Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has issued a decree making Kurdish a 'national language'. The decree affirms that Syrian Kurdish citizens are considered an essential and integral part of the Syrian people, and their cultural and linguistic identity is an inseparable component of the unified and diverse Syrian national identity.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. Photos by Reuters
According to the decree, the state commits to protecting cultural and linguistic diversity and guarantees the right of Kurdish citizens to revive their heritage and arts and to develop their mother tongue, within the framework of national sovereignty.
The Kurdish language is recognized as a national language. Its teaching is permitted in public and private schools in areas where Kurds constitute a significant proportion of the population, as part of optional curricula or as an educational cultural activity.
Additionally, all laws and exceptional measures resulting from the 1962 census in Al-Hasakah Governorate are repealed. Syrian nationality shall be granted to all citizens of Kurdish origin residing on Syrian territory, including those registered as unrecorded (maktoumeen al-qayd), with full equality in rights and duties.
The feast of "Nowruz" (21 March) is designated an official paid public holiday throughout the Syrian Arab Republic, as a national celebration symbolizing spring and fraternity.
ALSO READ:
- Syria tells civilians to leave Aleppo's Kurdish areas
- Syria's Sharaa calls for united efforts to rebuild a year after Assad's ouster