Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:08of question, especially in
00:00:13I mean, from
00:00:22have some kind of the Third Republic program a number
00:00:43When people's affairs are managed from We open this a place far from them,
00:00:47solutions may be delayed and the needs of cities
00:00:50and regions remain outside the scope of attention. From here
00:00:54arises the discussion about centralization and administrative
00:00:57decentralization, and about expanding the powers of the regions,
00:01:01as a discussion about
00:01:04of fear of how to manage the state efficiently and justly, and about the right of every
00:01:08region to have a voice and role in
00:01:11determining its priorities.
00:01:14and the rest of the matters come from In Syria, this discussion raises real questions
00:01:18and concerns: Does
00:01:19this be managed decentralization mean dividing the country or weakening the state? Can
00:01:23local powers turn into
00:01:26thank you. It's a gateway for nepotism or to increase disparities between one region
00:01:30and another? And who guarantees that resources will be distributed
00:01:33fairly and that decisions remain subject to law
00:01:37and accountability? These questions should not
00:01:40to scatter. No, be ignored, and answering them with slogans
00:01:44is not enough. What is required is to understand the difference
00:01:48between local governance closer to the people
00:01:51afraid of and the disintegration of the state, and to search for
00:01:54a formula that preserves the unity of the country and guarantees
00:01:58equality among its citizens, and grants local
00:02:03in Syria, this communities greater ability to manage their affairs within clear institutions
00:02:06and effective oversight. So, what
00:02:10should remain of the powers of the central state, and what
00:02:14can be managed locally? And how
00:02:17can we expand the powers of the regions without
00:02:20any accountability, anything, would be on losing the unity of the state or
00:02:24from the people so that the people choose so that there aspect at the same time. So, they are not the fairness of rights?
00:02:25two opposites that cannot This is the weekly statement from the Third
00:02:26Republic.
00:02:35system capable of
00:02:47infrastructure
00:02:49situation in each country.
00:02:50crossing. Therefore, many
00:02:57regime, remaining Between federalism, semi- federalism, centralization, and
00:03:00decentralization, the forms of local governance vary, and
00:03:04each has its advantages
00:03:07people, which destroyed this and disadvantages. More details in this material, and we will return to begin
00:03:10governorate, or based on the discussion.
00:03:12Countries differ in the way they organize governance and distribute
00:03:15powers between the central government and regional
00:03:18and local authorities. In
00:03:21a federal system, powers are constitutionally distributed between a federal
00:03:25government and states or regions. The federal
00:03:29I mean, you know the service situation government usually handles defense and foreign policy,
00:03:33while states enjoy legislative
00:03:36and executive
00:03:38many structural diseases in powers constitutionally the late sixties protected. This
00:03:42democracy and elections in system allows for respecting the specificities of regions, but it can lead to overlapping
00:03:45and we have written a lot, indeed, at powers and complicated
00:03:48and you called it that there is decision-making. Examples include the United States,
00:03:53many see. But on the Germany, Switzerland, and Iraq.
00:03:56elections. The issue is about As for the semi- federal system, regions
00:03:58enjoy broad political autonomy that includes
00:04:02legislative and executive
00:04:05institutions within a constitutionally unified
00:04:10and not concentrating on state. It helps to expand regional participation,
00:04:13their decision as well. Now, this but it can raise disputes over the limits of powers and the relationship
00:04:16hoping that this matter with the center. Examples include Spain
00:04:19and Italy, with differences in their self-governance
00:04:22arrangements. In a centralized system, basic decisions
00:04:26and policymaking are concentrated in the national government,
00:04:30while its subordinate administrations implement
00:04:33them locally. It
00:04:36wants, I mean, wants to helps to unify policies
00:04:36set plans that do not align or do not and coordinate the work of institutions,
00:04:37The fear of a segment of but it can slow down decisions
00:04:40society from and weaken responsiveness to local needs. Examples
00:04:42include Turkey and Greece, despite the existence
00:04:46of elected municipalities and local
00:04:49margin of powers
00:04:51a considerable margin of in both.
