Erbil, Kurdistan Region - Dozens of Syriacs from Hasaka province and other areas of northeast Syria (Rojava) gathered in a demonstration on Tuesday, demanding constitutional recognition of the Syriac community and the issuance of a decree similar to Decree No. 13, recognizing their status as a constituent people.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 13 in January that seeks to grant Syrian citizenship and full civil rights to stateless Kurds and recognizes Kurdish as a national language, allowing it to be taught - and spoken - in public and private spheres. It also designates the Kurdish New Year, Newroz, as a public holiday in Syria.
"We are demanding our language," Emel Gawriye, one of the protesters, told Rudaw’s Viviyan Fetah, arguing that people in other countries are able to speak their native languages freely. "We demand that Syriac be an official language in Syria."
Gawriye also stressed the historical roots of the community, saying that "the name Syria comes from the Syriacs," and described the recognition of the Syriac language as a key demand of the protest.
Protesters called for Syriac to be recognized as an official language in Syria, emphasizing the community’s historical roots, cultural heritage, and centuries-long presence in the country. Wearing traditional attire and chanting in Syriac, demonstrators said their demands are aimed at securing their rights through peaceful and legal means.
Suhel Beho, another protester, told Rudaw that Syriacs are an indigenous people whose presence in the region dates back thousands of years, referring to the community's civilization, culture, and Syriac place names, he said, "We do not secure our rights with weapons but with the pen," calling on authorities to recognize Syriacs as an indigenous people.
A delegation of protesters later met with Kurdish Hasaka Governor Nour al-Din Issa Ahmed and his deputy, Ahmed al-Hilali, to deliver their demands.
According to the protesters, local officials described the demands as legitimate and pledged to convey them to Sharaa.
According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in May 2026, Syriacs are among Syria's oldest indigenous Christian communities, concentrated mainly in Hasaka province and other parts of Rojava.
The community speaks Syriac, a modern form of Aramaic, and has long sought constitutional recognition and guarantees for its language and cultural right.
