Syrian Kurdish groups on Friday rejected the allocation of only four seats for Kurds in Syria’s 210-member parliament, saying the move does not reflect the true size of the Kurdish population in the country.
The position came as Kurds marked “Kurdish Language Day” amid disputes with the Syrian government over the removal of Kurdish-language signs from official buildings in northeastern Syria.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa had issued a decree on January 16 affirming that Syria’s Kurdish citizens are an “essential and authentic” part of the Syrian people and that their cultural and linguistic identity is an inseparable part of the country's “pluralistic and unified” national identity.
But Kurdish groups say the agreement is not being implemented on the ground, warning of attempts to “undermine” it.
Ten Kurdish political groups and parties said in a statement on Friday that allocating only four seats to Kurds in parliament fails to reflect their actual size in Syria and is a continuation of policies of “marginalization and political exclusion,” according to the local Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA).
The groups called for parliamentary representation of at least 40 seats for Kurds, saying the figure reflects the Kurdish population.
Separately, Kurdish leader Murat Karayilan, a member of the leadership of the People’s Defense Forces, the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), criticized the Syrian government for removing Kurdish-language signs and replacing them with Arabic ones in Hasakeh in northeastern Syria.
The PKK is banned in Türkiye but has affiliates inside Syria.
Karayilan said in a televised interview marking Kurdish Language Day: “What happened in Hasakeh is exceptional.” He suspected political and intelligence interference that led to the removal of the signs, urging “caution” in handling the issue.
He called for preserving Kurdish-language education in northeastern Syria, saying it had continued for 14 years and represented “an achievement for our people that should not be abandoned.”
The Syrian government said on May 8 that Arabic remains the sole official language in Syria under existing laws and cannot currently be changed except through constitutional amendments.
In a statement on Facebook, Ahmad al-Hilali, deputy governor of Hasakeh and spokesperson for the presidential team tasked with implementing the agreement to integrate Kurds into state institutions, said the controversy over a sign at the Palace of Justice in Hasakeh that did not include Kurdish had been misunderstood.
“The Palace of Justice is an official institution that embodies justice and adherence to the laws in force in the Syrian state,” Hilali said.
He added that under the January decree, Kurdish is recognized as a national language and may be taught in public and private schools in areas where Kurds make up a significant number of the population.
