Syrian leader in concession to Kurds

Syria’s president has granted citizenship to thousands of Kurds living in a north-eastern province as part of overtures to ease the pressure of widespread anti-government protests.

State-run television said Bashar Assad issued a decree granting citizenship to more than 250,000 Kurds registered as aliens in the Hasaka province records, fulfilling a key demand by the country’s long-ostracised minority.

In a separate decree, Assad sacked the governor of central Homs province, which has been the scene of clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in the past three weeks.

The overtures are part of a series of concessions by the regime designed to subdue the protests that erupted in a southern city on March 18 and spread to other parts of Syria.

The decrees come on the eve of more protests planned by Syrian activists, who have called on social networking sites for nationwide demonstrations on Friday.

Local and international human rights groups have said at least 100 people have been killed in three weeks of the crackdown on demonstrations that echo the recent uprisings across the Arab world.

Kurds – the largest ethnic minority in Syria – make up 15% of the country’s 23 million population and have long complained of neglect and discrimination. Some 250,000 Kurds have been denied citizenship, making it difficult to find work or enrol in the state-run education system.

The government had argued that they are not Syrians but Kurds who fled to the country from neighbouring Turkey or Iraq.

Tensions between Kurds and the authorities have exploded into violence on several occasions. In March 2004, clashes between Syrian Kurds and security forces in the north-eastern city of Qamishli spread to the nearby cities of Hasaka and Aleppo, with at least 25 killed and 100 wounded.

Kurds have so far not joined anti-government protests that started last month, but authorities have been concerned they would, and the latest move is a likely attempt to pacify the community.

The Kurds welcomed the move. Omar Osso, head of the Kurds’ National Initiative, said it will help “tighten the unity” of the Syrian people.

“This is a historic step that has humanitarian and social dimensions,” Mr Osso said.

Assad also dismissed Governor Mohammad Iyad Ghaza, a major demand by Homs residents after deadly clashes between protesters and security forces in the province.

The Syrian leader has already fired the governor of Daraa, an impoverished southern province where the protests began nearly three weeks ago.