Turkish Health Ministry’s electronic prescription system excludes Kurdish language

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Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Aug. 26 announced that the electronic prescription system (“E-Reçetem”) is now available in five foreign languages.

In a tweet, Koca said they added English, German, Arabic, French and Russian languages to the system after their testing process was completed.

The opposition parties and politicians slammed that the system excluding Kurdish, which is the second most spoken language in Turkey.

Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Aug. 26 said “Where is Kurdish, the ancient language of these lands, why didn't you add it to the system? As if there was no Kurdish problem, as if you didn't discriminate against Kurds”

In Kurdish language on the same tweet, the party said “Kurds who support the (ruling) AKP, do you not ever ask these questions? Mr. Fahrettin Koca, if at least you had protected your language,” referring to Koca being a Kurd.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Sezgin Tanrıkulu on Aug. 27 said “It is unacceptable that Kurdish, the mother tongue of millions of our citizens, has not been added to the system. Why is there no Kurdish in a system where there is Russian and Arabic?”

On the other hand, the Pharmacist Solution Association chair Miraç Laçin Uluğ on Aug. 26 questioned the move and said “The addressee of the prescription written by the doctor is not the patient, but the pharmacist. What exactly is the rationale for prescribing in a language the pharmacist doesn't know?”

“The most used language in social and family life in this country is Kurdish. While millions are speaking this language, what is the reason why perhaps the only language that will work in this amazing innovation cannot find a place?,” Uluğ added.