00:04:54power and wealth. So, in As for decentralization, it means distributing powers,
00:04:56responsibilities, and resources to local or regional
00:05:00authorities that enjoy relative independence from the central
00:05:04government. It helps to bring decisions closer to citizens
00:05:08and improve responsiveness to their needs,
00:05:10but it can lead to disparities between regions if their
00:05:14resources and administrative capacities differ. Decentralization has
00:05:18three main dimensions: political, which grants regions or
00:05:21elected councils powers in governance
00:05:25and decision-making, and may include legislation, as in
00:05:28Spain; administrative, which grants councils and municipalities
00:05:32responsibility for managing local services and facilities,
00:05:36as in France; and financial, which grants local
00:05:38authorities powers in managing budgets, revenues,
00:05:42and expenditures, as in Denmark. These dimensions may
00:05:46converge within a single state, whether it is
00:05:49unitary or federal.
00:05:55discussion with Mr. Fouad Aliko, member of the Political Committee of the
00:05:59Kurdistan Democratic Party in Syria, who joins us from Erbil.
00:06:02Welcome, and Mr. Bishr Hawa, member of the People's Assembly from Aleppo. Welcome
00:06:05to you too, and Dr. Ammar Kahf, Executive Director of Omran Center
00:06:09for Strategic Studies, who joins us from Damascus. Welcome.
00:06:13And I will start with you, Dr. Ammar. If
00:06:16we can simply
00:06:18explain the differences between decentralization
00:06:21and centralization, extended administrative decentralization, federalism,
00:06:24and confederalism, and
00:06:27what are the administrative systems suitable
00:06:30for Syria's current
00:06:32situation?
00:06:35It's a very complex question,
00:06:39very difficult to explain all these
00:06:42details, but you know there is a fear when we mention
00:06:45decentralization or
00:06:46centralization.
00:06:50I mean, first of all, this concept is not a single
00:06:53, sharp concept. There is a spectrum of different forms
00:06:57of delegation and
00:07:01transfer of powers.
00:07:03Any central authority either delegates or transfers, or
00:07:07there is no exclusivity. I mean, there are many forms of transfer of
00:07:11powers and resources, and distribution of these resources.
00:07:14I mean, it is very important that we do not reduce
00:07:17the issue of centralization and decentralization as if they are two
00:07:21sharp opposites, but rather there are many forms, horizontal
00:07:25and vertical. There are degrees of the same
00:07:29delegation, and sometimes you may find a central
00:07:32aspect and a decentralized
00:07:38coexist, and this is part of the conceptual confusion
00:07:41that exists in many countries. I mean, especially countries
00:07:44that have emerged from revolutions or civil
00:07:48wars also suffer from, uh, I mean,
00:07:51the time period required for the transition
00:07:54to a specific form that suits
00:07:57the distribution of powers, that suits the geopolitical
00:08:02I mean, when we talk about what we need in Syria, it is something
00:08:05specific, tailored to our needs, based on a real
00:08:09dialogue between the population and
00:08:12based also on understanding the needs
00:08:15and resources. This means that you cannot go to the extreme
00:08:18degrees of decentralization or delegation or transfer
00:08:21of powers to a smaller
00:08:24level. What is the appropriate model for Syria according to the current
00:08:28reality and according to what Syria has gone through from experiences
00:08:31of excessive centralization, and also,
00:08:34in contrast, 14 years of revolution have greatly
00:08:38weakened the regions. in
00:08:44I mean,
00:08:47yes, I mean, the problem is that we have
00:08:51the organizational and administrative structure,
00:08:54and I was trying to say that the decentralized
00:08:57solution cannot be reduced to a magic solution that
00:09:00will solve the problem of corruption and solve the issue of resource
00:09:03distribution and solve participation and solve no, I mean,
00:09:07there are many elements, including the issue of
00:09:10distributing powers. I mean, the issue of centralization and decentralization
00:09:14at its core is the distribution of powers and resources
00:09:17in a way that makes the population
00:09:21feel justice in this distribution and feel that they own
00:09:26feeling is relative, and this feeling is a spectrum of
00:09:29its diverse forms. I am trying to simplify
00:09:32the concepts for male and female viewers
00:09:35that this issue is not very complicated and difficult to say,
00:09:39"Oh, these are terms only politicians or academics discuss,"
00:09:43but rather it is how you live your life in a remote
00:09:46town or city. How do services
00:09:49reach you? How do you vote for them? Is
00:09:53the local elected official have fewer
00:09:56or more powers than the one appointed
00:09:59by the center? And is the center one, or are there
00:10:02layers: governorate, city,
00:10:06town, region, perhaps in some countries? I mean, these
00:10:09degrees also create advantages and create
00:10:17advantages. Yes, but let's be clear that the concept of administrative
00:10:20decentralization does not mean dividing the country or its
00:10:23disunity or weakening it. As we mentioned, it is an issue related
00:10:26to how every citizen in Syria gets their
00:10:30right and justice
00:10:33in services, social justice, and economic
00:10:37justice. I will go to Mr. I will come back to you, Mr. Ammar, but I will go to Mr. Fouad
00:10:40Aliko. Mr. Fouad,
00:10:43why, from your point of view, should Syria
00:10:47decentralization, or perhaps does agreement on the form of governance in
00:10:51Syria require dialogue between its components?
