Khaberni - An interview conducted with the Syrian Minister of Education, Mohammad Turkawi, received significant interaction after the host doubted whether the minister was Kurdish because his family name "Turkawi" hints towards Turks.
The Kurdish channel Rudaw conducted an interview with the new Syrian Minister of Education, Mohammad Turkawi, who is from the Kurdish city of Afrin in Syria.
During the interview on Rudaw channel, the host insisted on speaking to the minister's mother who said: "We came to the Zorava region and have stayed there for 42 years and thankfully, we faced no issues."
The host responded: "You have been in Zorava for 42 years, don’t you miss Afrin?", to which the mother replied: "We are from Afrin, from the village of Hammameh.. yes, we miss Afrin and God willing, we will go there for the big holiday.. we are from Afrin and we used to live in Hammameh next to Jandairis."
The host said: "You are Kurds? With the word Turkawi next to your name", (referring to the family name of the minister), whereupon the mother said: "Thank God we are not for any place, we are for Syria."
The host continued commenting: "Afrin Kurds but tagged with the Turks' name."
Commentators remarked on what occurred during the interview, with one of them writing: "The host can't believe he's Kurdish just because he holds a position in the Syrian state."
It is noted that Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shar’a issued a decree stating that “the state is committed to protecting cultural and linguistic diversity and guarantees Kurdish citizens the right to revive their heritage and arts.”
It added: "Syrian Kurdish citizens are an essential and integral part of the people and an inseparable part of the national identity."
The decree granted "citizenship to all citizens of Kurdish descent residing in Syria", equating them in rights and duties. It made the Nowruz holiday an official holiday with paid leave throughout the country.
The new presidential decree confirms that the Kurdish language is a national language and allows its teaching in public and private schools in areas where Kurds constitute a significant percentage of the population, as part of the elective curriculums or as an educational cultural activity. It abolishes all the extraordinary laws and measures resulting from the 1962 census in Al-Hasakah governorate.
The presidential decree requires state media and educational institutions to adopt an inclusive national discourse, legally prohibits any discrimination or exclusion based on ethnicity or language, and punishes anyone who incites ethnic strife according to existing laws, while the ministries and relevant entities issue necessary executive instructions for implementing this decree.
Addressing the Kurds before signing the decree, the Syrian president said: “Do not believe the narrative that we wish harm on our Kurdish people... I urge every Kurd who has been forcibly displaced from his land to return unconditionally, except for laying down arms.”
