Organized by the Kurdish Language Institutions and supported by the Democratic Institutions Platform (DEKUP), the two-day “Workshop on Strategy and Policies for the Kurdish Language Struggle” concluded after the final declaration was read in Kurmanji and Kirmancki.
Heval Dilbihar, a member of the Workshop Preparation Committee who read the declaration in Kurmanji, began by recalling Abdullah Öcalan’s words: “Language is more important for a people than bread and water, and those who cannot protect their language cannot protect anything.”
Öcalan’s call is historic for the language
Heval Dilbihar emphasized that the “Peace and Democratic Society” process initiated by Abdullah Öcalan is historic and continued: “One of the fundamental points of this process is the question of Kurdish status, education in Kurdish, and the freedom and legitimacy of Kurdish in all areas of life. For a lasting peace and a democratic society, this must be achieved, and the Kurdish people must be able to organize in every field of life in their own language and live through their own language in all spheres. This is a red line and a vital matter for the Kurds. To accomplish this, our essential duty and responsibility is to organize Kurdish in every way across all areas of struggle, particularly in all social and vital spheres. Undoubtedly, this is possible first and foremost by determining ‘strategies and policies for the struggle for Kurdish’ and putting them into practice.”
Strategy and policies announced
According to Heval Dilbihar, the primary objective of the workshop was for Kurdish to attain the level and status it deserves in public life, education, local administrations, politics, law, media, publishing, diplomacy, faith, culture and literature, as well as in all areas of social life including women, children and youth. Dilbihar then listed the proposals as follows:
“* All fields, institutions, parties, bodies and components leading the struggle for freedom on behalf of the Kurds must establish the necessary mechanisms for the protection and development of Kurdish based on their own strategies and policies, and with the awareness that the freedom of Kurdish lies in our own hands. Awareness-building, organization, institutionalization and educational efforts must be carried out in Kurdistan and everywhere Kurds live.
* The Kurdish language strategy is not only a cultural policy but also an ideology of freedom, existence and identity. Local administrations are the driving force of this ideology. Therefore, language policy is not a technical matter for municipalities but a question of political and social identity. Moreover, insistence on language is insistence on identity. For this reason, we will maintain this insistence in local administrations and carry out Kurdish language work both internally and within society accordingly.
* Children and youth are our future. Therefore, special policies and programs will be developed for children and youth. Awareness work will be carried out with families, and this effort will be supported by nurseries, language workshops, cultural activities and similar programs. Furthermore, comprehensive work suitable for the reality of Kurdish children will be carried out to prevent their assimilation.
* Women, as the builders of social formation, have a significant role both in the transmission of culture and in the production of language. Therefore, special work will be defined for women within the framework of Kurdish language strategy and policies to protect and develop Kurdish, and they will lead this work in every area of struggle. To this end, women will establish Kurdish language committees, commissions, assemblies and various mechanisms in every village, neighborhood, district and city of Kurdistan.
* Language is a social contract that forms a common ground of life for society as a whole. This foundation is built, protected and strengthened through collective consciousness. This collective consciousness is expressed through culture, and literature and art are its products. In this respect, the fields of culture, art and literature will fulfill their roles in protecting and developing Kurdish through strong creativity, diverse production and activities.
* The most essential need for the survival and development of a language is education in the mother tongue. When education is considered with its entire program and curriculum, it must be built upon a philosophy and awareness of democratic life. Together with all language and education components and institutions, we will prepare the necessary educational programs and curriculum materials and establish the groundwork for these efforts. We will strengthen our struggle and work to ensure that Kurdish is used in all public spheres, including the field of health. To this end, we will establish the infrastructure for the use of Kurdish in all public domains.
* Another reality of the Kurdish people is migration; migration is not only distancing from one’s land but often also distancing from language and the natural bonds of society. The Kurdish people, thanks to their resistance in the face of the injustices they have faced, have managed to remain standing in the context of migration and preserve their language. Within this process, there are also plans for return to the land on an ecological and nature-friendly basis. We will return, and we will build our lives on our own land in our own language.
* One of the fundamental areas for the protection and development of Kurdish is the sphere of faith. Therefore, a struggle will be waged against all anti-Kurdish policies and practices, while at the same time efforts will be carried out within Kurdish society for all beliefs to engage in work related to the Kurdish language.
* Kurdish press and publishing hold an important place in providing accurate information to Kurdish society and in the systematic dissemination and use of Kurdish. Kurdish media and publishing play a key role in the collective protection, development and spread of Kurdish, as well as in the preparation and publication of language teaching resources and educational materials. To fulfill this role, the media and publishing field will engage in much broader and more intensive efforts and struggle than before.
* We have now entered a new phase in the field of Kurdish law. Strengthening the use of Kurdish in the legal sphere will both reinforce the Kurdish people’s consciousness of identity and become an area for the protection and development of Kurdish, while also facilitating access to justice for the whole of society. Studies on Kurdish law are no longer a dream; they have reached a level where their implementation is possible.
* The field of diplomacy is an important area for the protection and development of Kurdish. For this reason, internal diplomatic efforts will be carried out on the basis of the democratic national unity of the Kurds, and necessary diplomatic work will also be undertaken to ensure the recognition of Kurdish at the international level.
* In this context, we emphasize in particular that the Kurdish people and the Freedom Movement, with all its components, is at the same time a Freedom Movement of the Kurdish language. Therefore, the shortcomings and deficiencies regarding Kurdish are also our own shortcomings and deficiencies, despite our unique history of struggle. On this basis, this workshop is a self-critical starting point for us, and we will fulfill this self-criticism by intensifying the struggle.
* On this basis, we call on everyone to join the mobilization for the struggle for Kurdish with thought, faith, wisdom and spirit, and to strengthen it in all areas of life.”