When words scare
When words scare
As the discussion on bilingualism heats up, signals of a possible intervention by the judiciary system in the issue are certainly not positive. Indeed as many times before, when the judiciary steps in it is to attempt preventing the debate to progress and get deeper. How to achieve this? By putting obstacles often artificial to limit the natural flow of political discourse. And the obstacle most often used is that of the 'Sword of Damocles', i.e. the hanging ban of the political party most involved in moving things forward. In this case, clearly is the BDP which shows the biggest flexibility and imagination in the opening of a discourse about a possible new way of being a Turkish republic. And this clearly scares the government and power circles.
It is in this context that one could read the decision by the Diyarbakýr Public Prosecutor's Office to launch an investigation into the decisions of the DTK (Democratic Society Congress), transforming the discussion into a demand for “democratic autonomy.”
According to the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) "democratic autonomy" refers to strong local government, but the government and other parties are suspicious and fear that it would lead to the use of a separate language and flag, which they argue is out of the question.
BDP Co-chairman Selahattin Demirtaþ on Tuesday met with Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Þahin to discuss “democratic autonomy,” but the meeting was also meant to lower public tension that flared up recently between the BDP and Þahin.
Þahin had indeed criticized the BDP after some of its members used Kurdish on the floor of the General Assembly in Parliament. The debate heated up after several BDP members opened the debate on the national flag and language. The parliament speaker on several occasions reminded them that speaking in a language other than Turkish in Parliament is forbidden and that public prosecutors should take action to ensure it does not happen.
The parliament speaker urged everyone to respect national laws and assembly rules forbidding the use of languages other than Turkish in official platforms. Þahin warned BDP members against raising tension in the national political debate and asked them to refrain from using any language other than Turkish. “We warned our colleagues in that regard,” he said after meeting with Demirtaþ.
Demirtaþ said the aim of the meeting was to correct misunderstandings. “We told him that his remarks targeting political parties harm politics. His approach was very positive. We hope that this meeting will serve the process positively,” he said and added that they had also submitted a booklet on democratic autonomy.
The DTK, which includes many prominent intellectuals, representatives of civil society organizations and pro-Kurdish politicians, shared their demand for democratic autonomy with the public over the weekend. The text suggests that the society, in order to construct the democratic autonomy model, should be organized in eight different dimensions, among them political, legal, social, economic, diplomatic, ecological, socio-political and “self defense” -- a concept that is not clear but aims to establish a security force.
The text also mentions the adoption of the Kurdish flag and other symbols as well as education in Kurdish from kindergarten through university. The text also underlines that Kurds will send their representatives to Parliament to participate in national politics but that they will have their own local parliaments as well.
“We suggesting self-administration. This is part of our party program. If Turkey switches to a strong local administration model, this will require constitutional amendments. We suggest a multicultural, multilingual and multiethnic country,” Demirtaþ explained.
Responding to a question, he said "BDP is not demanding to speak in Kurdish in Parliament, but some of the party’s members said a few words in Kurdish in order to highlight the issue. Of course the official language is Turkish. But other languages must be given freedom and should be able to be used in media, the public sector and in education."
It is in this context that one could read the decision by the Diyarbakýr Public Prosecutor's Office to launch an investigation into the decisions of the DTK (Democratic Society Congress), transforming the discussion into a demand for “democratic autonomy.”
According to the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) "democratic autonomy" refers to strong local government, but the government and other parties are suspicious and fear that it would lead to the use of a separate language and flag, which they argue is out of the question.
BDP Co-chairman Selahattin Demirtaþ on Tuesday met with Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Þahin to discuss “democratic autonomy,” but the meeting was also meant to lower public tension that flared up recently between the BDP and Þahin.
Þahin had indeed criticized the BDP after some of its members used Kurdish on the floor of the General Assembly in Parliament. The debate heated up after several BDP members opened the debate on the national flag and language. The parliament speaker on several occasions reminded them that speaking in a language other than Turkish in Parliament is forbidden and that public prosecutors should take action to ensure it does not happen.
The parliament speaker urged everyone to respect national laws and assembly rules forbidding the use of languages other than Turkish in official platforms. Þahin warned BDP members against raising tension in the national political debate and asked them to refrain from using any language other than Turkish. “We warned our colleagues in that regard,” he said after meeting with Demirtaþ.
Demirtaþ said the aim of the meeting was to correct misunderstandings. “We told him that his remarks targeting political parties harm politics. His approach was very positive. We hope that this meeting will serve the process positively,” he said and added that they had also submitted a booklet on democratic autonomy.
The DTK, which includes many prominent intellectuals, representatives of civil society organizations and pro-Kurdish politicians, shared their demand for democratic autonomy with the public over the weekend. The text suggests that the society, in order to construct the democratic autonomy model, should be organized in eight different dimensions, among them political, legal, social, economic, diplomatic, ecological, socio-political and “self defense” -- a concept that is not clear but aims to establish a security force.
The text also mentions the adoption of the Kurdish flag and other symbols as well as education in Kurdish from kindergarten through university. The text also underlines that Kurds will send their representatives to Parliament to participate in national politics but that they will have their own local parliaments as well.
“We suggesting self-administration. This is part of our party program. If Turkey switches to a strong local administration model, this will require constitutional amendments. We suggest a multicultural, multilingual and multiethnic country,” Demirtaþ explained.
Responding to a question, he said "BDP is not demanding to speak in Kurdish in Parliament, but some of the party’s members said a few words in Kurdish in order to highlight the issue. Of course the official language is Turkish. But other languages must be given freedom and should be able to be used in media, the public sector and in education."
