Inside Story

Appeasing Syria’s Kurds

Al-Assad has granted citizenship to Kurds in the northeast of the country, but many say protests will continue.

Protests have continued in Syria a day after Bashar al-Assad granted citizenship to a quarter of a million stateless Kurds living in Hasaka, in the northeast of the country.

Some Kurdish leaders have said that being granted their rights should not be considered a favour and that they will continue their non-violent protests demanding civic, political, cultural and social rights.

Will al-Assad’s concessions succeed in containing pro-democracy protests?

Inside Story discusses with guests: George Jabbour, a former member of the Syrian parliament; Radwan Ziadeh, the director of the Damascus Centre of Human Rights; and Harriet Allsopp, a Syrian affairs analyst.

This episode of Inside Story aired on Friday, April 8, 2011.