A pro-Kurdish party has reiterated its annual call for more rights to use the native language in public of Turkey’s largest ethnic minority.
The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) released a statement on Tuesday to mark UN’s International Mother Language Day, demanding the authorities to allow use of Kurdish language in public.
The statement stressed that struggle of people of Bangladesh for their native language was key for the UN to declare Feb. 21 as the international day for mother language and said maintaining, learning and using the native language in every sphere of the society is a right of people.
BDP deputy Gülten Kışanak told a parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday that it is important to recall that language and honor are indispensible parts of people. She said “Dear brothers and sisters, mother language is an honor,” in eight languages: Kurdish, Armenians, Greek, Laz, Assyrian, Circassian, Arabic and Turkish. Kışanak said languages spoken in Turkey are already on the brink of elimination or facing imminent danger, adding that this is “torture to humanity’s honor.”
Kışanak said Kurdish people could save their language by what she said “insurgency of Kurdish people.” She urged that all barriers must be lifted and that mother languages must have unlimited use in public places and in education. She said in 113 UN member countries out of 194 have more than one official language.
The public use of Kurdish was prohibited following a 1980 military coup and was in place until 1991. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has recently taken significant steps in a bid to reconcile with its Kurdish population. Among the steps was the dedication of one of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation’s (TRT) channels to broadcasting in Kurdish in a bid to fulfill a long-sought demand from the country’s Kurds.
Human Rights Association (İHD) also called on the government to recognize everyone’s right to learn and teach their mother language. A statement released by the İHD on Tuesday said international conventions which Turkey is party to require Turkey to allow use of mother languages and called on Turkish authorities to recognize Kurdish as a language.
