The Syrian government has decided to take action to address the problems of the 400,000 Kurds who have been living in this country as stateless people since 1962. Kurds who were previously Turkish citizen will be returned to Turkey upon their request, while those who wish to stay in Syria will become full citizens. The Syrian administration, a supporter of Turkey’s recent initiative to resolve the Kurdish problem, is preparing to take concrete actions including granting a general amnesty to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants. Syria and Turkey, which have agreed to address the issues of stateless Kurds in the region for the first time, are now working together to resolve their problems. Syria, while eager to implement a comprehensive set of solutions, does not, however, expect short-term results. The Syrian administration, ready to issue a general amnesty for Syrian militants within the PKK in northern Iraq, is also carrying out a new census to ascertain the exact number of Kurds who have been living in their territory as stateless people since 1962.
On Sept. 10, 2008, the Syrian government declared that the sale of property or construction of new facilities or buildings in the country’s predominantly Kurdish areas has been banned. With this decision, the Syrian authorities sought to prevent the settlement of Kurds who illegally migrated from Iraq or Turkey. The law, however, also increased the number of Kurds who had no right to citizenship in Syria. The exact number of stateless Kurds will be calculated after a comparison between the current count and the census in 1945.
Stateless Kurds as product of Cold War
Current estimates place the number of Kurds in Syria, which has a total population of 17 million, at 2 million; Kurds constitute the largest ethnic minority in the country. Syria’s Baathist regime left 300,000 Kurds stateless in the aftermath of the 1962 census. Of those, 225,000 were deprived of their citizenship rights and designated foreigners whereas the remaining 75,000 were defined as aliens whose identity is uncertain. Stateless Kurds live in Syria carrying pink ID cards identifying them as tourists.
Then-President Nazim al-Kudsi, who ordered the census in pursuit of a policy of Arabization in Syria, argued that the stateless Kurds migrated from Turkey and further asked them to prove that they had been living in the country since 1945. Turkey, on the other hand, made no comment on the origin of the stateless Kurds in Syria. French archives show that the number of Kurds migrating from Turkey to Syria in the 1930s was around 22,000. The Baathist regime has worked hard to ensure their repatriation to Turkey. However, Turkey has shown no interest in taking these people back, considering that they might have escaped from the Kurdish insurgencies back then.
The Baathist regime distributed orange ID cards to many stateless people residing within its borders but provided no card for stateless Kurds, who it defined as “people whose origin was uncertain.” The property of these Kurds was subsequently seized by the government. Bashar al-Assad, who succeeded his father Hafez al-Assad as president, has pursued a milder policy vis-à-vis stateless Kurds since 2005; this change of policy is attributed to the improved bilateral relations between Turkey and Syria.
Stateless Kurds counted
Turkey’s recent Kurdish initiative has served as a turning point for stateless Kurds in Syria. The Syrian administration pledged to address the problems of Kurds holding orange ID cards in 2005, whereas it made no promise with regard to stateless Kurds. However, the Syrian authorities have changed their attitude thanks to the recent Kurdish initiative.
In response to international pressure, Syria has agreed to count its stateless Kurds. Syrian Kurds holding no ID cards are currently being counted in predominantly Kurdish areas including Ras al-Ayn, Tel Tamer, Amuda, Qamishli, ar-Raqqah and Aleppo. Kurds argue that the number of stateless Kurds is around 300,000-400,000. Syrian authorities, however, make no mention of any number; human rights organizations in Syria estimate that the number of stateless Kurds in country is approximately 225,000.
As part of the new census, Syrian officials are collecting information on people’s marital status and how many children they have, in addition to asking about Kurds’ whole family trees. Kurds participating in the census are being told that they will be given citizenship. However, the Syrian administration is particularly concerned about the compensation to be paid to stateless Kurds because of the maltreatment they have been subjected to. In an attempt to address international pressure demanding payment of large amounts of compensation, the Syrian administration has decided to work with Turkey hand in hand to resolve this problem. Syrian authorities hope that a substantial number of stateless Kurds will be admitted by Turkey as a result of this initiative.
In addition, Damascus has also agreed to introduce new legislation and measures by which the Kurds will receive some cultural, social and religious rights. They are considering creating an interim Kurdish council to be formed with the participation of leaders of Kurdish tribes; the council will collect the demands of the Kurds in the country. Syrian Kurds are not allowed to express their identity or freely enjoy their culture; they are allowed to celebrate Nevruz, but they are not allowed to speak their native language.
Borders gates packed
The admission of 34 PKK militants from northern Iran by Turkey and their recognition as full citizens has raised hopes among Kurds in Syria; rumors now suggest that Turkey will distribute ID cards to stateless Kurds. Syrian Kurds who have no passports or ID cards are now eager to migrate to Turkey. It seems that a large number of people will flow through the Turkish border because of unemployment problems in Syria. Those who have illegally migrated from Turkey are now trying to prove that they were actually Turkish citizens. To this end, they have begun to file cases in the relevant courts; local courts in Mardin, Kilis, Hatay and Şanlıurfa are currently reviewing a substantial number of such cases.
Diplomacy
