Words in Mother Tongues Recorded as 'X' in Parliament Minutes

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

MPs from opposition parties celebrated the February 21 Mother Tongue Day in yesterday's parliamentary session with messages in Kurdish and in the languages of minorities in Turkey.

The words in languages other than Turkish were recorded as "x" in the minutes of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

Some MPs from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) lashed out at MPs who talked in minorities' languages, saying, "Is this United Nations or what?", "They cannot be called languages, they are dialects, dialects!", "If it is banned, why are you speaking in it?"

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs Meral Danış Beştaş, Mahmut Toğrul, and Fatma Kurtulan spoke in Kurdish, Garo Paylan spoke in Armenian, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Mehmet Bekaroğlu spoke in Laz language.

All the non-Turkish words they said was recorded in the parliament minutes as "x".

"It is not a language, it is a dialect, a dialect!"

Here are some quotes from the minute:

Mehmet Bekaroğlu (CHP): "..."(x)

Baki Şimşek (MHP): Mr. Speaker, we can't understand.

Mehmet Bekaroğlu: Hello friends. (Applauds from the stands of CHP and HDP). I spoke in Laz language, my dear friends. I also saluted you in some disappearing languages as well. This is the Mother Tongue Day, my dear friends.

There are currently 36 known languages spoken in Turkey. More than half of them, 20 of them, which are spoken by few, are slowly disappearing my dear friends.

Mustafa Hidayet Vahapoğlu (MHP): They cannot be called "languages", they are dialects, dialects!

"Is this United Nations Assembly or what?"

Garo Paylan (HDP): Mr. Speaker, this the World International Mother Tongue Day. Unfortunately, our Assembly does not take measures to make mother tongues live. Western Armenian, which is also my mother tongue, is in the UNESCO's list of disappearing languages. Today, I want to give my message in the disappearing Western Armenian. "..."(x)

Baki Şimşek (MHP): Mr. Speaker, is this United Nations Assembly or what?

Ümit Yılmaz (MHP): Mr. Speaker... Interpreter... Maybe he is insulting us."

Meral Danış Beştaş (HDP): Today is World Mother Tongue Day. first of all, I celebrate all the world's peoples' International Mother Tongue Day. "..."(x)

Erol Kavuncu (AKP): If it is banned, why are you speaking in it?

(AS/VK)