For thousands of years, Newroz has marked the birth of a new year, symbolizing renewal, freedom, and the triumph over oppression. While it is celebrated as the start of the year by Kurds, Persians, and other peoples, for Kurds in particular, it transcends mere festivity. It stands as a symbol of liberation and a testament to their distinct identity wherever they are.
Discussing Newroz in Syria inevitably recalls a pivotal moment in its history. In 1986, the Syrian security forces banned Kurdish celebrations in Damascus, home to thousands of Kurds. When protesters marched toward the presidential palace, the Republican Guard opened fire, killing 19-year-old Suleiman Adi. Public outrage over his killing pressured the Baath regime into recognizing March 21 as a public holiday, albeit under the name of Mother’s Day. This renaming was a deliberate political move, given that official Syrian commemorative stamps previously marked Mother’s Day as May 14.
Newroz in a New Syria
Since the fall of Assad’s dictatorship on December 8, 2024, Syrians have been living through their own Newroz, the dawn of freedom. This moment represents the beginning of a new calendar of liberation, particularly after five decades under the Assad regime and the Baath Party’s rule. As Syrians look forward with hope after years of war and displacement, the next steps are critical.
For regions that had already slipped from the regime’s grip, the focus has shifted to national reconstruction. But what expectations did the diverse political and social forces in northern and eastern Syria—or those under the Syrian Democratic Forces—have for this new era?
A Nation in Transition
The pace of change in Syria has been so rapid that it has often outstripped the public’s ability to process or engage with unfolding events. Syrians have been racing against time to balance economic survival with the broader political aspirations that drove them to revolt 14 years ago. Despite this, certain key milestones have defined this transitional period—milestones that the interim government’s official media has been careful to sidestep, deliberately avoiding references to the term “transitional period” in official discourse. Instead, they seek to impose a sense of permanence on what supposed to be a temporary arrangement under the guiding principle of “whoever liberates, decides.”
This evolving timeline has been shaped by several major developments: the Victory Declaration Conference, the National Dialogue Conference, the Coastal Region Crisis, the Abdi-Sharaa Agreement, and the Constitutional Declaration.
Among these events, the transitional constitutional declaration was meant to reflect Syria’s diversity. Newroz was finally recognized as a national holiday, with government offices closing across the country in observance—acknowledging its significance for Syria’s second-largest ethnic minority. Similar provisions were made for other religious and ethnic holidays, reflecting a more inclusive national identity.
Read also: https://963media.com/en/19/03/2025/nowruz-kurds-syria/
A Flawed Constitutional Declaration
The agreement between Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, and Ahmad Al-Sharaa, the interim Syrian president, marked a historic moment. It was the first time in modern Syrian history that the Kurds were officially recognized and granted political legitimacy through a public agreement.
However, even before the ink on this agreement had dried, the transitional constitutional declaration was issued—set to govern the country for the next five years. For many Syrians, particularly those from minority communities, it was a disappointment.
The preamble made no reference to Syria’s ethnic and religious diversity. It failed to embrace the nation’s rich mosaic, which had long been the Achilles’ heel of both the Assad regime and the Baath Party. This omission suggests that diversity management is proving just as challenging for Syria’s new rulers.
The Challenge of Embracing Diversity
For decades, the Baath regime mastered the art of suppressing diversity rather than embracing it. While it often boasted of Syria’s pluralism, this was mostly reduced to token gestures, such as folkloric dance performances devoid of any explicit recognition of ethnic or cultural differences.
The interim constitutional declaration has continued this pattern. It lacks any meaningful acknowledgment of Syria’s ethnic and religious groups and instead reinforces Arab-Islamic centralism. The only direct reference to diversity appears in Clause Three of Article Seven, which obliges the new government to acknowledge Syria’s pluralistic nature. If this obligation is to be taken seriously, at the very least, Newroz should be officially recognized as a national holiday, with all Syrians joining their Kurdish compatriots in lighting the traditional Newroz fire on the night of March 20.
*This article was published on the back page of Issue 3 of “+963 Weekly,” released on Friday, March 21, 2025.
