Opposition leader Babacan points out AKP's hypocritical stance against Kurdish language

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) leader Ali Babacan has pointed out the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) hypocritical stance against Kurdish, noting that the language was used in pro-government propaganda, but not in a mobile application the government recently made available to offer women help with domestic violence.

Monday March 15 2021 04:25 pm

Babacan on March 15 attended his party's provincial congress in Diyarbakır.

Duvar English

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) leader Ali Babacan has said that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) should stop battling people's native tongue, Kurdish, and drew attention to Ankara's double standards when it comes to the language.

Babacan pointed out that a recent mobile application launched by the government to help women who experience domestic abuse lacks Kurdish as a language option, even though it's the second most commonly-spoken tongue in Turkey.

Meanwhile, the AKP has no issue using Kurdish when it comes to displaying billboards that read "Love Erdoğan" on the walls of southeastern Diyarbakır, the DEVA leader said during a speech in the province on March 15.

"They think of Kurdish while using people's money to show biased love for the president, but it's an unknown language when it comes to violence against women."

On March 7, a poster that read "We love Erdoğan" in Kurdish was hung in Diyarbakır, as part of a wider move against an ad that read "Stop Erdoğan" in the United States.

The former deputy prime minister also said that the government responded to a call he made a couple of months ago about the lack of Kurdish teachers in Turkey.

"They heard our voice. The number [of Kurdish teachers] increased from 1 to 3 with a 200 percent increase. There are three Kurdish teachers in all of Turkey."

The AKP should stop being ridiculous and battling people's mother tongue, ignoring their identities, Babacan said.