Guterres: Kurdish-language education dispute should be resolved through dialogue inside Syria
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the debate over the end of Kurdish-language education in Rojava to be handled within Syria, urging a fair approach to language rights.
RastinewsUN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded to a question from Rudaw's Namo Abdulla about Syria's Education Ministry decision to reduce Kurdish, in areas with a dense Kurdish population, to an elective subject taught three hours a week.
Guterres said questions concerning the education system should be discussed among Syrians themselves. "I hope an appropriate solution can be found that takes the interests of the people into account," he said.
Guterres said he had met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at least twice and argued that Sharaa had made "the right statements" about the country's future. He said there was a commitment to implementing the agreement reached between the Damascus government and the Kurdish leadership, and that the process was "moving in the right direction."
Under Decree No. 13, issued by Sharaa in January, Kurdish was recognized as a "national language," opening the way for it to be taught in public and private schools in areas with a dense Kurdish population. The decree also stated that Kurds are an integral part of the Syrian people and pledged to protect their cultural and linguistic identity.
But a decision by Syria's Education Ministry in late August limited Kurdish to three class hours and one activity per week. Arabic was designated as the primary language of instruction, effectively ending the Kurdish-language education system the Kurdish administration had run for more than a decade.
Under the transition arrangements, students may study subjects such as social studies, history, geography and philosophy in either Kurdish or Arabic. The decision triggered protests in a number of Kurdish-populated cities, with demonstrators demanding that Kurdish be preserved not merely as a subject but as a language of instruction.
Guterres said Syria was emerging from years of war and dictatorship and that a "perfect country" could not be expected under current conditions, calling on the international community to support Syria. "Syria is generally moving in the right direction," he said.