Kurdistan: Encyclopedia II - Kurdistan - Western Kurdistan

Kurdistan - Western Kurdistan

Western Kurdistan or Syrian Kurdistan (Kurdish: Kurdistana Binxetê) is a geocultural region located in present-day north-eastern Syria.

It covers the province of "Hesaka" or Al Hasakah. The main cities in this region are Al-Qamishli (or "Qamişlû" in Kurdish) and Al Hasakah (or "Hesaka" in Kurdish). Kurds make up around 9% to 10% of the population in Syria. (see Demographics_of_Syria and [14]).

According to Human Rights Watch, there are 142,465 Kurds (by the government's count), and well over 200,000 Kurds (according to Kurdish sources), who have been arbitrarily denied the right to Syrian nationality in violation of international law. They are not permitted to own land, housing or businesses. They cannot be employed at government agencies and state-owned enterprises, and cannot practice as doctors or engineers. They may not legally marry Syrian citizens. Kurds with "foreigner" status, as they are called, do not have the right to vote in elections or referenda, or run for public office. They are not issued passports or other travel documents, and thus may not legally leave or return to Syria.

Suppression of ethnic identity of Kurds in Syria include: various bans on the use of the Kurdish language; refusal to register children with Kurdish names; replacement of Kurdish place names with new names in Arabic; prohibition of businesses that do not have Arabic names; not permitting Kurdish private schools; and the prohibition of books and other materials written in Kurdish. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Western Kurdistan", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki