The refusal of the local authorities in Turkey’s eastern Kurdish-majority Van (Wan) province to allow Kurdish language posters on billboards has ignited criticism from Kurdish educators, and highlighted the ongoing assimilation policies of the government.
The posters, prepared by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party and the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) for World Mother Language Day on 21 February, read:
IT IS TIME FOR THE KURDISH LANGUAGE
Let Kurdish be an official language and a language of education
To protect our language is to protect our people
Let us increase our struggle for the Kurdish language everywhere
The hanging of the posters was blocked by the municipality, which is controlled by a government-appointed trustee in place of the deposed elected council leader. Sait Kılıç, an instructor with the Language, Culture and Arts Research Association (ARSİSA), condemned the move as part of the government’s continuing efforts to assimilate the Kurds.
Kılıç argued that the government’s fear of the influence of the Kurdish language only goes to underline the potency and significance of Kurdish in cultural and social life. “The Kurdish language is an integral part of life [here], it is what makes life meaningful,” Kılıç stated, emphasising the Kurdish community’s resilience to oppression and their efforts to transform every space into a platform for mother tongue education.
He further pointed out that the Kurdish language continues to gain recognition and develop globally despite years of suffering attack, restrictions and policies of assimilation. Kılıç called for increased ownership of the Kurdish language in response to the ban oon hanging posters, suggesting that the best counter to such policies is to visibly embrace and protect one’s mother tongue. “They may attack, but it is our duty to resist and to display our resistance,” Kılıç added, highlighting the need for a united stand against language suppression.
