Syrian Citizenship Disappeared
The 1962 census was part of discriminatory policies against Syrian Kurds pursued by successive Syrian governments, before and after
conducting it. The Syrian senior lieutenant Mohammed Talib Hilal published in 1963 a booklet
entitled A Study of the Jazira Province from National, Social and Political Aspects, in which he
proposed the internal displacement of Kurds,
their marginalization, changing their civil records, blocking their work opportunities, or pitting them against each other.30
8.3. Other property-related policies
have further complicated the Kurdish
issue in Syria
Kurdish activists and politicians keep echoing that the exceptional census was part of an
elaborate plan to reduce Kurdish presence in
Syria along the border in major population centres. The first decree that put restrictions on the
constitutional right to own property is the Legislative Decree No. 193 of 1952, passed on the
grounds of the risks that arise from people suspected to have property adjacent to the border,
and to ensure the safety of the State. Article 1
prohibits the building, transferring or amending
of the land located in the border areas. This includes leasing, joint ventures or contracting for
agricultural investment for longer than three
years.31 A special decree followed, to redefine
the border area and include the town of al-Hassaka. This obliged everyone to have the licensing
for these transactions.32
30 The senior lieutenant Mohammed Talib Hilal, “ A
Study of the Jazira Province from National, Social and
Political Aspects,” published by the Amouda Center for
Kurdish Culture. (Last visit 11 August 2018). http://www.
amude.net/erebi/mihemed-taleb-hilal-lekolin.pdf; See:
Houshneek Ousi, “The Kurdish Political and Cultural Life
in Syria, 1898-2017 (1)”, The Kurdish-Swedish Center
for Studies, 6 January 2018. (Last visit: 11 August 2018).
https://www.nlk-s.net/%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B4%D9%8
6%D9%83-%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%8A-%D8%A7
%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D8%A7%
D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%91%D8
%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A
7%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9/
31 The legal committee of Yekîtî Kurdish Party in Syria,
“Legislative Decree No. 49 issued on 10/9/2008 and its
historical and practical backgrounds, its effects and objectives”, Welatê Me, Sunday 12 October 2008. (Last visit: 6
August 2018) http://www.welateme.net/erebi/modules.
php?name=News&file=print&sid=4540
32 Ibid.
Decree 193 describes the procedure to obtain legal authorisation. This entailed a request
to the administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, that will refer the proposal to the Ministry
of Defence, that will, in turn, approve or decline
it. The Ministry of Interior then sends it to the
intelligence security services for checking. Then,
the Minister for Agriculture passes a decree in
respect of the request of the person who wants
to modify or transfer his rights, and decides on
any further stages that need to be completed. A
negative reply is unequivocal, and is not subject
to recourse to any review or appeal.33
The process of obtaining a licence, according to
Decree No.193, takes no less than a year, not
mentioning efforts and money, which makes the
ownership of an agriculture land in this province
virtually impossible.34
In 2004, Act 41 replaced the 1952 Decree 193,
but maintained the same approach, and provided that the punishment for offending parties will
be up to two years imprisonment and a fine of
100,000 Syrian Pound35. Syrian Kurds hoped for
its abolition. On the 10 September 2008, and
without any mention in the official journal, Legislative Decree No. 49 amended the regulation,
preventing reconstruction without municipal licence. Ironically, the municipality could not deliver the licence without a decision by the court,
the same court having no jurisdiction to statute
on land property, therefore leaving the licence
virtually impossible to obtain.36
33
34
35
36
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
13