Syria says considering Kurdish-language state TV

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Damascus is considering launching a Kurdish-language section on state television to honor the country’s “diversity and pluralism,” Syria’s information minister said on Friday.

“Including the Kurdish language on Syrian television is an idea under consideration. In the new government, we are adopting an open approach and recognizing, in one way or another, linguistic and cultural diversity, which acknowledges Syria’s diversity and pluralism,” Minister Hamza al-Mustafa told Rudaw. 

He said that the recognition of diversity, as stipulated in Syria’s constitutional declaration, is a “source of enrichment” for the country.

“All forces in Syria agree on the issue of cultural and linguistic rights, especially the new government and the constitutional declaration that refers to them,” he said. 

Kurds, who comprise an estimated 10 percent of the Syrian population, have historically been marginalized in the country, their political and cultural rights denied. After the outbreak of civil war, Kurdish language was prioritized as an official language in the Kurdish-administered northeast (Rojava), taught in schools and used in the public sphere.

The Rojava administration is in talks with Damascus about the region’s future in Syria. The Kurds, like other minorities in Syria, are concerned about the centralization of power and reliance on Islamic jurisprudence in the transitional constitution that has been adopted by the interim government in Damascus.  

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement on March 10 to integrate the SDF and Rojava’s institutions into the Syrian state apparatus. The agreement recognizes the Kurds as an integral part of Syria, includes a nationwide ceasefire, and stipulates the return of displaced Syrians to their hometowns. 

Mustafa called the March 10 agreement the “governing framework,” and said that “the [Syrian] government has fulfilled all its obligations under this agreement, and the Syrian Democratic Forces must adhere to it to move forward in resolving all issues.” 

Kurdish political parties in Rojava have formed a delegation to go to Damascus to discuss implementing the March 10 deal.

After taking power and ousting Bashar al-Assad, Sharaa vowed to form an “inclusive transitional government that would reflect Syria’s diversity,” but has faced domestic and international criticism that he has marginalized minority communities. 

Solin Mohammedamin contributed to this report.