"New Year, Old Problems for Kurds in Syria," by Denselow and Taa'i

James Denselow and Abdallah Taa'i have written an article for "Syria Comment" about the recent Nawruz demonstration of the Kurds in Syria and its suppression. BBC writes about the ongoing violence in Turkey which has cost 12 Kurds their lives in recent days. The government is blaming it on the PKK. Both Iran and Syria have promised Istanbul to crack down on the PKK, which has begun to reorganize in Syria, as reported earlier by "Syria Comment." Turkey says that three of those killed were Syrian nationals. Razzan Zaytouneh's "SHRIL" notice this week gives the names of many Syria Kurds who have been given jail terms for being separatists. Robert Lowe of Chatham House in London has just published an excellent overview of the Kurdish Problem in Syria.

New Year, Old Problems for Kurds in Syria
Students Demonstrate in Damascus
By James Denselow and Abdallah Taa’i
For Syria Comment: 28/3/06

On Tuesday the 21st of March Kurds across the Middle East celebrated the ‘Nowruz’ or Kurdish New Year. In Northern parts of Iraq huge processions of people carrying burning torches danced the day away following the symbolic raising of the Kurdish flag and singing of national anthems. As the Baghdad burns the Kurdish North is increasingly standing out as a zone of comparative stability, with development plans able to go ahead under the watchful security provided by the Kurdish peshmerga-turned Iraqi army.

At the Northern Yaroubiyeh border crossing point with Syria over 600 Lorries were recently backed up on the Syrian side, most carrying construction materials to help the building boom in Iraqi Kurdistan. On the Syrian sides dynamics are starkly different. The NE ‘Jazira’ corner of the Country is characterized by the worst incidence of national poverty. A UNDP report identified that 58.1% of the poor in Syria live in the NE Region (which in their survey included Idleb, Aleppo, Al Raqqa, Deir Ezzor and Hassakeh), with 21% of the rural population living on less than $2 a day. Such poverty is visible in terms of poor quality housing, service provision, high unemployment, and poor quality water sanitation supply systems.

The Syrian government has recognized the need to address the socio-economic situation in the Jazira region and has prioritized investment and development programs as part of its most recently released ‘5 year plan’. Yet while economic plans are an obvious necessity there seems little political will in the higher echelons of the Syrian regime to address the situation of the Kurds in the region. It is worth remembering that the Syrian-Kurdish population comprises an estimated 1.75m or 10% of the population, yet the decision in 1962 to strip many of a potential ‘5th column’ of their citizenship meant that today over 300,000 Kurds are denied full Syrian citizenship and the benefits that come with it.

In the lead up to this year's celebrations a number of incidents highlighted the continued restiveness of the Kurdish population. On March 12 a number of demonstrations took place in memory of the deaths of at least 25 Kurds in clashes following a football match in Qamishli. At the University of Damascus demonstrator’s were surrounded by security forces and had placards ripped from their hands, meanwhile a procession on its way to the parliament building was intercepted by security forces and in the ensuing scuffle, Kurdish opposition leader Riyad Sa’if was arrested.

On Nowruz itself the Kurdish towns in the NE were quiet as celebrations took place in the nearby countryside. Near Hassake (a predominantly Kurdish town in which a 2004 census identified a 24% rate of unemployment) huge swathes of land were covered in tents set up that morning under the watchful eyes of the government riot police. In Damascus a number of demonstrations went peacefully but in Aleppo events spiraled somewhat out of control after a fire truck that’s water cannon was turned on the crowd was subsequently set on fire, there has been no confirmation on the numbers of subsequent arrests made.

As diplomatic officials in Damascus have commented on, the current climate for Kurdish activists in Syria is an uncertainty as to the location of ‘red lines’ that they can push their protests to.

In discussions with a group of student activists the New Year expectations of the Kurds was outlined. The group made it clear that they are not seeking a violent confrontation with the state. The very geography and population distribution of the Kurds in Syria scattered between the indefensible plains of the NE and large populations in Damascus and Aleppo means that an armed insurrection, such as took place in Iraq is both unlikely and undesirable. The group rejected accusations that Kurdish political parties in Iraq are supplying Kurdish political parties in Syria with weapons and emphasized that they do not need American interference in what should be an internal issue.

Indeed the key demand of the Kurds is for Kurdish recognition within a Syrian national framework. They want the government to grant citizenship to the ‘ajanib’ (foreigners) – those Kurds who have been denied Syrian nationality. They also ask that Syria’s name be changed from the “Syrian Arab Republic” to the simpler and more ethnically neutral “Syrian Republic.” The Students insisted on the importance of Kurdish language rights and the incorporation of Kurdish history into the Syrian curriculum. As one student complained, “our school books describe the great Islamic warrior Salahaddin as an Arab and not a Kurd.”

Many Kurds feel that their room to maneuver and ability to express their demands have been severely constrained by the present political environment in Syria. Because of the authoritarian nature of the regime and its present policy of suppressing all forms of decent in the face of international pressure, Kurdish rights have gotten little but lip service from the government. Yet in the Northeast of the country widespread poverty and political dissatisfaction combine to ensure future trouble. As the situation in Iraq deteriorates pushing the country toward outright civil war and ever-greater political fragmentation, it will be difficult for the Syrian government to contain the unrest. The Kurdish issue may be forced to move beyond its present national constraints.

[end]

Kurdish unrest has spread throughout much of southern Turkey.
Officials said Kurdish insurgents have helped foment riots throughout southeastern Turkey over the last week. They said some of the organizers came from such neighbors as Iran, Iraq and Syria.

On Saturday, about 1,000 Kurds rampaged through the town of Kiziltepe near the Syrian border. Officials said the Kurds, many of them youngsters, torched two banks, a building used by the ruling Justice and Development Party and battled Turkish security forces.

One person was killed and another 10 were injured in Kiziltepe, officials said. So far, eight people have been killed in what officials termed the worst civil unrest in Turkey since the late 1970s. ANKARA [MENL] --