Amed Kurdish Language Institute co-spokesperson Mine Karakaş pointed out that assimilation policies have been implemented for centuries to destroy the Kurdish language and asked for the language to be protected.

Attacks on the Kurdish language continue in all areas of life. People who speak Kurdish are subjected to racist attacks, newspapers and magazines in Kurdish are banned, and concerts by artists are prevented if in Kurdish.

Speaking to ANF, Amed Kurdish Language Institute co-spokesperson Mine Karakaş said: "Assimilation policies have been systematically implemented on Kurds for more than a hundred years. After 2016, with the closure of all Kurdish education and course institutions, the rate of people speaking Kurdish decreased significantly. This situation only occurred in 2016. It is not a situation limited to Turkey, it is an assimilation policy that has been going on for about a hundred years."

Kurdish should be official and the language of education

Karakaş continued: "The purpose of assimilation policies is clear; to leave Kurds without identity and culture and to distance them from themselves. The more Kurds move away from their language, the more they move away from their own culture, themselves, consciousness and society. When there is no language, there is no identity, no culture, no sense of belonging to a place. When you don't belong to somewhere, you are lost. The state aims to leave Kurds with nothing. As language institutions, we have been working on these issues for years. Our institutions have made serious efforts against assimilation policies. Assimilation policies have gained momentum, especially with the development of technology since the 2000s. When we look at state policies, nurseries have now been opened even in villages. The aim here is to assimilate our four-year-old children, distancing them from their own language. Our aim is for Kurdish to be the language of education and to be recognized as an official language in Turkey. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to save a language without it being the language of education. If you do not educate a child in his native language when he is young, it is really difficult for him to return to his roots and learn the language."

We need to take care of our language

Karakaş added: "We must speak our own language in the streets, at home, everywhere. We must speak Kurdish with our children at home. A child who does not grow up with his own native language will have more difficulties in life. We are not successful enough in our field. We need to protect our language and use it in every aspect of our lives."