DİYARBAKIR - The AKP, which shut down Kurdish language organizations, television, agencies, newspapers and radios broadcasting in Kurdish, and took down Kurdish signboards with trustees, started the Kurdish election campaign in Kurdistan.
The AKP, which did not provide the right to education in the mother tongue throughout its rule, closed down Kurdish language institutions, television, agencies, newspapers and radios broadcasting in Kurdish with the Statutory Decrees (KHK) issued under the State of Emergency (OHAL), took down Kurdish signboards with the trustees it appointed to the municipalities, as the AKP went to the second round of the Presidential elections in Kurdistan, started election propaganda in Kurdish.
Photographs of AKP Presidential candidate Tayyip Erdogan, with the caption "A rasti Erdogan", were hung on bridges and billboards on the busiest streets in Diyarbakır. In addition, a Kurdish election song was composed for Erdoğan.
Here are some of the bans on the Kurdish language in the last 4 years, only in the last 4 years, of the AKP, in which attacks on the Kurdish language reached its peak:
* The Kurdish Theater Days, to be organized by HDP Adana Provincial Organization between February 10-13, 2019, were banned by the Adana Governor's Office on the grounds that they "threaten public security".
* The Kurdish play 'Zargotin Zêrgotin e', which will be staged on September 23, 2019 at the Yaşar Kemal Cultural Center in Adana's Seyhan district, has been banned by the Adana Governor's Office.
* The Kurdish theater play, which was planned to be staged at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) City Theater on October 10, 2020, was banned indefinitely by the district governor's office shortly before the screening.
* The stand-up show called 'Dawiya Dawiya', which will be staged by HDP Istanbul Youth Council on November 14, 2021, was blocked by Fatih District Governor's Office without any justification.
* The Mardin Governorate banned the theater play 'Tartufê', which was planned to be staged on December 5, 2021, on the grounds of the pandemic.
* The performance of the Kurdish play 'Bêrû' in the November program of IMM City Theaters in Istanbul on November 13, 2020 was banned by the governor's decision. The same game was banned indefinitely across the city by the Urfa Governorate on November 14, 2020.
* The microphone of HDP MP Ayşe Driver was turned off while she was speaking Kurdish in the Parliament on December 8, 2021.
* 9 members of the Democratic Islam Congress and DIAY-DER were arrested on the grounds that they gave sermons in Kurdish and prayed in front of the congregation on July 10, 2021.
* On March 8, 2021, the Ministry of Interior stated that women who have been subjected to violence can apply for the KADES application and announced that KADES can be applied in Turkish, Persian, Arabic, English, Russian and French languages. Kurdish, which is the most used language in Turkey after Turkish, was not included in the KADES application.
* On April 7, 2021, HDP MP Sıddık Taş asked the Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk whether there was a study on education in mother tongue. Minister Selçuk replied: "No language other than Turkish can be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens."
* Answering HDP Şırnak MP Hasan Özgüneş's question on April 21, 2021, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure said: "As the official language is Turkish, there are no announcements in Kurdish on airplanes."
* Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality trustee changed the name of Sipan Street to Abdulkadir Aksu Street on May 5, 2021, and the name of Şengal Street to 2022 Molla Gürani on May 8th.
* For the last two years, the concerts of many Kurdish artists who wanted to perform in Kurdish were banned by the governor's office and district governor's office. Responding to Istanbul MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu, who submitted a question about concert bans, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu claimed that concert bans were made in order to "protect the lifestyle and safety".
MA / Cengiz Özbasar