YASA e.V. - Kurdish Centre for
Legal Studies & Consultancy
 

    

 

                  

 

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Group Denial - Repression of Kurdish Political and Cultural Rights in Syria
Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch urge the governments of the European Union and the USA to communicate their strong disapproval of Syria’s treatment of its Kurdish minority and to emphasize that further progress in their relations with Syria will depend on concrete improvements in Syria’s human rights situation.

To read the report in English please click here PDF

To read the report in Arabic please click here PDF

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Forum on Minority Issues in Geneva

YASA’s Statement on the situation of the Kurds in the field of participation in Syria at the first session of the Forum which took place on 12 and 13 November 2009 at the United Nations, Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The thematic focus of the 2nd session of the Forum was "Minorities and the right of participation".

Read the full version of the English statement PDF

Read the full version of the Arabic statement PDF

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The Festival of Kurdish Poetry

On 24 October 2009 YASA e.V. - Kurdish Centre for Legal Studies and Consultancy and the committee of the Festival organizes in Bonn the Festival of Kurdish Poetry outside the homland to listen to poems in Kurdish  and German language.

From 14:00 to 19:00 in König Str.: 88 - 53115 Bonn.

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Current situation of the Kurds in Syria
Federal Office for Migration - Switzerland
 
Kurdish is not recognized as an official language and can not be taught at the schools. The Kurdish flag is prohibited. Newroz celebration (Kurdish New Year festival) is tolerated in Kurdish areas but prohibited in the large cities (Damascus, Aleppo).

Also prohibited are public cultural events in the Kurdish language. The Constitution prohibits the establishment of political parties on ethnic and religious basis. However, there are 13-15 Kurdish political parties. They are partially tolerated, but strictly monitored by the State Security Service. There is a strong government censorship and the repression is far reaching.
 
To read the report in German please click here PDF

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The situation of the Kurdish asylum seekers, and the German-Syrian agreement

YASA e.V. - Kurdish Center for Legal Studies and Consultancy invites you to participate in the seminar "the situation of Kurdish asylum seekers and the German-Syrian agreement" on Saturday, 25.07.2009 at 17:00 O'clock in Bochum.

In addition the legal and diplomatic activities of YASA and its future plans and relations with the Kurdish parties and organizations in and outside Germany will be highlighted.


Address: Cultural Cafe
Universitätsstrasse 150
44801 Bochum

 

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Workshop on Human Rights and the Politics

YASA e.V. - Kurdish Center for Legal Studies and Consultancy organises a workshop on July 04, 2009 for Kurdish lawyers, political scientists, economists, media experts and human rights activists.

Participation is only with prior registration and invitation.

For further information, please contact Mr. Jian Badrakhan at: info@yasa-online.org


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The Kurds in Syria: Fueling Separatist Movements in the Region?
United States Institute of Peace - By Radwan Ziadeh

-Kurds in Syria have been denied basic social, cultural, and political rights, in many cases stemming from the Syrian state’s refusal to grant citizenship.

-Kurdish political opposition in Syria is fractured. Though some join Kurds in other countries in calling for the emergence of a separate Kurdish state, many Kurds reject separatism and have generally been committed to peaceful democratic struggle.

-Democratic reforms in Syria that improve the human rights situation for Kurds and non-Kurds could go a long way to alleviate the tension between the Kurds and the Syrian state.

-The problems that Syrian Kurds face cannot be truly solved without an effort both to improve the human rights of Kurds throughout the region and to foster their political inclusion in their states of residency.

-The United States and European Union should use any diplomatic tools at their disposal to promote appropriate reforms in Syria and the region.

 To read the Full report please click here

 

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Syria's Kurds History, Politics and Society
By Jordi Tejel

This book is a decisive contribution to the study of Kurdish history in Syria since the mandatory period (1920-1946) up to nowadays.

Avoiding an essentialist approach, Jordi Tejel provides fine, complex and sometimes paradoxical analysis about the articulation between tribal, local, regional, and national identities, on one hand, and the formation of a Kurdish minority awareness vis-à-vis the consolidation of Arab nationalism in Syria, on the other hand.

Using unpublished material, in particular concerning the Mandatory period (French records and Kurdish newspapers) and social movement theory, Tejel analyses the reasons of this "exception" within the Kurdish political sphere. In spite of the exclusion of Kurdishness from the public sphere, especially since 1963, Kurds of Syria have avoided a direct confrontation with the central power, most Kurds opting for a strategy of "dissimulation", cultivating internally the forms of identity that challenge the official ideology. The book explores the dynamics leading to the consolidation of Kurdish minority awareness in contemporary Syria; an ongoing process that could take the form of radicalization or even violence.

To read the first 30 pages please click here

To buy the book please click here

 

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Forum on Minority Issues in Geneva

YASA’s Statement on the situation of the Kurds in the field of education in Syria at the first session of the Forum which took place on 15 and 16 December 2008 at the United Nations, Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The thematic focus of the 1st session of the Forum was "Minorities and the right to education".

Read the full version of the English statement PDF

Read the full version of the Arabic statement PDF

 


 


 


 

 

 

 

 

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