00:10:55Is there a need for this from your point of view, especially
00:10:59since I mean,
00:11:02there were accusations, and they are not accusations, it is
00:11:05a reality. The Kurdish component,
00:11:08its political representatives, had demands
00:11:11previously related
00:11:22noticed from the speech of my friend Dr.
00:11:25Ammar a tone
00:11:29embarking on the concept of
00:11:31political decentralization, and he tried by all
00:11:35means to scatter ideas
00:11:39so that
00:11:51put forward several. He put forward several
00:11:54issues in one basket. I mean, fears from
00:11:57certain aspects, the issue of services, the issue
00:12:13systems, I mean, we are always
00:12:16the new. This is a natural human
00:12:19condition. But if we go back a little
00:12:23in time and
00:12:26look at the history of centralized Arab
00:12:29countries, especially republics,
00:12:33of which we are a part, the Syrian Arab Republic or the Syrian
00:12:36Republic, as we want or wish it to be
00:12:39named, eight Arab republics
00:12:43started with a democratic system, with a democratic
00:12:46constitution that respects human rights, and ended
00:12:49with the worst dictatorships
00:12:52that have not been seen
00:12:55in many countries in the world.
00:12:58So this centralized system has been proven
00:13:02flawed for half a century. So what is the desired form
00:13:05from your point of view now, away from the centralized
00:13:07system? The extremely centralized system.
00:13:11The decentralized system, then, is the
00:13:15decentralized system.
00:13:17Decentralization is multifaceted, Mr. Fouad. There is administrative
00:13:20decentralization, extended administrative decentralization, political
00:13:24decentralization. I mean, there are differences between them, and significant
00:13:27differences. Decentralization has multiple levels, as
00:13:31you mentioned, and professors of law differentiate them further,
00:13:35from federalism to political decentralization to extended administrative
00:13:38decentralization to administrative decentralization. In fact, administrative
00:13:41decentralization, as stated in your report, in France's experience,
00:13:45France's experience, you notice from time to time
00:13:48that it creates difficulties
00:13:52for French society, and what we see
00:13:55today reminds us of what happened in
00:14:00in France. So, this administrative decentralized
00:14:04system, as long as powers are in the hands of the center and can
00:14:07be abolished by a decision from the center or from the Minister of Local Administration
00:14:10or from the President of the Republic by decree, then this
00:14:14is currently unsuitable for our societies. The federal
00:14:18or decentralized system, in your opinion, is it suitable? Some believe
00:14:20that on the contrary,
00:14:23the decentralized
00:14:31system, from my point of view, in my opinion and point of view,
00:14:34the federal system or political decentralization achieves
00:14:38two goals in any country, whether Syria or
00:14:41elsewhere. It is considered a magic
00:14:44and ideal solution for issues
00:14:47for countries suffering from the problem of national or religious
00:14:51minorities, and the second case
00:14:54is division, and some see it as for the state, especially since
00:14:58a country like Syria has fought a war with a criminal regime and a revolution for
00:15:01almost 14 years, it is ready
00:15:04for disintegration under the guise of federalism or political
00:15:07decentralization. Just, just let me complete
00:15:11the idea. In the second case, for cohesive
00:15:13countries, it is considered an ideal solution for distributing
00:15:19both cases, the decentralized system
00:15:22is considered better than the centralized system. Yes,
00:15:25we have that the fear, unfortunately,
00:15:28is mutual between the components, and we
00:15:32as Kurds, as the Kurdish people, and
00:15:35the larger component, our Arab brothers. Well,
00:15:38we fear that centralization will return,
00:15:41and repression will begin again, and repression
00:15:44of freedoms, and repression and obliteration of rights. And these
00:15:47fears are not with one component over another, Mr. Fouad. These fears
00:15:51are with most of the Syrian people, especially those who carried out the revolution.
