Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria making up 9% of the country's population.^[1] Most of them are Sunni Muslims; there are also Yazidi and Yarsan Kurds in Syria and small numbers of Christians and Alawis. They face routine discrimination and harassment by the Syrian government.^[2][3]

Demographics[link]

The majority of Kurds in Syria originally came from Turkey in the 1920s.^[4] The community in Syria is quite small compared to their compatriots in Iran, Iraq and Turkey. However in the years 1980-1990, Kurds in Syria changed their tactics. During this period, violent clashes of community members with authorities resulted in mass arrests and deaths in 1986 and 1992.

Considering that the State department and CIA did not acknowledge the existence of the Kurds in Syria in 1970s and 1980s, Syrian government officially does not acknowledge the existence of Kurds in Syria, and lack of transparent census in Syria; it would be difficult to predicate the true and accurate percentage.

Geography[link]

Light colored region indicates Kurdish inhabited regions of Syria

Kurds mostly live in a geocultural region in northeastern Syria. This region covers the greater part of the governorate of Al Hasakah (formerly the Al-Jazira province), a region also inhabited by many Assyrians. The main cities in this region are Al-Qamishli and Al Hasakah. Another region with significant Kurdish population is Kobanê (Ayn al-Arab) in the northern part of Syria near the town of Jarabulus. The Kurdish-inhabited northern and northeastern parts of Syria in Kurdish are called "Kurdistana Binxetê". An area of Kurdish concentration is Kurd-Dagh in the northwest, around the town of Afrin in Aleppo Governorate, a region that extends to the Turkish districts Islahiye and Kırıkhan. Also many Kurds live in metropolitan areas and large cities of the country, e.g. the neighborhood of Rukn al-Din in Damascus, formerly known as Hayy al Akrad (Quarter of the Kurds).^[5][6]

Politics[link]

French Mandate period[link]

In December 1931 - January 1932 the first elections under the new Syrian constitution were held.^[7] Among the deputies there were three members of the Syrian Kurdish nationalist Xoybûn (Khoyboun) party, Khalil bey Ibn Ibrahim Pacha (Al-Jazira province), Mustafa bey Ibn Shahin (Jarabulus) and Hassan Aouni (Kurd Dagh).^[8]

KDPS, Jazira and Barzani[link]

Osman Sabri and Daham Miro along with some Kurdish politicians, founded the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDPS) in 1957. The objectives of KDPS were promotion of Kurdish cultural rights, economic progress and democratic change. KDPS was never legally recognized by the Syrian state and remains an underground organization, especially after a crackdown in 1960 during which several of its leaders were arrested, charged with separatism and imprisoned. After the failure of Syrian political union with Egypt in 1961, Syria was declared an Arab Republic in the interim constitution. On 23 August 1962, the government conducted a special population census only for the province of Jazira which was predominantly Kurdish. As a result, around 120,000 Kurds in Jazira were arbitrarily categorized as aliens. In fact, the inhabitants had Syrian identity cards and were told to hand them over to the administration for renewal. However those Kurds who submitted their cards received nothing in return. A media campaign was launched against the Kurds with slogans such as Save Arabism in Jazira! and Fight the Kurdish threat!. These policies coincided with the beginning of Barzani's uprising in Iraqi Kurdistan and discovery of oilfields in the Kurdish inhabited areas of Syria. In June 1963, Syria took part in the Iraqi military campaign against the Kurds by providing aircraft, armoured vehicles and a force of 6,000 soldiers. Syrian troops crossed the Iraqi border and moved into Kurdish town of Zakho in pursuit of Barzani's fighters^[9]

Arab cordon[link]

In 1965, the Syrian government decided to create an Arab cordon (Hizam Arabi) in the Jazira region along the Turkish border. The cordon was 300 kilometers long and 10-15 kilometers wide, stretched from the Iraqi border in the east to Ras Al-Ain in the west. The implementation of the Arab cordon plan began in 1973 and Bedouin Arabs were brought in and resettled in Kurdish areas. The toponymy of the area such as village names were Arabized. According to the original plan, some 140,000 Kurds had to be deported to the southern desert near Al-Raad. Although Kurdish farmers were dispossessed of their lands, they refused to move and give up their houses. Among these Kurdish villagers, those who were designated as alien are not allowed to own property, to repair a crumbling house or to build a new one.^[10]

1986 Demonstrations[link]

In March 1986, a few thousand Kurds wearing Kurdish costume gathered in the Kurdish part of Damascus to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz. Police warned them that Kurdish dress is prohibited and it fired on the crowd leaving one person dead. Around 40,000 Kurds took part in his funeral in Qamishli. Also in Afrin, three Kurds were killed during the Newroz demonstrations.^[11]

The March 2004 riots[link]

After an incident in a football stadium in Al Qamishli, 65 people were killed and more than 160 were injured in days of clashes starting from March 12. Kurdish sources indicated that Syrian security forces used live ammunition against civilians after clashes broke out at a football match between Kurdish fans of the local team and Arab supporters of a visiting team from the city of Deir al-Zor. The international press reported that nine people were killed on March 12. According to Amnesty International hundreds of people, mostly Kurds, were arrested after the riots. Kurdish detainees were reportedly tortured and ill-treated. Some Kurdish students were expelled from their universities, reportedly for participating in peaceful protests.^[12]

Formation of an Umbrella for Kurds[link]

The Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria was formed to represent Syrian Kurds based on two major conferences, one at the US Senate in March 2006 and the other at the EU parliament in Brussels in 2006. The Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria (KNAS) seek democracy for Syria and granting rights to Kurds and other Syrian minorities. They seek to transform Syria into a federal state, with a democratic system and structure for the federal government and provincial governments. This will begin a new era in which the Syrian people and neighboring countries will enjoy freedom, peace, security and stability.

