Lecture in Damascus on Kurdish cause 

A lecture was held in the Syrian capital, Damascus, addressing Decree No. /13/ in Syria and the implications and prospects it carries for the Kurdish component. The session was moderated by legal and human rights activist Hassan Abdullah, and attended by a number of cultural, social, academic, and human rights figures.

The lecture focused on the content of Decree 13 issued on January 16, which consists of eight main articles. It included recognition of the Kurdish language as a national language, in addition to the abolition of all exceptional laws and measures resulting from the 1962 census, which was considered unjust toward the Kurds in Syria.

The seminar also paid special attention to Article Four of the decree, particularly the clause stipulating the “granting of Syrian citizenship to citizens of Kurdish origin.” In this context, the session moderator and attendees stressed the need to amend the wording of this phrase to become “restoration of citizenship” instead of “granting it,” since the Kurds had previously been stripped of their citizenship, and therefore the matter concerns restoring an acquired right, not granting a new one.

The lecture concluded with emphasis on the importance of continuing legal and human rights discussions on the decree in a way that ensures justice, redress for those affected, and opens new prospects for strengthening the rights of the Kurdish component within the framework of equal citizenship in Syria.

A-H 

ANHA