TED Diyarbakır College’s event for the “September 26 Turkish Language Day,” where children were made to carry placards praising the Turkish language and one child was instructed to read aloud the edict of Karamanoğlu Mehmet that imposed the obligation to speak Turkish, was met with protests in many cities. Demonstrations also condemned the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) for imposing a fine of 110,000 TL on Amedspor over the Kurdish advertising slogan “Koma Me Bona We” (“Our Group Exists for You”).
Diyarbakır (Amed)
Many people attended the press statement organized by the Amed Labor and Democracy Platform at the Chamber of Survey and Cadaster Engineers, reported Mezopotamya Agency (MA). The statement was read by the platform’s spokesperson for the term, Sedat Sever. Sever drawed attention to the fact that “Turkish Language Day” is not included in the Ministry of National Education’s list of “Designated Days and Weeks,” and said: “However, considering its relation to course content, celebrating language days in educational institutions to emphasize the importance of language can, of course, be acceptable. The problem here is not the celebration of a language day; it is that the event content imposes a single language and conveys to children an understanding that legitimizes the banning of other languages in the public sphere.”
Different languages have equal status
Sedat Sever stressed that the purpose of events organized in educational institutions should be to contribute to the democratic development of students, which is only possible through an understanding based on pluralism and inclusive of all languages and all social groups. He added that only in this way can the conditions for an egalitarian and libertarian understanding of education be created, in opposition to the “monolithic education system” that has been turned into an ideological apparatus producing discrimination and inequality. Sever continued: “Languages are the memory of humanity and the carriers of its cultural richness. Each language is a world, a way of life, and a social memory in itself. The mother tongue is the foundation of an individual’s identity; it is the means of expressing emotions, thoughts, and dreams freely. All languages are unique and valuable. The free survival of different languages is the prerequisite for societies to coexist in peace, democracy, and equality. In societies that live together peacefully in the world, multilingualism and multiculturalism prevail; everyone is educated in their own mother tongue and culture, and differences are respected.”
Sever also recalled that in the past century, the country experienced the destruction caused by denialist policies that imposed a single language in the public sphere and banned other languages. He continued: “The most concrete reflection of this destruction can be seen in the field of education. Children whose mother tongue is not Turkish enter the education process at a disadvantage; as the right to education in their mother tongue is denied, one of their most fundamental rights is violated. The current education system, which disregards the pluralistic structure of society, suppresses differences and reproduces social crises instead of preparing children and young people for life. Yet a democratic education system should create space for all those whose voices have been silenced, whose languages and cultures have been denied; it should provide a ground where all languages, identities, and beliefs can freely exist.”
Reaction to the penalty against Amedspor
Sedat Sever underlined that, as in every period, prohibitive attitudes towards the Kurdish language continue. He said: “The most recent example of this was the penalty imposed on Amedspor by the football federation over a Kurdish phrase on the team’s jersey advertisement. We condemn this decision, which is far from creating the conditions for lasting peace, and we demand that the federation immediately withdraw it.” Sever concluded with the following words: “In the face of an education system built on monolithic values and the discriminatory public policies that are part of it, we respectfully declare to the public that we will continue to defend democratic, mother-tongue-based, public, pluralistic, egalitarian, and libertarian education.”
Şırnak (Şirnex)
The Şırnak Democratic Institutions Platform protested the TFF for imposing a fine of 110,000 TL on Amedspor over the Kurdish advertising slogan “Koma Me Bona We”, which the federation had previously approved in writing. The statement was made in front of the Birca Belek Language and Culture Association in Cizre (Cizîr) with the participation of political party representatives, democratic mass organizations, and many local people.
At the protest, a banner reading “Zimanê Kurdî xeta me ya sor e / Kurdish is our red line” was displayed, while placards carried slogans such as “Ji bo Kurdî têkoşîn / Struggle for Kurdish,” “Em perwerdeya Kurdî dixwazin / We want Kurdish education,” and “Bila Kurdî bibe xwedî statû / Let Kurdish gain status.”
Delivering the statement, Rojger Nuh Ant, an administrator of the Birca Belek Language and Culture Association, said: “The penalty imposed on Amedspor is an attack on the Kurdish language, on Kurdish existence, and on Kurdish identity. We do not accept this attack and we condemn it.” Ant also referred to the fact that TED Diyarbakır College had children carry placards praising the Turkish language and instructed a child to read aloud the edict of Karamanoğlu Mehmet that imposed the obligation to speak Turkish during an event for the “September 26 Turkish Language Day.” He said: “We do not accept this. These practices are rooted in monolithic and denialist policies. We condemn this mentality.”
The denialist mentality must end
Rojger Nuh Ant underlined that the penalty against Amedspor and the practice at TED Diyarbakır College are crimes. Ant continued: “Human rights have been trampled underfoot. These practices are the sowing of discord among peoples. The approach to the Kurdish language is the approach to the peace process. The attacks by the TFF and TED Diyarbakır College are provocations. These attacks must end immediately and Kurdish must be granted status. Legal regulations in line with the spirit of the Peace and Democratic Society Process must be enacted without delay. The penalty against Amedspor must be withdrawn and TED Diyarbakır College must immediately apologize to the Kurdish people.”
Kurdish is our red line
Mehmet Zeki Irmez, Şırnak deputy of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), also reacted to the attacks on the Kurdish language and said: “This mentality has existed for a hundred years. Kurds were punished simply for speaking Kurdish. The same mentality continues today. We condemn these attacks. We stand with the Peace and Democratic Society Process.
Kurds want to live freely in their own language. Until the fascist mentality changes, we will expand our struggle for Kurdish. Everyone must act in line with the spirit of the Peace and Democratic Society Process. The government must take steps in accordance with the spirit of this process. Kurdish is our red line.”
The statement ended with chants of “Bijî zimanê Kurdî” (“Long live the Kurdish language”).