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Kurdish words "Newroz" and "Kawa" Reason
for Imprisonment in Turkey
4.12.2007
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A
trade union representative in Kilis, Kurdish area in
southeastern Turkey, is on trial for using the
letter "w" in two newspaper articles.
December
4, 2007
In Turkey, the use of non-Turkish words, for
instance from French and English, is common in books
and also in names of workplaces and shops.
No problem if its English, only if it is
Kurdish...
While this was never a case for the judiciary, the
use of Kurdish words and letters has been surpressed
for years, citing Law No. 1353 on the Acceptance and
Application of Turkish Letters. This law was
conceived on 1 November 1928 and was incorporated
into the Turkish Penal Code as Article 222, under
the heading "Hat and Turkish Letters".
Before this incorporation took place on 1 June 2005,
human rights activists had warned authorities about
its adverse consequences.
"Newroz" articles cause for trial
Now Kiyasettin Aslan, the Kilis province chair of
the Office Workers' Union (BES) is on trial for
using the words "Newroz" and "Kawa" in articles
published in two local newspapers. The "w" does not
exist in the Turkish alphabet,www.ekurd.net
which has not stopped
people from writing Internet addresses starting with
"www." or the private Turkish Show TV channel from
broadcasting.
In an article published in the local Huduteli
newspaper on 20 March and entitled "May the Newroz
Fire Never Go Out" and another article in the Kent
newspaper on 24 March, entitled "Fire and Iron",
Aslan had written about the Newroz Festival.
Prosecutor Serkan Özkan is demanding that the Kilis
Criminal Court of Peace sentence Aslan to two to six
months imprisonment. The trial will begin on 27
December.
BES province representatives have condemned the
trial and called for solidarity with Aslan.
Aslan warned by employer
After writing the articles, Aslan, who works as a
security guard at the Musabeyli Fiscal Office, was
given a warning under Article 136 of Law 657 on
Civil Servants on 1 October. His appeal was refused
by fiscal office authorities on 28 November.
Not the only case
Article 222 has also been used to penalise the Sur
municipality in Diyarbakir, which has offered
municipal services in Kurdish, Armenian and Syriac
as well as Turkish.www.ekurd.net
The 8th Chamber of the
State Council decreed that mayor Abdullah Demirbas
be dismissed from office and the municipal council
dissolved for "violating the Law on the Hat and
Turkish
letters".
bianet org
**
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Others estimate over 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds,
large Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan
but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag
is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it
is a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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