Mick Hartley

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A Threat to Unity

It's not just the Armenian Genocide that they have trouble with in Turkey:

A prominent Kurdish politician has defied Turkish law by giving a speech to parliament in his native Kurdish.

Ahmet Turk was addressing his party in parliament when he suddenly switched language from Turkish to Kurdish.

The live broadcast on state TV was immediately cut, as the language is banned in parliament.

Some one-fifth of Turkey's population are ethnic Kurds, but speaking Kurdish in public was banned until the 1990s, as it was seen as a threat to unity.

The Kurdish language is, however, still banned in all state institutions and official correspondence.

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One response to “A Threat to Unity”

  1. Noga Avatar
    Noga

    “On 20-Oct-1991 Leyla Zana became the first Kurdish woman ever elected to the Turkish parliament. As her oath of allegiance she swore:
    “..by my honor and my dignity before the great Turkish people to protect the integrity and independence of the State, the indivisible unity of people and homeland, and the unquestionable and unconditional sovereignty of the people. I swear loyalty to the Constitution. I take this oath for the brotherhood between the Turkish people and the Kurdish people.”
    She pronounced the last sentence in the Kurdish language which was considered treason at that time by Turkish law. This law, repealed in 2002, dated back to the 30’s when it was passed in an attempt to undermine the cultural cohesion of the Kurdish people. Following her oath the parliament erupted with cries of denouncement labeling Zana as a “terrorist” “separatist” and “dirty Kurd”. However Zana’s status as a MP initially gave her diplomatic immunity.
    ….Later in 1994 Turkish parliament banned her political party DEP and she was stripped of her former immunity. Leyla was then charged with subversion and membership in the militant Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK). Zana denied the accusations but the Ankara State Security Court found her guilty and she was sentenced to fourteen years”
    http://www.nndb.com/people/691/000134289/

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