The Kurdish Language Day, celebrated every year on May 15 to protect the Kurdish people's linguistic and cultural heritage, is marked this year with various events highlighting the richness and diversity of the Kurdish language and the obstacles to its use.

Speaking to ANF about the May 15 Kurdish Language Day and assimilation policies targeting the Kurdish language, Heval Dilbihar, Co-Spokesperson of the DEM Party's Language, Culture, and Arts Commission, stated, “Mr. Öcalan's call for peace addresses the construction of a democratic society. It is important for all peoples to live in freedom and peace. Mr. Öcalan's call also includes the freedom of the Kurdish language, because the Kurdish language has also been subject to oppression, denial, and assimilation. In a democratic society, the Kurdish language, along with all other languages, must be free. A language that has no status and is not taught cannot survive. For this reason, all obstacles in the way of the Kurdish language must be removed unconditionally. The Kurdish language must be free and unrestricted in all areas. The Kurdish language must be granted a status. As the process of building a democratic society progresses, the Kurdish language will also attain a status. No matter what happens, the Kurdish language must attain a status.”

Emphasizing that the Kurdish language must be an official language within the framework of the law, Dilbihar continued: “The Kurdish language must be a language of education from primary schools to universities. It must be used freely not only in daily life but also in all institutions and organizations in Kurdistan. Names translated into Turkish must be returned. The Kurdish language must be free and unrestricted without compromise or conditions.”

Pointing to the existence of an assimilation policy aimed at eliminating all languages and cultures other than Turkish identity since the founding of the Turkish state, Dilbihar said: “They developed policies to eliminate the Kurdish language and culture in this way. The state was well aware that as long as the Kurdish language persists, the Kurdish people will not disappear. For this reason, they launched brutal policies and massacres targeting the Kurdish language and culture. Due to the deep-rooted history of the Kurdish language, these policies failed. The Kurdish language spread, especially thanks to technological developments. It has been recognized as an ancient and universal language. Due to its failure to democratize, the Turkish state, which was founded on the principle of a single language, has renewed and kept in place serious restrictions, oppression, and policies of denial against the language. The most significant attacks have been directed at the Kurdish language. In particular, the intensive policies of annihilation carried out against the Kurdish language over the past 20 years have not yielded results.”

Highlighting the importance of protecting the Kurdish language under all circumstances, Dilbihar said, “All Kurds and those who demand democracy must work for the status of the Kurdish language. Let us make every field a field of the Kurdish language. Let us intensify the struggle to develop the Kurdish language in every field. On May 15, Kurdish Language Day, numerous activities and events are being organized. The purpose of these events is to fight against the assimilation and annihilation policies carried out against the Kurdish language. Our work in this regard will continue until June 1.”