kurdish language

Ahmet Türk, former co-chair of the dissolved Democratic Society Party, is tried because he spoke Kurdish in parliament on the International Mother Language Day. At the same time, he was acquitted in a case related to his appreciation of the proclamation of a PKK ceasefire.

Mehdi Tanrıkulu, editorial manager of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper, was arrested upon his claim to make his defence in court in Kurdish. Tanrıkulu faces imprisonment of up to ten years. He referred to the Treaty of Lausanne and the European Court of Human Rights.

Facebook, as one of the most popular international social networking sites, is now available in Kurdish as well. The Kurdish language was included upon a campaign ran by the users of the site and can be expanded to further applications on demand.

The Democratic Society Party (DTP) submitted a bill to the Parliament to remove the legal and constitutional obstacles the Kurdish language is facing. The DTP deputies also directed a formal question at the Prime Minister to find out if they have such plans.

The Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) began officially broadcasting in Kurdish. The new Kurdish channel TRT 6 is seen as a positive move by the President and the Prime Minister for further democratization, while the deputies of the Democratic Society Party see ulterior motives.

The Kurdish language is still not recognized by the Parliament, although there is a Kurdish TV channel on the state television now. The Parliament moved the Kurdish language from being an unknown language to a non-Turkish language in its record.

The court acquitted Diyarbakır mayor Baydemir and Bağlar Mayor Ösökmenler in the Kurdish brochure case, in which they were on trial for distributing Kurdish brochures to teach non-Turkish speakers how to manage their garbage.

A German citizen child whose father is a political refuge was not allowed to enter Turkey since his name included previously banned W letter, although this law is not in effect any longer. The DTP submits a motion of question.