Kurdish leader urges constitutional guarantees to avert Syrian tensions

At the Middle East Research Institute Forum in Erbil, Ilham Ahmed, a veteran Kurdish politician and member of Syria's foreign relations committee, urged that the constitution explicitly safeguard Kurdish rights to prevent rising tensions. She praised the ongoing merger of Kurdish-led troops with the Syrian military, which has reopened borders and improved stability, yet warned that women's roles in institutions are declining.

Ahmed cited President Ahmad Al Shara's decree recognizing Kurdish identity, language and citizenship as historic but incomplete, particularly regarding Kurdish-language education. Protests in Hasakah, Qamishli and Kobani over education restrictions illustrate the challenges. She also contested the view that decentralisation threatens Syria's unity, arguing that greater linguistic and cultural inclusion would strengthen the nation.