Peace Mother Sultan Bozkurt, who was prevented from speaking Kurdish at the Commission meeting, spoke to ANF. She noted that as mothers they have knocked on every door for 28 years in pursuit of peace. Bozkurt said, “All doors were closed in our faces but no matter what, we have not lost our belief in the day peace will come. Our only concern is that peace arrives in these lands. Wherever there is injustice and lawlessness, it must be opposed. Until now, the Kurdish people have risen up 29 times against injustice and lawlessness. Our children resist this unfairness. Everything about us is banned. The names of our villages, our cities, even our own names are banned. They even banned my daughter’s name. I was not allowed to give her a Kurdish name.”
The peace process became a hope for all peoples
Sultan Bozkurt stressed that the process initiated by Abdullah Öcalan was not only a hope for the Kurds but for all peoples. She said: “Abdullah Öcalan has long emphasized that the Kurdish question must be solved in parliament. When the Commission was established, we saw it as important and promising, but at the meeting we were forbidden to speak in Kurdish. We approach this process with transparency and sensitivity. If, while living inside a century-old problem, I am not allowed to express myself in my own language, this means the problems are very difficult and profound.”
The state must be honest with the Kurdish people
Sultan Bozkurt underlined that the state must take concrete steps as soon as possible: “First of all, they must lift all bans on Kurdish and recognize it as an official language. The state must give us confidence. The Turkish state must be honest with the Kurdish people. We have always struggled for peace. Our children are struggling for their rights. They must stop labeling us with the concept of ‘terror.’ We do not accept this concept used against our children. We no longer want any mother to cry. The state must meet our demands. The Kurdish people and Öcalan have fulfilled all their responsibilities.”