2011 protests[link]

Following the Tunisian Revolution and the Egyptian Revolution, February 4th 2011 was declared a 'Day of Rage' in Syria by activists through the medium of Facebook. Few turned out to protest, but among the few were Kurdish demonstrators in the northeast of the country.^[13] On 7 October 2011, Kurdish leader Mashaal Tammo was gunned down in his apartment by masked men widely believed to be regime agents. During Tammo's funeral procession the next day in the town of Qamishli, Syrian security forces fired into a crowd of more than 50,000 mourners, killing five people.^[14] According to Tammo's son, Fares Tammo, "My father's assassination is the screw in the regime's coffin. They made a big mistake by killing my father."^[15]

Human rights of Kurds in Syria[link]

Amnesty and HRW reports[link]

Kurds often speak Kurdish in public, unless all those present do not. Amnesty International USA claims Kurdish human rights activists are mistreated and persecuted.^[16] According to the Human Rights Watch, Kurds in Syria can not use the Kurdish language, are not allowed to register children with Kurdish names, prohibited to start businesses that do not have Arabic names, are not permitted to build Kurdish private schools, and prohibited from publishing books and other materials written in Kurdish.^[17][18]

Citizenship[link]

In 1962, 20 percent of Syria's Kurdish population were stripped of their Syrian citizenship following a very highly controversial census raising concerns among human rights groups. According to the Syrian government, the reason for this enactment was due to groups of Kurds infiltrating the Al-Hasakah Governorate in 1945. The Syrian government claims that the Kurds came from neighboring countries, especially Turkey, and crossed into Syrian borders illegally. The government claims that these Kurds settled down, gradually, in the region in cities like Amuda and Al Qamishli until they accounted for the majority in some of these cities. The government also claims that many Kurds were capable of registering themselves illegally in the Syrian civil registers. The government further speculated that Kurds intended to settle down and acquire property, especially after the issue of the agricultural reform law, in order to benefit from land redistribution.^[17] However, according to Human Rights Watch, the Syrian government falsely claimed that many of the Kurds who were the original inhabitants of the land were foreigners, and in turn, violated their human rights by stripping them of their Syrian citizenship.^[19]

The flag of Kurdistan is banned in Syria.^[20]

As a result of government claims of an increase in illegal immigration, the Syrian government decided to conduct a general census on October 5, 1962 in the governorate with claims that its sole purpose was to purify registers and eliminate the alien infiltrators. As a result, the verified registrations of the citizens of Syria were included in the new civil registers. The remaining, which included 100,000 Kurds, were registered as foreigners (or "ajanib") in special registers.^{[17] [21]} Many others did not participate in the census. through choice or other circumstances; they are known as "maktoumeen", meaning "unrecorded".^[21] Since then, the number of stateless Kurds has grown to more than 200,000.^[22] According to Refugees International, there are about 300,000 stateless Kurds in Syria; however, Kurds dispute this number and estimate about 500,000. A recent independent report has confirmed that there are at least 300,000 stateless Kurds living in Syria.^[21]

According to the Human Rights Watch, by many accounts, the special census was carried out in an arbitrary manner separating members of the same families and classifying them differently. HRW claims that some Kurds in the same family became citizens while others became foreigners suggesting an inaccuracy in the Syrian government's process; HRW also alleges that some of the Kurds who had served in the Syrian army lost citizenship while those who bribed officials kept theirs.^[19] Stateless Kurds also do not have the option of legally relocating to another country because they lack passports or other internationally recognized travel documents. In Syria, other than in the governorate of Al-Hasakah, foreigners cannot be employed at government agencies and state-owned enterprises; they may not legally marry Syrian citizens. Kurds with foreigner status do not have the right to vote in elections or run for public office, and when they attend universities they are often persecuted and cannot be awarded with university degrees.^[21] Stateless Kurds living in Syria are not awarded school certificates and are often unable to travel outside of their provinces.^[21]

In April 2011, the President signed Decree 49 which provides citizenship for Kurds who were registered as foreigners in Hasaka.^[23] However, a recent independent report has suggested that the actual number of stateless Kurds who obtained their national ID cards following the decree does not exceed 6,000, leaving the remainder of 300,000 stateless Kurds living in Syria in a state of uncertainty.^[21] One newly nationalized Kurd has been reported as saying: ‘I’m pleased to have my ID card .... But not until the process is completed will I truly trust the intentions of this action. Before my card is activated, I must have an interview, no doubt full of interrogation and intimidation, with State Security. Citizenship should not be a privilege. It is my right.’ ^[21]

Accusations of racism and apartheid[link]

Accusations of Syrian Arab racism and apartheid, especially against the Kurdish minority, comes from Kurdish human rights organizations.^[24][25] and others.^[26]

Syrian Kurdish personalities[link]

• Khalid Bakdash (1912–1995), leader (1936-1995) of the Syrian Communist Party
• Husni al-Za'im (1897–1949), President of Syria (1949)

See also[link]

• Al-Jazira province
• Iraqi Kurdistan
• Iranian Kurdistan
• Turkish Kurdistan
• History of the Kurdish people

References[link]

External links[link]

• kurdnas.org
• KurdWatch.org
• Support Kurds in Syria
• The Alliance for Kurdish Rights

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