RONIDA HAJJI

Al-Hasakah — Following the recent decision issued by the Ministry of Education in the Syrian Interim Government, which restricts the teaching of the Kurdish language in schools to three hours, anger has escalated within the Kurdish community. The killing of a member of the Al-Hasakah Brigade affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense, and protesters in Kobani prison setting their bodies on fire, have further heightened tensions in the region.

The events taking place in the Rojava regions represent a provocation and confusion to the existing path. A member of the Co-Presidency Council of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Hadiya Yousef, held the Interim Government in Damascus responsible for these events and called on it to intervene urgently to prevent more of them from occurring.

Hadiya Yousef explained that the central issue on the agenda of the Kurdish community today is ensuring the rights of the Kurdish people, stressing the necessity of elevating these rights from a legal framework to a clear constitutional framework.

She pointed out that the Kurdish people have their own existence, language, and culture, which requires recognizing their rights and ensuring their protection and consolidation within the Syrian constitution.

Regarding the struggle of Rojava since 2012, she said that the peoples of the region made great sacrifices to protect national security, affirming that many components in the regions of northern and eastern Syria have lived together in peace for years, and that cultural and familial relations have developed among them.

"Peoples are capable of governing themselves"

The Autonomous Administration, as Hadiya Yousef indicated, has been based over more than 13 years on a system founded on the unity of peoples, and the Kurdish, Syriac, Arabic, and Armenian languages and cultures were protected and developed during this process. "All peoples lived with their cultures and studied in their languages, and despite our shortcomings, we have proven that the peoples of the region are capable of governing themselves and living together. The peoples of the region have built a shared life over these years and proven that the components of Syria are capable of living together in safe and stable conditions."

Hadiya Yousef described the Ministry of Education's decision to restrict Kurdish language classes to three hours as a step backward, and that it caused great dissatisfaction within the Kurdish community, adding that the local community has so far dealt with the situation patiently and tried to solve its problems through dialogue, law, and peaceful means.

She added: "We have assured our people that we will work to push this path forward through dialogue, law, and peaceful means, in order to build a constitution for this country that guarantees a shared life for all peoples. We have changed our style of struggle in the hope of building a better future."

"The Interim Government must bear its responsibility"

Hadiya Yousef considered the Interim Government to be the main party responsible for these events, and said that it must bear its responsibility toward the events taking place in the region. She considered that reducing Kurdish language rights opened the door to chaos and became a pretext for racist individuals to attack them under the pretext of revenge.

She highlighted the killing of Sipan Hazni, explaining that a government that possesses laws and judicial institutions could arrest those responsible for these crimes and punish them within 24 hours. However, what is happening instead is the arrest of people who express their protest.

Speaking about the fire that broke out in Kobani prison, Hadiya Yousef held the Damascus government responsible for the incident, noting that the intervention of Public Security Forces affiliated with Aleppo was the direct cause of its occurrence.

She said that the incident would not have happened without the intervention of these forces, questioning the justification for their intervention in Kobani despite knowing that Internal Security Forces were present there. She noted that this intervention led to the fire, and therefore responsibility lies with the Damascus government, demanding that those responsible for the incident be held accountable and brought to justice.

A call for the Damascus government to intervene urgently

In a related context, Hadiya Yousef pointed to the extent of dissatisfaction and suffering experienced by the Kurdish community, calling on the Syrian Interim Government to deal with these concerns seriously and to intervene urgently to avoid further deterioration and greater unrest.

She stressed that the community does not want to be dragged into a civil war, but at the same time demands that justice be achieved and those responsible be held accountable. She emphasized the necessity of holding accountable the killer of Sipan, along with those responsible for the Kobani prison incident, demanding that the Interim Government announce the results of investigations and accountability before public opinion, in a way that consolidates the community's trust in the existence of a clear path to justice in the country.

Hadiya Yousef directed an appeal to the Arab tribes, demanding that they not allow anyone to threaten the Kurdish people in the name of the tribes. She reminded that the Kurdish and Arab peoples have lived together for many years and that they must continue this shared life. "We ask the elders and notables of the Arab tribes to declare their position and prevent these seditions, so that external schemes aimed at igniting a civil war are thwarted."

"The right to the mother tongue must always remain on the agenda"

Hadiya Yousef explained that the Kurdish community must not back down from the issue of its right to the mother tongue, and its taking to the streets to demand education in its language in schools is a legitimate demand. "The recent events cannot be a reason to remove the demand for the Kurdish language right from the agenda."

At the end of her speech, Hadiya Yousef called on the Kurdish community to protect its rights with awareness and not to fall into the traps of sedition and civil war. "The Kurdish people are not a bloodthirsty people, nor an occupying people, but they are ready to work by all means for the stability and security of Syria, provided that their rights are recognized."

Hadiya Yousef Holds the Damascus Government Responsible for the Escalation of Events and Demands Justice

A member of the Co-Presidency Council of the Democratic Union Party, Hadiya Yousef, stressed the necessity of recognizing the rights of the Kurdish people, protecting the mother tongue, and holding those responsible for the recent events in the Rojava regions accountable.