Kurdish traffic warnings at pedestrian crossings were blacked out in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority cities of Van (Wan) and Diyarbakır (Amed) on 26 July and 29 July respectively, with police reportedly supporting these actions. The incidents have raised concerns over rising racist sentiments and their impact.
Early on Monday morning , a group of four unidentified individuals accompanied by police blacked out Kurdish traffic warning signs in Diyarbakır reading, Hêdî (Slow) and Pêşî Peya (Priority to Pedestrians) at various pedestrian crossings, including one outside the city’s Municipal Buildings.
And on the night of 26 July, a 16-year-old high school student defaced Kurdish traffic warnings in Van, spraying over them with the words, “Turkey is Turkish, it will stay Turkish.” In an interview with Ruşen Takva from Kısa Dalga, the student claimed he had informed a police officer from the Anti-Terrorist Branch (TEM) about his plan days before the incident. “The police officer advised me to be careful,” the student said. They said, “Nothing will happen to you if you get caught, but the city council might make problems for you.”
After the incident, the police contacted the student to assure him there were no issues and that he only needed to make a statement. The student added that the officers told him not to worry, said they understood his nationalist feelings, and offered him support. The student also sought legal advice before spray-painting the slogan.
Van City Council condemned the act as a “racist attack” and promptly restored the traffic warning signs.
