Syriac MP George Aslan: 'Syriac language is a language of this land'

People's Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Mardin MP George Aslan faced intervention from İYİ Party members during yesterday's (December 18) session of the Turkish Grand National Assembly for speaking in Syriac.

Expressing dissatisfaction with Deputy Speaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder's decision not to intervene in Aslan's speech in Syriac, secretary member İYİ Parti Denizli MP Yasin Öztürk left the platform, saying, 'You run the Assembly on your own.'

Speaking to bianet about the pressure he faced, Aslan evaluated the attitude of the İYİ Party group as 'primitive.' Stating that Syriacs have been living in Turkey for 12,000 years, Aslan continued his statement as follows:

"In my speech yesterday, I discussed the budget of the General Directorate of Highways, road accidents in Turkey, road damages, and environmental issues. In addition to these, I addressed the poor condition of roads in my electoral district and also the sewage problem in Midyat. Since this was going to be my last speech in the Parliament in 2023, I also celebrated Christmas, first in Turkish and extended my wishes to the Syriac, Armenian, Greek, and generally all Christian communities living in Turkey.

"To the Deputy Speaker, I expressed my intention to repeat the same words in the Syriac language for the Syriac people who do not understand Turkish. As soon as I started my speech, there were rude words from the seats of the İYİ Party. I believe they were prepared for this, since the intervention started from my first words on. They reacted similarly to the deputies who spoke Kurdish before me. I think it is related to the current situation of the İYİ Party. It is about sending a message to their own base."

“We are indigenous people of this land for 12,000 years”

“However, we are in the 21st century. If there is such a strong reaction to a congratulatory message delivered in a language spoken for thousands of years on these lands, it is nothing but primitiveness.

"Our Deputy Speaker, Mr. Önder, is a very civilized and democratic person, yes, but I would not hesitate to say the same words in another assembly led by a different chairperson. Mr. Önder recited an Arabic verse before my speech. When Önder said, 'None of you translated it into Turkish,' they replied, 'But that was a verse.' As you can see, explaining to this mentality is quite challenging.

"I want to repeat what I said in the Parliament: We did not bring this language from another planet. Syriac is a language of this land. We are the indigenous people of this land for 12,000 years. We were here when no one else was on these lands. Why they react so strongly is incomprehensible. However, we know that this is a denial of real history. Through your means, I once again wish the people living in Turkey a happy new year and would like to reiterate it in the Syriac language:

"ܒܥܐ ܐ̱ܢܐ ܪܝܫܐ ܕܫܢ̱ܬܐ ܒܪܝܟܬܐ ܠܟܠܗܘܢ ܥܡܡ̈ܐ ܕܝܠܢ ܕܚܝܢ ܒܬܘܪܟܝܐ" 

(TY/PE)