00:15:55Allow me to move to Mr. Bishr. Mr. Bishr, in the legal framework,
00:15:58if we talk about what governs Syria now, it is Law
00:16:02107 for local administration. To what extent do we need
00:16:06to develop laws related to local administrations
00:16:09or engage in discussion in the People's Assembly among its members
00:16:13about the issue of the state's form related to its administration between
00:16:17centralization and decentralization, whether administrative or political?
00:16:21And you are components in
00:16:34today on Syria TV is the discussion that
00:16:40takes place in the People's Assembly, in all assemblies, in forums, all Syrians are talking about
00:16:43this. In fact, this talk is realistic. Today, there are
00:16:47two very big challenges in Syria: a political challenge, as
00:16:50you mentioned a moment ago, there is a fear
00:16:53for Syria's entity, for Syria
00:16:56as a country, that it will continue in this form that we know.
00:17:00There is a developmental challenge, a
00:17:02service challenge. In fact, the political challenge terrifies
00:17:06the proponents of this theory. They are terrified of the issue
00:17:09of decentralization because, in fact, decentralization entails,
00:17:12especially in this period, it entails all decentralization, Mr. Bishr, all types
00:17:16of decentralization, or political decentralization?
00:17:20Some, no, no, political decentralization at its extreme, we mean
00:17:23political decentralization, and others,
00:17:26and I am one of them, I see, I mean,
00:17:29the issue of the developmental challenge cannot
00:17:32be solved except through decentralization. Today, we have, I mean,
00:17:35عننا يعني
00:17:38the great diversity
00:17:40disparity, this problem, and this gap between the center
00:17:44and the regions, yes, between the main cities and the regions, cannot
00:17:48solve this gap except through
00:17:50administrative decentralization. When people, when society, when authority comes
00:17:54from the bottom up, from the base
00:17:57towards the top, here the philosophy of the state
00:18:01changes, and the philosophy of authority and the philosophy
00:18:05of governance change, and consequently, local
00:18:08authorities or local administrations produce a new
00:18:13adapting, capable of understanding society itself and understanding
00:18:16its needs and requirements, and its budgets, etc.
00:18:19Now, this discussion is really taking place, since, I mean,
00:18:23you mentioned Law 107. Law
00:18:26107 is one of the laws that I believe
00:18:30is, I mean, one of the most beautiful laws produced by the Assad
00:18:35on paper, let's say, of course. It's a law. And it talks about
00:18:38great centralization that does not give the regions
00:18:41their powers and does not distribute, and there is
00:18:45no fair distribution of wealth, and there is
00:18:48no attention to I mean, there is, to be honest, Mr.
00:18:52Bishr, through discussions with legal experts,
00:18:55there was a big dispute. Some hold your view that Law 107
00:18:59is a good local administration law, and some hold the exact opposite
00:19:03view, that it has nothing to do with administrative decentralization.
00:19:06No, Law 107 gave administrative units,
00:19:10no matter how small their size, it gave them
00:19:13a very large margin. Law 107
00:19:16focused on the issue of
00:19:19administrative units, no matter how small their size, we
00:19:22repeat. So, any administrative unit that has
00:19:26elections, elected people reach it, they
00:19:29are the authority. The issue is not only about
00:19:33powers, the issue is about fair distribution of wealth,
00:19:36the issue is about giving attention to remote areas, as
00:19:40they are called, or poor areas, a kind of justice
00:19:43and greater attention. Therefore, we are talking about focusing on the regions
00:19:47the center. Go ahead.
00:19:50When we have elections in any area, I mean, the existence
00:19:54of legitimacy. This legitimacy, when I
00:19:57have legitimacy in that area, it is the authority, let's
00:20:00say, the small authority, despite its small
00:20:03size. As long as it has legitimacy, it
00:20:06is capable of standing up to the center
00:20:09if the center, I mean,
00:20:14fit with the plans that
00:20:18should be set or are set by this area or town or village,
00:20:21etc. Today, 1007 gave a considerable
00:20:26movement, of powers. It gave
00:20:29financial movement as well at the level of
00:20:32budgets and their management
00:20:35by local councils. But, I mean, at this
00:20:39very point, and here allow me to interrupt you because I want to go to the opinion poll,
00:20:42but the issue of budgets specifically, that the budget is distributed
00:20:46entirely from the center
00:20:48to the regions, or to the regions, or to the governorates,
00:20:52according to administrative divisions, is also a point, I mean,
00:20:58areas that have resources. How are resources distributed
00:21:01between, I mean, what the state is entitled to and what the people
00:21:04of that area are entitled to. In any case, we asked in
00:21:10of Syrians: Should officials be elected, or should
00:21:13officials be elected to manage their governorates,
00:21:17cities, and towns, or
00:21:20is the appointment policy better? Let's hear what the answers were and return
00:21:23to the discussion.
