ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurds want to see minority and women’s rights enshrined in the Syrian constitution after the interim government agreed to make changes, according to an official representing the Kurdish administration of northeast Syria (Rojava) in Washington.
“Everybody knows that the constitutional declaration has been declared without any [consultation with minorities],” Sinam Mohamad, Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) representative to the US, told Rudaw English on Friday. “It doesn't represent the aspirations of all the Syrian components in Syria. It only reflects one side of Syria, one side of the people of Syria, which are affiliated with the Syrian government in Damascus. So we need to see a new constitution that reflects the aspiration of all Syrian people, especially the Kurds in Syria.”
The SDC is the political wing of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - the de facto army of Rojava.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in March approved a 53-article constitutional declaration that draws heavily on Islamic jurisprudence, stipulates that the country’s president must be a Muslim, sets out a five-year transitional period, and retains the name Syrian Arab Republic. Kurds, Druze and Alawites have all rejected it.
There have been clashes between government forces and the Druze and Alawite communities and tensions are now high between Rojava and Damascus. Deadly skirmishes broke out between the SDF and armed groups over whom the central government holds limited control earlier this week in the north, particularly around Deir Hafer and Tishreen Dam.
Following US intervention, a Rojava delegation led by SDF chief Mazloum Abdi went to Damascus to meet with Sharaa. After the meeting, the Rojava administration said they verbally agreed on four points, including amending the interim constitution and declaring a nationwide ceasefire, though the truce was violated within hours.
“The constitution of Syria will be modified,” the Rojava administration’s communication office said in a post on X after the meeting.
Mohamad outlined their key demands for the new constitution.
“First we have to get women and Kurdish rights in the constitution of Syria, which is essential for us to see Kurdish rights in the constitution of Syria. Number two, we want to see the role of the women in Syria as they are having a great role in the political and even in the other aspects in the future of Syria. We need to see the decentralization, decentralized system, we have to see that,” she said.
Syrian authorities have yet to confirm any plan to amend the constitutional declaration.
A point of disagreement between Rojava and Damascus has been how to integrate the SDF into the national army as was agreed by Abdi and Sharaa in a landmark agreement last March. The SDF has refused to have its forces enlisted individually and wants to join as a unit, maintaining aspects that make it unique, especially the inclusion of female forces. It is not clear how an army dominated by jihadists would tolerate this.
Mohamad welcomed recent remarks from Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani about this integration.
Barzani, during a panel at the Middle East Research Institute's (MERI) forum on Wednesday, said the way Damascus wants to integrate the SDF into the army is wrong.
“I believe they [SDF] were instructed to integrate with the Syrian army. This perspective is incorrect, it is a flawed viewpoint. They [SDF] were asked to join individually. This is not acceptable. Alternatives can be explored,” he suggested, noting that after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Americans sought and failed to change the name of the Peshmerga - the Kurdistan Region’s armed forces.
“In Syria, this group [SDF] has sacrificed a significant number of martyrs in the battle against ISIS [Islamic State] and has faced immense tragedy. There are 10,000 ISIS combatants incarcerated in prisons in al-Hol. You cannot disregard this all,” Barzani said.
Mohamad said his stance is welcome.
“I think it is a very welcome speech. We need to see that support from all over the other parts of Kurdistan. That would be good for us. I would like to thank Mr. Nechirvan Barzani for his speech. I always see that he is very supportive and we need to see more support for the Syrian issue in northeast Syria and the Kurdish issue there. It is very important to us as the Kurdistan Region has good relations and good diplomatic contacts with so many countries, regional countries, like Turkey, like Syria, and other Arab countries,” she said.
Barzani has met with Sharaa on several occasions and told him that a centralized system will not work in Syria, he revealed to the MERI forum.
