Rojava activists to protest Syrian opposition constitution proposals

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A group of Kurdish activists in northeast Syria (Rojava) have planned a Tuesday protest in front of the United Nations (UN) office in Qamishli against what they say is an absence of Kurdish rights in proposed opposition amendments to the Syrian constitution.   

“Our protest is against the draft submitted to the Geneva meeting. It does not include the rights of Kurds. We will tell the international community that Kurds live on the soil and they have a history and rights,” local activist Shamdin Nabu told Rudaw’s Fahd Sabri on Monday. 

The protest is said to take place at lunchtime on Tuesday. 

The fourth round of Syria’s constitutional committee talks resumed in Geneva last Monday. The committee - made up of 45 delegates from the Syrian regime, opposition and civil society – was created in September 2019 following a 2015 resolution aiming to bring an end to the civil war, now in its tenth year.

Talks first began in October last year, and were delayed after some delegates tested positive for COVID-19 in August. 

The opposition delegation published proposed revisions to the current Syrian constitution on their Facebook page on Saturday – addressing issues of multiculturalism and discrimination, but without specifically mentioning Kurds, or the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES).  

“Syria is a civil and democratic state with full sovereignty. It is indivisible, and there should not be any compromise on any part of its soil,” read one point. 

“Syrians are proud of their national identity, cultural diversity and the contributions made by all religions, civilizations, and traditions as well as the coexistence between its various entities,” it continued, adding that “the state conflicts all forms of discrimination on any basis of race, colour, nationalism, religion other forms of discrimination.”

Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, told reporters on Friday that the talks between the regime and the opposition were moving towards “common ground” on some issues. He added that for the first time both sides agreed on the agenda and time of the next meeting which will be held on January 25.  

Hawas Ageed, a Kurdish member of the Syrian opposition delegation representing the Kurdish National Council (ENKS), told Rudaw on Monday that the proposal “definitely has shortcomings because it does not focus on decentralization.”

“However, many good things are mentioned in it,” he added. 

The civil war has killed upwards of 400,000 people and displaced millions of people since it began in 2011, following a brutal government crackdown on protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The NES has been deprived from attending most political talks about Syria - including talks over the constitution - mostly due to pressure from Ankara. The administration controls approximately one-third of Syria.