Mother Tongue Is a Fundamental Human Right
3 October 2023
One of the most important problem areas of the stalemate in the Kurdish issue is the obstacles and prohibitions against the use of Kurdish in official and social spaces. From bans on the Kurdish language as a language of education to bans on concerts, and punishments thereof, intolerance towards the Kurdish language is encountered in different issues every day. Most recently, A statement was taken down about Green and Left Future Party Urfa MP Ömer Öcalan, who held a press conference in Kurdish at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT), on the grounds that he did so in a language other than Turkish.
Such conduct, in which we witness multifaceted bans and obstacles against the Kurdish language, signifies a political environment that embraces a uniform mentality as well as the dominance of the culture belonging to this mentality in Turkey.
Languages spoken at the GNAT other than Turkish are referred to as “…”, “(x)” in the minutes of the parliament, and the explanation is given in the sub-text as “(x) non-Turkish words were uttered by the speaker in this section….” The same situation is maintained in the press conferences held at the parliament as well.
Such state of affairs confirms that the existence of the Kurdish language is still not recognized at the GNAT, as it is in the educational, social, and cultural environment in Turkey.
İHD considers every issue related to the Kurdish issue as a human rights issue at the same time. In its reports and statements, the association states that a solution to the Kurdish issue can be achieved when Kurds start to enjoy the rights enshrined in fundamental human rights documents.
İHD once again emphasizes the urgency of ensuring a legal, social and cultural solution to this issue, which is a human rights issue, in accordance with human rights law.
Human Rights Association