Mazloum Abdi justifies the protests in Hasakah: the result of a general feeling of "exclusion "

The commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, called on the protesters in Al-Hasakah to calm down and give political and administrative understandings a chance to implement, stressing that new agreements have been reached with the Syrian government to address the stalemate in the judicial file, after the escalation of protests over the removal of the Kurdish language from the introductory board of the Justice Palace.

 In an interview with Hawar TV, Abdi said that the judicial file was one of the most sensitive files during the past weeks within the implementation of the January 29 agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF, considering that the protests witnessed in Hasakah, especially in front of the Justice Palace, came as a result of a general feeling of "exclusion" after the removal of the Kurdish paintings, which prompted some protesters to smash the new Arab paintings.

Controversies over the inclusion of judges

Abdi said that the recent  disputes are due to the lack of a clear mechanism for integrating "self-administration" judges into government judicial institutions, and the accompanying concerns related to ensuring their rights and status within the new judicial structure, describing the reactions issued by the judges as "right," because integration must be based on "partnership, not exclusion," as he put it.

He pointed out that intensive meetings were held in Damascus and in the northeastern regions of Syria during the past days, during which it was agreed to accept the integration of the judges of the "Autonomous Administration" and the continuation of the work of some judges and former employees to ensure that citizens' transactions do not stop.

Abdi indicated that the understandings included the delivery of lists of the names of judges in preparation for subjecting them to government judicial courses and confirming them within the official courts, in addition to agreeing to speed up the reopening of judicial centers, given their connection to basic services such as the land registry, passports, elections, and citizens' daily transactions.

He stressed that the disruption of the judicial palace is not only reflected on the judicial file, but also hinders other service and administrative files, which makes its solution a gateway to deal with broader files in the province.

Kurdish language... The focus of the controversy

Regarding the controversy over the Kurdish language, Abdi explained that the Syrian government considers the Justice Palace a sovereign institution and believes that its paintings should be in Arabic only, while the representatives of the region insist on adopting bilingual paintings, adding that recent understandings included the adoption of Arab-Kurdish paintings in the cities of Qamishli, Ayn al-Arab, al-Malikiya, Amuda and al-Derbasiya, with temporary acceptance of Arabic paintings in al-Hasakah until it is re-discussed later.

He pointed out that the popular reactions to the removal of the Kurdish language were "strong and understandable", especially among the youth, which prompted the reopening of the discussion with the Syrian government on this file.

Abdi revealed that the Syrian government has made "promises" to restore the bilingual board in al-Hasakeh at a later stage, without specifying a date, stressing that communication between the two sides will continue to ensure that the linguistic dispute does not become an obstacle to the path of integration.

Abdi called on the protesters to exercise restraint and not to disrupt judicial and service institutions, stressing that the recent understandings constitute an important step to address the outstanding files between the SDF and the Syrian government.

Supreme Committee: The unrest is "transitory"

 The  spokesman of the Supreme Committee for the Elections of the People's Assembly, Nawar Najmeh, described the unrest and limited protests that have taken place in some areas of al-Hasakah over the past few days as a "transient event."

   Najmeh's statement came in conjunction with the announcement by the Supreme Committee, on Monday, May 11, 2026, of the final list of sub-committees in Al-Hasakah province, marking the start of the executive phase of the elections to fill the vacant seats in the province.

Najma stressed that the subcommittees are now in "full legal readiness" and that the organizational procedures have been completed in all centers, stressing that "any local tension will not affect the conduct of the electoral process or the agreed arrangements."

Electoral districts and distribution of committees

According to the decision issued, Al-Hasakah province was divided into three main electoral districts, whose sub-committees will begin their work immediately from their accredited centers, and the committee announced the formation of an independent judicial appeals committee within the province, which will consider electoral objections and appeals, in order to ensure transparency and the integrity of the electoral process.

These steps come within the implementation of the January 29 agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF,  which aims to reactivate administrative and legislative institutions in al-Hasakah and stabilize the mechanisms of joint work between the two parties.

According to the decision, the province has been allocated 10 parliamentary seats in the People's Assembly, which are elected through local electoral bodies, with the exception of seats filled by presidential decree.