00:21:27Elections, because the municipality
00:21:30must take care of the people living in that area,
00:21:33and they are the people who know best what is in their
00:21:36interest. When an appointment comes from, for example,
00:21:40let's say I'm in this municipality and someone from Aleppo appoints someone
00:21:43here, they won't know our problems and our needs. As for the People's Assembly
00:21:47and parliaments, these are always chosen by the
00:21:50people. I mean, the best logic is the people, why? Because they will be
00:21:54a miniature model of
00:21:58the population of the area they live in, so they will represent
00:22:01the people of different sects. As
00:22:05for other bodies like municipalities and so on,
00:22:09they are appointed by their supervisory body because they
00:22:12would be more knowledgeable about the people
00:22:15they want to choose, whether engineers or experts
00:22:18and so on. Of course, elections, because it is inherently
00:22:22our right, and whatever the people choose,
00:22:25no. Elections, because elections, I mean,
00:22:28we want the competent person who will be in
00:22:31the position. I mean, now if you want to appoint
00:22:35someone, I mean, his position would be, but
00:22:38in elections, the people, I mean, whoever votes
00:22:42more and whoever deserves it wins.
00:22:45Preferably, I mean, with elections,
00:22:49there will be elections, the opinion of citizens. Each one elects
00:22:52whoever they feel is able to bear
00:22:55this responsibility. I am from Deir ez-Zor, we prefer
00:22:59elections because there will be justice because we would have
00:23:02elected him and put him in place, and integrity is better than
00:23:05I mean, I mean,
00:23:10the people because the people chose him
00:23:14is no excuse for anyone that this person was appointed by this one, this one reached,
00:23:17or something. No, the people are better.
00:23:22So, after we heard this opinion poll,
00:23:25Mr. Ammar, I want to ask you about a point,
00:23:28I mean,
00:23:30your center has studied it more than once, I think, and more than one workshop
00:23:34and more than one discussion and dialogue on the topic of Law 107. Do you agree with Mr.
00:23:37Bishr in what
00:23:38he said?
00:23:42I mean, I see Law 107 as a starting point. It is not
00:23:46necessarily the best written, but it is a point
00:23:49from which we can start. The problem is, I mean, we are
00:23:52coming out of 14 years of revolution and war against the Syrian
00:23:57sick, sluggish body that
00:24:01was afflicted with the deadly disease of centralization
00:24:04and the disease of tyranny and outrageous killing and injustice,
00:24:08and also the disease of dispersion and fragmentation that we experienced
00:24:11in, I mean, we were in northern Syria,
00:24:15every local council had IDs and had
00:24:18cars, and we had a government
00:24:23even in the south, it was, I mean, a situation. So,
00:24:26we, we, I mean, we want to move to the new
00:24:29Syria. We do not want to return to deadly centralization. I mean,
00:24:35the center, we have written about decentralization extensively
00:24:38to dispel the illusory fears that
00:24:43other hand, we also do not want to, I mean, simplify
00:24:46decentralization in all its types and forms as if it is the magic
00:24:50solution that will solve all problems, because, I mean,
00:24:53if you don't have institutions and you start with decentralization based on ethnicity
00:24:57or on a component of the components and there are no state
00:25:00institutions to support it, I mean, you need institutionality
00:25:03at a minimum level of infrastructure that
00:25:06decentralization
00:25:11should not be based on national, ethnic, or sectarian grounds. Administrative
00:25:15decentralization, which means administrative distribution, is not
00:25:18something related to components. Yes,
00:25:21yes, I mean, there are two points I am trying
00:25:25to make. The first point is that decentralization is an administrative
00:25:29system, whether it is political, administrative, or financial
00:25:32decentralization, it is a system of distributing resources
00:25:35and distributing powers and responsibilities
00:25:39entrusted to each party. Therefore, I will call it distribution
00:25:42of powers. So, if the distribution is closer to
00:25:46the local, it will be more decentralized
00:25:50in this spectrum of forms. Therefore, we are talking about local,
00:25:54not about a population component, because in Syria, we do not
00:25:57have a geographical area, I mean,
00:26:00exclusive to one component over another.
