NEWS CENTRE - On the occasion of May 15, Kurdish Language Day, KCK said: "The use of Kurdish in all institutions and activities—particularly in cultural, artistic, and literary work—should be viewed as a struggle against assimilation."

 

The Co-Presidency of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council released a statement on the occasion of May 15, Kurdish Language Day, congratulating all Kurdish people and their international friends.

 

“Kurdish is one of humanity’s most ancient and still living languages. Foundational elements of human culture have always been carried through this language. Today, there are many efforts to assimilate the Kurdish language in an attempt to subject the Kurdish people to genocide. This signifies the eradication of one of humanity’s root cultures. Therefore, the genocide of the Kurdish language and the Kurdish people constitutes an attack on all of humanity.

 

Kurdish, spoken across a vast geography for thousands of years, is today confined to a narrow area by genocidal colonialist states. To such an extent that Kirmancki-Dimili, one of the first widely used dialects of Kurdish, has reached the brink of extinction. All these facts demonstrate the nature of the genocide policy being implemented against the Kurdish people and the Kurdish language. Not long ago, the ban on Kurdish sermons in Bakur [Northern Kurdistan] and the attempt to eradicate Kurdish education in Rojava are concrete daily manifestations of the pressure on the Kurdish language.

 

Currently, the most intense assimilation of the Kurdish language is being carried out in Bakur. The Turkish state not only bans education in the mother tongue but also uses communication and information technology to accelerate the assimilation of the Kurdish language. The existence of a broadcaster like TRT Kurdî and the slight easing of pressure on the Kurdish language in certain areas are being used to mask the assimilation that is destroying the Kurdish language.

 

Assimilation targeting the Kurdish language has increased exponentially compared to the past, thanks to the new assimilation tools employed by the state. A full-scale language genocide is being carried out. Although the Turkish state occasionally refers to so-called 'our Kurdish brothers,' its policy of Kurdish genocide has not been abandoned. Kurds still do not exist in the legal system of Turkey. This amounts to the complete erasure of Kurds in every respect. As long as the Kurdish presence remains in this state, even if it is claimed that Kurds exist in practice, this will not prevent the assimilation of the Kurdish language or the genocide of the Kurds. In fact, these claims serve as a cover for the ongoing machinery of assimilation and genocide.

 

The policy regarding the Kurdish language remains one of destructive assimilation. However, Kurds are no longer the Kurds of the past. Through the struggle they have waged for decades, Kurds have come to assert their existence. This assertion is also developing—and must develop—in the form of asserting ownership of their language. Without waiting for the state to accept education in the mother tongue, the entire Kurdish people must engage in an educational campaign to revive the Kurdish language and ensure it is spoken everywhere, just as our mothers and ancestors spoke it. The struggle to restore the Kurdish language to its former vitality must be waged alongside the freedom struggle being waged in every sphere.

 

It must be the duty of every Kurdish institution to take responsibility for the teaching and education of the language. In this regard, language institutions and the calls of our people must be fulfilled by establishing such institutions. Alongside the communes to be established in the social sphere, language communes should be multiplied everywhere.

 

The use of Kurdish in all institutions and activities—particularly in cultural, artistic, and literary work—should be viewed as a struggle against assimilation. Rêber Apo’s assessment that 'to embrace the Kurdish language is to embrace Kurdish identity' must be adopted as a guiding principle by every institution.

 

The promotion of the Kurdish language should also be viewed as an important dimension of the struggle within the Peace and Democratic Society Process. The struggle for peace and a democratic society achieves success when every institution and every initiative fulfills its responsibilities to the best of its ability.

 

The Call for Peace and Democratic Society is achieved not only through the efforts of Rêber Apo [Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan], our movement, and certain structures, but also through the efforts and struggles of the entire Kurdish people, all organizational structures, and all democratic forces. Efforts regarding the Kurdish language should also be viewed as part of this struggle, and these efforts should be prioritized and developed everywhere.”