Mohammad Sio
17 January 2026•Update: 17 January 2026
ISTANBUL
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued a special decree on Friday evening, affirming that Kurdish Syrians are an integral part of the nation, and guaranteeing their cultural, linguistic, and civil rights, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
The decree says that Kurdish citizens are a “basic and authentic” component of the Syrian people and that their cultural and linguistic identity is inseparable from Syria’s unified and diverse national identity.
It commits the state to protecting cultural and linguistic diversity and to safeguarding Kurds’ rights to preserve their heritage and art, along with developing their mother tongue within the framework of national sovereignty.
Under the decree, the Kurdish language is recognized as “a national language.” Teaching Kurdish will be permitted in public and private schools in areas with a significant Kurdish population, either as an optional subject or through cultural and educational activities.
The measure also repeals all exceptional laws and procedures stemming from the 1962 census in Hasakah province, and grants Syrian citizenship to all residents of Kurdish origin living in Syria, including those previously registered as stateless, ensuring full equality in rights and duties.
In a symbolic move, the decree designates the March 21 Nowruz Festival a paid official holiday nationwide, describing it as a national celebration of spring and social cohesion.
It further directs state media and educational institutions to adopt an inclusive national discourse, explicitly prohibiting discrimination or exclusion on ethnic or linguistic grounds. Incitement to ethnic strife will be punishable under existing law, the decree says.
Addressing Kurds directly, al-Sharaa said in a recorded message through US social media company X that equality among Syrians transcends ethnicity, declaring that “there is no superiority of Arab over Kurd, or Turk, or anyone else, except through righteousness and integrity, regardless of origin.”
“Our Kurdish people, descendants of Saladin, beware of believing claims that we seek harm against you. By God, whoever harms you is our adversary until the Day of Judgement. Your life is our life. We seek only the well-being of the country and its people, development, reconstruction and the unity of the nation,” Sharaa added.
The Syrian president urged those forcibly displaced to return home safely “without condition or restriction other than laying down arms.”
He called on Kurds to take part actively in building the country and preserving its unity, ending the address by displaying his signature on the decree.
The president’s comments came as the Syrian Army said the security threat from the SDF in Aleppo province has not been eliminated, despite attempts to defuse tensions.
On Monday, the Syrian Army sent additional forces to eastern Aleppo after detecting the arrival of more SDF members and remnants of the ousted regime near the towns of Maskanah and Deir Hafir.
In March 2025, the Syrian presidency announced an agreement for the terrorist organization YPG/SDF integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country’s territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.
However, authorities said the SDF has failed to comply with the terms of those agreements.
The Syrian government has intensified efforts to restore security nationwide since the ouster of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, after 24 years in power.