00:26:11based on displacement, and some of it is based on circumstances,
00:26:15the environment
00:26:18and energy and water resources and so on. So this
00:26:22is history we inherited. This is a geographical land we inherited. The geographical
00:26:25distribution of regions or
00:26:28governorates is not necessarily sacred, of course.
00:26:32But it naturally distributes among the residents of
00:26:36each region, giving them powers to choose
00:26:39their representatives, giving them perhaps
00:26:42financial powers in making decisions, holding them accountable
00:26:45through the judiciary rather than having a central body
00:26:49that will tell them how to act, but rather
00:26:52the central body should ideally play a supervisory
00:26:56role, a training role, capacity building,
00:27:00a role, I mean, the principle of subsidiarity in law states that as long as
00:27:03a task can be performed locally,
00:27:05why
00:27:10the budget from the center to the regions, or should a part of it be allocated for certain
00:27:14things, for certain services,
00:27:17local output? And how will
00:27:22in Syria, especially since there are richer regions than others? For example,
00:27:25the Syrian Al-Jazira is a region much richer than regions in Syria that do not
00:27:29have resources. Perhaps the Syrian coast has resources, it has the sea,
00:27:33it has tourism. How do we talk about
00:27:36resource distribution and budgets between the center
00:27:40and the regions?
00:27:43I mean, there are many systems for fair distribution. What we were
00:27:46living was pure injustice. Yes, and it was deadly
00:27:49centralization. I mean, there are many forms of
00:27:53distributing powers to make decisions in financial
00:27:56matters. I mean, there are many types of
00:27:59resources, taxes, and so on. You have, of course, resources that are underground
00:28:03and resources above ground are another thing. I mean, also,
00:28:06resources that are underground in all systems are the property
00:28:10of society, and water is the property of society. So, you
00:28:14have, I mean, water and pasture, you have oil that is underground.
00:28:18Certainly, there is a certain percentage
00:28:21that is invested to employ the residents
00:28:24of the area, especially since there are deadly
00:28:27environmental impacts from many of these resources, such as oil
00:28:31and gas and so on. Therefore, in many systems, there
00:28:34is a certain share reserved for development
00:28:37and to compensate for the side effects. I mean, you
00:28:41have a governorate that is a transit area for cars,
00:28:45for example. So, certainly, this transit has a cost on the
00:28:50because they have a border
00:28:53systems give a larger share to the governorate
00:28:56in which the resource of the crossing or the resource
00:29:00of oil and so on is located. But after that, it can be distributed according to the number
00:29:04of residents. It can be distributed according to the percentage of national output
00:29:07for each governorate or the percentage of residents of that
00:29:12projects, meaning the governorate submits projects
00:29:16and wins them. either by lottery or according to
00:29:19the size of the resources. We do not have these imaginary resources that
00:29:23many other countries have. Therefore, you need a formula
00:29:26that preserves also
00:29:29the center and preserves the right of the local population. Then you have
00:29:35local fees that can be a full share
00:29:38for the local community, for example.
00:29:41That is, there are many forms. You cannot give one solution
00:29:45and one prescription and say this is the magical solution
00:29:51no magical solution in decentralization or centralization. But Mr. Fuad
00:29:54mentioned that the magical solution is decentralization. Well, Mr. Fuad, if
00:29:58we ask you, you were talking about magical solutions and about
00:30:01guarantees
00:30:04for certain components because of
00:30:07fears, and knowing that fears are among all the people of Syria, between
00:30:11a majority and a minority, and we do not like this name,
00:30:14but this is a reality that imposes itself now,
00:30:18will end anyway. What are the guarantees
00:30:22in your demands related to decentralization, that
00:30:25the matter will turn into something like a separation between the center
00:30:29and the peripheries politically.
00:30:33I agree with you that the fear is mutual between
00:30:36the two sides.
00:30:40Syrian
00:30:42the Kurds. Just mentioning the word Kurd
00:30:46recalls the old culture from 50 years ago
00:30:49that the Ba'ath planted. We were demanding citizenship.
00:30:53We were