a “national language” that can be taught in public schools in areas where the minority community is heavily represented.
Al-Sharaa also made the Kurdish New Year, Nowruz, which falls on March 21, an official holiday.
The president of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Nechirvan Barzani, welcomed the new decree. Barzani described the move as a significant political and legal step toward building a new Syria.
In a televised address announcing the decree, President Al-Sharaa urged Kurds to “actively participate in building this nation,” vowing to “guarantee” their rights.
Al-Sharaa called on Syrian Kurds not to believe narratives of sedition, urging them to return safely and to take part fully in building Syria as one homeland that embraces all its citizens, announcing the issuance of a special decree guaranteeing Kurdish rights and specific cultural considerations.
President Al-Sharaa said that there is no superiority for an Arab over a Kurd, nor a Turk, nor anyone else, except through piety and personal integrity, regardless of one’s ethnicity.
“I urge all those who were forcibly displaced from their lands to return safely and securely, without condition or restriction other than laying down arms,” said Al-Sharaa.
Meanwhile, US Central Command urged Syrian government forces to cease offensive actions between Aleppo and Tabqa in northern Syria.
The US call came as Operation Command of the Syrian Arab Army published several maps identifying specific locations in Raqqa and Tabqa, urging residents to keep away from those areas.
Operations Command warned civilians to avoid sites being used by PKK militias and remnants of the defunct regime, described as allies of the SDF organization, as bases for launching terrorist operations against Syrians and their army.
