Syria’s Arameans Welcome Damascus-Kurdish Deal but Warn: Marginalization Must End
- Post 10 March 2025
We welcome the landmark agreement signed between Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces chief Mazloum Abdi, marking a critical step in Syria’s ongoing transformation, with the primary goal of achieving lasting peace and security in our homeland. As the indigenous people of Syria with a continuous presence spanning 3,000 years, the Arameans emphasize the following five points regarding this agreement.
1) Political Representation & Equal Rights
We welcome the commitment to guaranteeing the rights of all Syrians in state institutions regardless of ethnic or religious background. However, mere promises are not enough. Concrete steps such as official recognition, guaranteed political representation, and protection of linguistic and cultural rights must be taken to ensure fair representation of Aramean Christians and other marginalized communities.
2) Recognition of Indigenous People
While the pact recognizes the Kurds as “indigenous,” it does not acknowledge the Aramean people – the oldest indigenous group in Syria, with a documented presence spanning 3,000 years, supported by both biblical and scholarly sources. Why does it formally recognize the Kurdish community while ignoring the Arameans?
For years, the SDF has presented itself as a representative force for Kurds, Arabs, and Arameans alike. What remains of its commitment to inclusivity and the recognition of all of Syria’s diverse communities? Any effort to redefine Syria’s ethno-religious composition without recognizing the rightful place of its original inhabitants is historically, politically, and morally objectionable.
3) Security & Return of Displaced Syrians
The return of all displaced Syrians to their ancestral towns and villages is a crucial step. However, we demand ironclad guarantees for the safety and protection of Aramean Christians, whose communities have suffered displacement, persecution, and demographic erosion all across Syria. We call for an internationally monitored security framework to guarantee the safe return and sustainable rebuilding of Syria’s displaced Aramean Christians.
4) Unity of Syria & Protection of Heritage
We firmly support efforts to unify Syria’s state institutions and reject all forms of sectarianism and division. At the same time, any national reconciliation must also cherish and prioritize the preservation of Syria’s ancient Aramean cultural, linguistic, and religious heritage, which remains at risk of erasure.
5) Justice & Accountability
While the agreement rightly supports the Syrian state’s fight against the remnants of Assad’s rule, we emphasize the need for a comprehensive and genuine transitional justice process that holds all perpetrators accountable, whether from the former regime or other armed groups, for their heinous crimes against Aramean Christians in places like Sadad, Maaloula, Homs, Aleppo, Qamishli, and beyond.
We urge Syria’s leadership and the international community to ensure that Arameans are no longer overlooked in Syria’s political future. We call on the new leadership to formally recognize the Arameans as an indigenous people with full rights in the emerging political order.
Furthermore, we urge the international community to take concrete steps to safeguard Syria’s most ancient indigenous people, who stand on the brink of disappearance within the next decade, by ensuring their inclusion in the country’s reconstruction and governance.
Download this press release here in PDF.
