Turkish district governor rejects Kurdish name for park, calling it ‘foreign’ language

Duvar English

The Silvan Municipal Council, under the administration of the pro-Kurdish People's Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, decided to rename the "First Kılıçarslan City Square" park, initially named by the government-appointed trustee, to "Rindêxan," a woman significant to Kurdish culture. 

However, the Silvan District Governor's Office rejected the municipality's decision, citing that the word "Rindêxan" was in a "foreign language."

Following the rejection, the municipality released the following statement, "The district governor claimed that the name 'Rindêxan' is not in Turkish, is not listed in the Turkish Language Association's dictionary, and was formed according to 'foreign' language rules.”

The district governor cited its regulation regarding place names, which states that “... Words and expressions formed according to foreign language rules, as well as ugly, obscene, or ridiculous names, cannot be used.” 

The current name of the park comes from Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Kılıçarslan I, whose tomb was discovered in southeastern Diyarbakır province’s Silvan district. The district governor continued that “Kılıçarslan’s burial site, known as the Sultan who defeated the Crusaders, was announced to the public to promote the district and contribute to tourism. The intention was to honor this great Sultan in the ancient city of Silvan, where his memory lives on.”

“The municipal council’s decision to change the name of the park to "Rindexan" has not been approved by our District Governor’s Office because the proposed name is not in Turkish, is not listed in the Turkish Language Association's dictionary, was formed according to foreign language rules, does not serve any public benefit, and is contrary to the relevant legislative provisions outlined above," concluded the statement.

Kurds make up around a fifth of Turkey’s population, but few can speak their mother tongue due to a years-long systematic oppression of the language.

Turkey’s current constitution, ratified after the 1980 military coup, does not entirely prohibit the use of Kurdish, but successive governments have repeatedly cracked down on its use.

Kurdish language education throughout Turkey was hindered by the collapse of a peace process between the government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in 2015, which led to an outbreak of violence and the closure of cultural institutions.

Kurdish names are also difficult to register on the official Turkish identification, as the letters X, Q, W, Î, Û, Ê in the Kurdish alphabet are forbidden in official use. Many Kurdish people in Turkey are given a second Turkish name in addition to Kurdish names. This also went for place names and signage in the Kurdish language in the country’s Kurdish majority east and southeast. 

While official buildings display their names in both Turkish and Kurdish, local administrations often face pushback from the government when it comes to application. 

In late July, the traffic warning signs in Kurdish were vandalized in the Kurdish majority Diyarbakır and Van provinces.