HDP deputy submits draft bill to parliament for Kurdish to become a language of education

Duvar English

A deputy of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has submitted a draft bill to parliament for Kurdish, mainly Kurmanji and Zazaki, to become a language of education.

In the bill he submitted to Parliament Speaker's Office, lawmaker İmam Taşçıer said that Turkey consists of people from numerous ethnic backgrounds and that people speak multiple languages.

He said that the languages other than Turkish were either banned or stripped of a legal status with the foundation of the Republic, causing them to face extinction.

"A language is more than a tool for communication. Each language is the bearer of a society's history and culture. Mother tongue is a person's inseparable part of their mental and emotional development," Mesopotamia Agency cited Taşçıer as saying.

"Education in mother tongue ensures the development of a child's cultural identity, personality and self-respect. It's also utterly significant to make sure their efficient participation in social and economic life," he added.

Presenting data from a previous OSCE report on the right to education of minorities, Taşçıer noted that education in mother tongue is an internationally-accepted right.

He also said that unitary states such as France, Italy, Finland and Greece offer education in mother tongue "as necessitated by modern democracies."

"Implementing legal regulations on the right to education in mother tongue and lifting discriminatory and prohibitive practices would ensure social peace in our country, strengthen the bond of citizenship and carry our country to the levels of contemporary democracies," Taşçıer said.