Syrian Citizenship Disappeared 7. Background on the Kurds’ political status in Syria: In 23 June 1928, Kurdish intellectuals submitted their first statement to the Syrian Constituent Assembly. They demanded the recognition of the Kurdish language, alongside Arabic, an official language in the Kurdish regions, and it to be the teaching language in schools there, as well as the appointment of Kurdish employees in Kurds areas. The establishment of the cultural association Koyboun, proclaimed in 1927 in Bhamdoun town-Lebanon, was the precursor of the rise of Kurdish nationalism. It published numerous magazines and newspapers in a number of languages including Kurdish such as Hawar (The Scream) magazine, issued by the Emir Celadet Bedir Khan from Damascus, with 57 issues from 1932 to 1942, and launched a Kurdish radio which broadcasted from Lebanon from 1937 to 1946. It is worth noting that the 1950s witnessed the establishment of many Kurdish organisations and civil associations, whose demands grounded in the expansion of democratic practices, including the recognition of Kurdish language and culture and the respect of the Kurdish identity within the larger Syrian identity. The same demands appeared in the first political programme presented by “The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria”18 in 1957: defending the Kurdish national presence in Syria, the realization of national, cultural and administrative rights within the framework of a democratic Syrian state.19 In the view of many Kurds, the Kurdish issue in Syria20 goes further beyond merely claiming 18 The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria was the first Kurdish party in Syria, established on 13 June 1957 by a group of Syrian Kurds including (Abdulhamid Darwish, Othman Sabri and Hamza al-Nouairan). For more info please read: (Highlights on the Kurdish Movement in Syria- events of 1956-1983), Abdulhamid Darwish. 19 Mash’al Tammo, “The Kurdish Issue in Syria, taboos and static justification regimes”, Middle East Transparent, 22 February 2005(Last visit: 6 August 2018). https:// www.metransparent.com/old/texts/mishal_tamou_kurd_ in_syria.htm 20 The “Syrian Arab Republic” is the current official name of the country, which implies the unrecognition of other non-Arab nationalities in Syria, such as the Kurds, Turkomans, Circassians, Armenians and Assyrians. Dozens of official documents published by the successive Syrian governments have been reviewed during the prepa- citizenship, and seeks the recognition of Kurds’ national, political, cultural and social rights, safeguarded by the international human rights instruments.21 8. Ethnic-based discrimination in Syria: 8.1. Non-Arab minorities in Syria: Over the past decades, the cultural rights of non-Arab minorities have been ignored, and Syria’s successive constitutions were based on an ideology of Arabisation, considering all Syrian citizens as Arabs, with an impact on the Syrian regime’s policy and domestic legislation. The 1963 coup d’état, known as the “8 March Revolution», gave way to Arab nationalism. The new power led by Ba’athist officers, including ration of this report. The term “State of Syria” was used in official transactions in the years following the emergence of the state and later it was replaced by “Syrian Republic”. The word “Arab” was inserted effectively in the State’s name after the unity with Egypt in 1958 “United Arab Republic”, after its dissolution, however, in 1961 by the then “ Supreme Arab Revolutionary Command of the Armed Forces “ (The Separatist Movement), “Syrian Arab Republic” became the official name of the state used in letters and correspondence. Read, Hashim Othman, The Modern History of Syria (Beirut-Lebanon: Riad El-Rayyes Books, First Edition 2012), 302-338-339. You can also visit the “Syrian History” website for more documents. See, “A Card of a Student in Damascus High School before the Declaration of Unity with Egypt in 1958”, (Last visit: 9 August 2018) http://www.syrianhistory.com/ar/photos/ 4525?tag=%D9%88%D8%AB%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%82 , and “An ID of a Na’im tribe member, stamped with the seal of the tribal sheikh in 1950 “(Last visit: 9 August 2018) http://www.syrianhistory.com/ar/photos/5784?tag =%D9%88%D8%AB%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%82 . 21 Houshneek Ousi, The Tragedy of Stateless Syrian Kurds, al-Hayat Newspaper, 21 July 2007(Last visit: 6 August). http://www.alhayat.com/article/1345311/%D 9%85%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D8% A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A7% D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8 %B1%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9% 84%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%8A %D9%86-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D 8%AC%D9%86%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9-nbsp 11