Ahmad Al-Shara, the President of Syria, recognized the Kurdish language as a national language.
Ahmad Al-Shara, the President of Syria, issued a decree recognizing the Kurdish language as a national language and announced that Syrian citizenship would be granted to all Kurds who were deprived of it during the 1962 census.
According to the decree announced on the evening of Friday, January 15th, the Kurdish language is recognized as a national language alongside Arabic, and its teaching in schools in Kurdish-populated areas will be allowed. Additionally, Nowruz, the first day of spring and the Kurdish New Year, has been declared an official paid holiday.
This is the first time since Syria’s independence in 1946 that the national and linguistic rights of Kurds have been officially recognized at the level of the central government.
The text of the decree emphasizes that Kurds are an essential and inseparable part of the Syrian nation, and any ethnic or linguistic discrimination will be prohibited. The Syrian government has also committed to framing its official messages based on comprehensive national solidarity and to imposing penalties for inciting ethnic tensions.
This decision was announced while intense clashes were reported last week in the city of Aleppo and its surrounding areas. According to the Syrian Ministry of Health, these clashes resulted in at least 23 deaths and forced more than 150,000 people to leave two areas controlled by Kurdish forces in Aleppo. After the withdrawal of Kurdish forces, the Syrian army has been deployed in these areas.