Mazloum Abdi urges protesters not to obstruct integration

Abdi’s statement comes as the judicial file has become one of the most prominent issues to face obstacles in recent weeks, as part of implementing the January 29 agreement signed between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The issue has coincided with protests in al-Hasakah city, particularly outside the Judicial Palace, where SDF supporters, including members of the Revolutionary Youth, removed and smashed more than one sign for the building because it was written only in Arabic.

Disputes Over Integrating Autonomous Administration Judges

Abdi told Hawar agency, which is close to the SDF, that some problems had emerged in this file about two weeks ago and directly obstructed the integration process for a period of time. He explained that the dispute began because of “the absence of a clear mechanism for Autonomous Administration judges to join the Syrian government within the integration process, and the accompanying concerns related to their rights and the nature of judicial administration in the region.”

He added that “the reaction by the judges and the judicial administration in the region was justified,” considering that “rejecting exclusion is consistent with the essence of integration based on consensus,” rather than excluding one side in favor of another. He noted that the absence of a consensual agreement from the beginning caused the file to stall and affected public opinion in the region.

Abdi explained that several meetings were held during the past period, both in Damascus and in northeastern Syria, and at different levels, to address the crisis and prevent it from becoming an obstacle to broader agreements between the two sides.

He said he held a special meeting with those concerned with the judicial file to overcome the disputes, confirming that the understandings reached with the Syrian government included accepting the integration of Autonomous Administration judges and not excluding them from the new judicial institutions.

Understandings to Reopen Judicial Centers

According to Abdi, the understandings also included allowing some judges and employees who had previously worked within Syrian state institutions to continue their work, to ensure that citizens’ transactions are not halted and judicial work continues. This would be done through a joint work formula that brings together Autonomous Administration judges and judges who had previously served.

He added that lists of the names of Autonomous Administration judges were submitted to the relevant authorities, in preparation for enrolling them in government judicial courses and confirming them within the official courts. He stressed that the two sides agreed to speed up the opening of judicial centers and the resumption of their work, given that many official services are linked to them.

Abdi noted that the continued suspension of the Judicial Palace does not affect only the judicial file, but also other service and administrative files, including elections, passport issuance procedures, the land registry, and the transactions and documents residents need daily.

He said, “Solving the problem of the Judicial Palace is an entry point to solving many other files,” referring to the link between the work of the judicial institution and other state institutions and civil services in the governorate.

Debate Over Kurdish Language Continues

Regarding the ongoing debate over the Judicial Palace sign in al-Hasakah, Abdi explained that the Syrian government considers the Judicial Palace a “sovereign institution” inside the governorate and believes its signs should be in Arabic only. He added that the region’s representatives, referring to the SDF, did not want this disagreement to become a new reason to obstruct the integration process.

He pointed out that the understandings reached with the government include adopting signs in Arabic and Kurdish in the cities of Qamishli (al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria), Ain al-Arab, Kobani, in Aleppo governorate, al-Malikiyah (al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria), Amuda (al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria), and al-Darbasiyah (al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria). He added that dealing with the current situation in al-Hasakah was accepted “for a limited period of time,” provided that it is reconsidered later.

Abdi considered the reactions rejecting the removal of Kurdish to be “justified and strong,” especially among young people, given the sensitivity surrounding the Kurdish language issue in the region. He noted that the protests and recent developments prompted renewed discussion of the file with the Syrian government.

Promises to Restore Bilingual Signs

He added that communication with government representatives continued during the past period, and that an agreement was reached on the need to address the issue of language and names at the Judicial Palace in al-Hasakah during the next stage, in line with the mechanism followed in other Kurdish-majority cities.

He confirmed that the Syrian government gave “pledges” to restore the sign in Arabic and Kurdish at a later stage, but without setting a clear timeline for this.

Abdi called on protesters to give the political and administrative understandings a chance to be translated practically on the ground, and not to obstruct the integration process or delay files linked to the judicial institution and public services in the region.

Protests Continue Outside Judicial Palace

Al-Hasakah city has witnessed repeated tension for weeks over the Judicial Palace file, after the building’s sign was removed and reinstalled more than once, amid protests and sit-ins by SDF supporters and the Revolutionary Youth against the removal of Kurdish from official signs. Meanwhile, the Syrian government and the SDF are trying to reach broader understandings on the management of institutions and services in northeastern Syria.

[Source: Enab Baladi English]