Fréderike Geerdink
Since the new parliament was installed after the elections in May, Sırrı Süreyya Önder has been the deputy speaker. This week, he defended an MP speaking Syriac in Parliament – it’s against the rules to speak any other language than Turkish in parliament, but that rule doesn’t impress Önder. It’s not the first time he uses his role as deputy speaker to stand up for human dignity.
Sırrı Süreyya Önder is an MP for the DEM Party, the new name for the leftist party rooted in the Kurdish political movement. Between 2011 and 2015, he was in parliament for the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), both predecessors of the DEM Party, and before that, he worked as a film director and columnist. He was one of the politicians at the forefront of the Gezi protests in the spring and summer of 2013, which were initially aimed at one of central Istanbul’s last public green spaces and grew out to be a widespread movement against the AKP government.
Another planet
What happened this week? DEM MP George Aslan was speaking, and he extended his Christmas wishes to his Syriac community in their mother tongue. Aslan is a representative for Mardin, which is historically a very diverse region and which still holds a sizable Christian community. An MP of the nationalist IYI Party objected, saying that only Turkish can be spoken in the Turkish parliament and that Aslan should stick to speaking his own language only at home.
Aslan reacted, saying, as quoted by Medya News: “We did not come from another planet. We are the autochthonous people of this land. This language did not come from another planet. You will accept this language. This is a richness for Turkey.” While discussions continued, deputy speaker Önder stepped in. He referred to an Arabic phrase he used before in parliament when he announced the death of Felicity MP Hasan Bitmez, who had collapsed while criticising the AKP government about its stance towards the Israeli government amid the ongoing violence in Gaza. When the IYI Party MP suggested that was different because the Arabic was a Quranic verse, Önder replied: “Let me tell you another verse; our languages are also verses of Allah. Even if you were to threaten my life, I would not interfere with a person’s mother tongue.”
Private home
By taking the stance he did, Sırrı Süreyya Önder very accurately showed where the rules in parliament, and by extension the rules in the Turkish constitution, are contrary to human rights. A speaker of parliament’s task is, amongst others, to make sure that sessions are proceeding according to the rules, but when that is meticulously done, the very basic rights of individuals and communities are being violated. The right of people to express themselves in their mother tongue of course extends to outside their private home. To uphold this right, shows not disregard for the rules, but respect for humanity.
It’s not the first time Önder is a shining light of humanity in his role as deputy speaker. As recent as last month, something similar happened when the Green Left Party (the predecessor of HEDEP – it’s complicated due to the state’s constant prosecution of Kurdish politics) MP Beritan Güneş Altın addressed the parliament for the first time after her election. She greeted her communities in Mardin province, for which she is a representative, in Kurdish and Arabic. When several MPs demanded that Önder intervene and stop her, Önder instead criticised the MPs who attacked Altın : “In this country, English and French can now be languages of education, but you want me to intervene over a simple greeting here?”
Hate crimes
Want another example? Last month, Önder intervened when an MP repeatedly used ‘homosexual’ in a derogatory way, namely to condemn the actions of Israel in Gaza and using the term as an adjective to insult Israeli officials. Önder said: “This expression is heading to such a dark place that, equating hate crimes with one’s sexual orientation as if it were a crime in itself, doesn’t it fall short of conveying how serious it is?” And, also criticising the use of the word ‘servile’: “Does it become more effective when you use the term ‘homosexual’? These contribute to motivations that piece together hate crimes. Secondly, you say ‘servile’. It is impossible to accept this. It is a sexist and discriminatory expression. I invite you to use a cleaner language.”
Dignity
It is always a pleasure to listen to DEM Party MPs calling out their colleagues from assorted parties about racist, sexist, homophobic and fascist comments, but it becomes even better in these situations: it’s not a discussion between MPs, but Önder using his authority as deputy speaker to educate the parliament. Maybe ‘better’ isn’t the word. It becomes even more important, I should say, because his interference actually stops the foul language being used.
Some may criticise him for bending the rules, like that no other language than Turkish is allowed in parliament. What he lays bare though, is the lack of respect the rules breathe for human dignity. Önder calmly and brilliantly restores it, so everybody can breathe.
*Fréderike Geerdink is an independent journalist. Follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her acclaimed weekly newsletter Expert Kurdistan.
