Green Left MP Beritan Gunes Altin sparked controversy in the Turkish parliament when she delivered her speech also in Kurdish and Arabic
Turkish parliament (Photo: Anadolu News Agency)
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Beritan Gunes Altin, a parliament member for the Green Left Party, from the multilingual city of Mardin, sparked controversy on Thursday when she opened her address in Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic in her first address after being elected.
Gercek News reports that the Deputy Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly was asked by some MPs on Thursday to intervene when she saluted the parliament in Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic.
The MPS argued that the language of the parliament is only Turkish.
"This is the first address I'm making in the Grand National Assembly, and before I continue with the rest of my address, I'd like to express my thanks in the languages of the peoples of Mardin, where I was elected,” MP Beritan Gunes Altin said, reported Gercek News.
“I wish that Mardin's multilingual and multicultural life serves as a model of inspiration for the assembly.”
While Turkish remains the sole official language in Turkey, there has been persistent demand from the Kurdish population, which numbers over 20 million, as well as other ethnic groups, for the right to education in their mother tongue.
Read More: Istanbul mayor supports Kurdish language campaign
In Turkey, various governments in the past have implemented strict bans or significant suppression of the Kurdish language.
Although there has been a gradual relaxation since the early 1990s, with the lifting of the ban on Kurdish names in 2000 and further liberalization during the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), including the establishment of a Kurdish-language government channel in 2009, the Turkish government has regressed to previous practices, reinstating measures reminiscent of past policies regarding the Kurdish language.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Beritan Gunes Altin, a parliament member for the Green Left Party, from the multilingual city of Mardin, sparked controversy on Thursday when she opened her address in Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic in her first address after being elected.
Gercek News reports that the Deputy Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly was asked by some MPs on Thursday to intervene when she saluted the parliament in Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic.
The MPS argued that the language of the parliament is only Turkish.
"This is the first address I'm making in the Grand National Assembly, and before I continue with the rest of my address, I'd like to express my thanks in the languages of the peoples of Mardin, where I was elected,” MP Beritan Gunes Altin said, reported Gercek News.
“I wish that Mardin's multilingual and multicultural life serves as a model of inspiration for the assembly.”
While Turkish remains the sole official language in Turkey, there has been persistent demand from the Kurdish population, which numbers over 20 million, as well as other ethnic groups, for the right to education in their mother tongue.
Read More: Istanbul mayor supports Kurdish language campaign
In Turkey, various governments in the past have implemented strict bans or significant suppression of the Kurdish language.
Although there has been a gradual relaxation since the early 1990s, with the lifting of the ban on Kurdish names in 2000 and further liberalization during the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), including the establishment of a Kurdish-language government channel in 2009, the Turkish government has regressed to previous practices, reinstating measures reminiscent of past policies regarding the Kurdish language.
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