In protest of ban on Kurdish, HDP deputy reads out same speech in Kurdish and German

Photo: HDP/File

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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Feleknas Uca talked about the ban on education in mother tongue during yesterday's (December 12) parliamentary session on the budget of the Ministry of National Education and its affiliated organizations.

After completing her speech, she remarked, "As a multilingual deputy, I'll now give my speech again in German and Kurdish," Mesopotamia Agency reported.

As she began reading out the speech in German, the deputies of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and their allies Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) started clamoring.

Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Haydar Akar intervened, telling Uca that "One word or one sentence may be okay, but a text cannot be read out whatever language it's in. Our official language is Turkish."

Uca then repeated a part of her speech in Kurdish. The deputy speaker once again said, "A few words can be spoken in German, English, French or in the mother tongue, but a text cannot be read out for a long time."

"Why are you afraid of Kurdish?"

In her speech, Uca pointed out that education in the mother tongue is banned in Turkey, which she said has a multilingual culture.

"You brag about Kurdish being an elective course and opening radio and TV stations in Kurdish, but you close down organizations that give Kurdish education," she said. "You arrest academics who instruct Kurdish language. You ban culture and arts events."

"Your discomfort with the Kurdish language has reached such a level that the domestic interventions were not enough, and you pressured Japan to abolish the Kurdish courses that started at University of Tokyo," the deputy added.

"143 UN member countries have more than one official language ... but these countries do not fear separation. Because everyone but you is aware that being multicultural and multilingual does not divide but enrich a country.

"President Erdoğan frequently demands education in mother tongue for Turks when he visits Germany. However, there is mandatory mother tongue education in Germany, starting from primary school.

"Now I'm asking you, why do you feel uncomfortable with the mother tongue education which you demand in Germany? Why are you so afraid of Kurdish? What harm does it do for people to express themselves in their mother tongue and receive education?" (RT/VK)