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Turkey: DTP deputy Sebahat Tuncel wants
state support for Kurdish language
7.12.2007
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December
7, 2007
Ankara, -- During parliamentary session on
Thursday a debate was sparked during budget
deliberations for 2008, with culture proving to be a
significant bone of contention.
Avni Dogan spoke on behalf of the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) and noted, "Turkey's
cultural color is one and the same." However,
Sebahat Tuncel from the pro-Kurdish Democratic
Society Party (DTP) noted, "Kurdish folk songs,
tales and tongue twisters should be compiled and the
artists who work in this field should be supported."
Speaking about the 2008 budgets for the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism, the State Directorate General
of Opera and Ballet, the Directorate General of
State Theaters, the Customs Undersecretariat, the
Directorate General of Foundations and the
Directorate General of Social Assistance and
Solidarity,www.ekurd.net
MHP Antalya deputy
Toskay said the current amount allocated from
2008's budget for the Ministry of Culture and
Tourism wouldn't allow any serious culture and
tourism policies. Toskay stressed that tourism
products had to be diversified and the country
should be better promoted for tourism. |
Kurdish lawmaker Sebahat Tuncel from the pro-Kurdish
Democratic Society Party, or DTP, in Ankara |
AK Party Kahramanmaraş
deputy Dogan recalled that there was a growing
tendency recently to "create cultural maps" in
Turkey, and remarked: "Turkey's cultural color is
one and the same. English people speak English,
French people speak French and Germans speak German.
However, while referring to their culture, they say,
'Western or European culture'. Our culture is one
and the same and it is called 'Turco-Islamic
culture'." Dogan further noted that describing
Turkey as a "mosaic of cultures," was a "malicious
approach."
DTP Istanbul deputy Tuncel, who spoke for the first
time since his oath-taking ceremony, said that
Turkey had many different cultures apart from the
Kurdish culture and that it was essential that the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism research those
cultures as well.www.ekurd.net
Underscoring the
importance of developing the Kurdish culture for
social peace, Tuncel added that there had to be
projects to encourage civil society organizations,
publishing houses, institutes and music production
companies working to foster Kurdish culture. Tuncel
demanded support for artists who work in the fields
of Kurdish literature, cinema and folklore. Kurdish
songs, poems, tales and tongue twisters should be
compiled for archive purposes, she said.
todayszaman com
**
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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