DİYARBAKIR - Calling for participation in the rally for the Kurdish language to be held on June 7, Eğitim-sen Diyarbakır Branch No. 1 Secretary Hatice Efe said: "Let's meet at the rally for lay claim to our language."

 

The campaign launched by the February 21 Language Commission, formed by the Kurdish Language Platform and the Kurdish Language and Culture Network, on February 22, demanding that Kurdish be the official language and the language of education, continues. As part of the campaign, rallies are held in Cizre, Van and Diyarbakır with the slogan "Let the Kurdish language be the official and educational language in Turkey" and "Let the 21st century be the century of the Kurdish language".

 

After the rally that took place in Cizre with the participation of hundreds of people, thousands of people in Van today take to the street for the Kurdish language. On June 7, Diyarbakir is preparing for a rally for the Kurdish language. 

 

Hatice Efe, secretary of the Education and Science Workers' Union (Egitim-sen) Diyarbakır No. 1, who took part in the February 21 Language Commission, said that the state should fulfill its responsibilities regarding language.

 

‘Kurdish should be the official language’

 

Noting that language is very important for a nation, Hatice said that with the losing of a language, nothing about that language will remain on earth. "Language is a means of communication between societies. When children are born, they communicate with their mothers. Therefore, mother tongue is more important than anything else. I think the importance of language should not be discussed anymore. Because a lot of research has been done on this. We came together as a commission and took a decision. Because language is the responsibility of a nation. The Kurdish language is now in great danger. If a language is not used officially in education, health, that language dies. Therefore, Kurdish should be the official language," she said.

 

‘We want to provide training for mother tongue’

 

Stating that "Education in mother tongue is a human right", Hatice reminded that education in mother tongue is also accepted by the United Nations (UN) and continued with following words: "There is no harm in multilingualism. On the contrary, having a multilingual country is a great wealth. That is why we, as Eğitim-sen, base our education on mother tongue. We want to provide training for students in their mother tongue. The Kurdish language rally to be held in Diyarbakır on June 7 is very important for us. Compared to previous years, there is a great interest in the Kurdish language. Because now everyone knows that the Kurdish language is in danger of extinction."

 

‘Let’s lay claim to our language’

 

Hatice, who stated that there was an awareness for Kurdish language in the society, noted that since the day the petition started, the number of signatures has increased day by day. Hatice finally said: "We aim to collect more signatures at the rally to be held on June 7. Let’s lay claim to our language. We should attend the rally with this awareness. Let's meet at the rally to protect our language."