Kurdish Language Platform: Our language is our existence

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Having launched a campaign to make Kurdish an official language and a language of education in Turkey, the Kurdish Language Platform has released a statement in response to Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk's remarks about education in the mother language.

In answering a Parliamentary question submitted by Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Siirt MP Sıdık Taş about education in mother language, Minister Ziya Selçuk referred to the Article 42 of Turkey's Constitution, which briefly says, "No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens at any institution of education."

In response to the Minister's remarks, the platform has called on Kurdish people to support their campaign for Kurdish language.

'He should have defended equality'

In its statement, the Kurdish Language Platform has said, "Doesn't the Minister of National Education know that education is given in Kurdish and several other languages in secondary schools and some universities? Aren't elective courses and education in Kurdish at universities? Aren't all these languages mother languages? Is Turkish the only mother language?"

Underlining that "every language is a mother language in itself," the platform has reminded the public that Minister of Education Ziya Selçuk is a professor in the field of educational sciences and briefly said:

"The Minister should have defended human rights, democratic values and equality and sought solutions for problems.

"But a repetition of the opinions and attitudes that the Republic of Turkey has been defending for centuries indeed continues today. The state officials have not offered any solutions to Kurdish people till now.

"In the face of this attitude, we call on the Kurdish people to join the Kurdish campaign to protect their language rights with everything they got. Inform everyone about Kurds' right to receive education in their own language. Inform everyone that Kurds demand an official status for Kurdish. Let everyone know that Kurdish language is our existence and identity!"

What happened?

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Siirt MP Sıdık Taş addressed a Parliamentary question to Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk on February 21 International Mother Language Day and asked the Minister a series of questions about education in the mother language.

Minister Ziya Selçuk has answered the question of the MP. Referring to the Article 42 of Turkey's Constitution on "Right and duty of education", Minister has said, "No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens at any institution of education." (RT/SD)