Damascus, January 16 (QNA) - Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa issued a decree today granting the country's Kurds national rights and permitting the adoption of Kurdish as a "national language."

The presidential decree affirmed that Syrian Kurdish citizens constitute an essential and integral part of the Syrian people, and that their cultural and linguistic identity represents an inseparable component of the unified and diverse Syrian national identity. It emphasized the state's commitment to protecting cultural and linguistic diversity and guaranteeing the right of Kurdish citizens to revive their heritage and arts and develop their mother tongue within the framework of national sovereignty.

The decree also stipulated the adoption of Kurdish as a national language, permitting its teaching in public and private schools in predominantly Kurdish areas.

The decree further repealed all exceptional laws and measures resulting from the 1962 census in Al-Hasakah Governorate, stressing the adoption of a unifying national discourse and criminalizing any incitement or ethnic or linguistic discrimination. The relevant authorities are tasked with issuing the necessary implementing regulations.

It should be noted that the 1962 census had deprived about 20 percent of the Kurds of Syrian citizenship. (QNA)