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99 organizations, institutions and platforms under the umbrella of the Network for Monitoring, Documenting and Reporting on Language Rights (DHİBRA) have declared their demands in 19 mother languages of Turkey on the occasion of February 21 International Mother Language Day.
"Care and support for all mother languages and for linguistic pluralism, which we regard as part of the richness of Turkey, must be seen as the guarantee for peaceful coexistence with all our differences. Elimination of barriers to language rights is a must for democracy," the DHİBRA has said.
Released in Abaza, Adyghe (West), Adyghe (East), Arabic, Albanian, Bosnian, Chechen, Armenian (Western), Georgian, Hamshen, Kurmanji, Ladino, Laz, Ossetian, Romeica, Greek, Syriac, Turkish and Zaza, the full statement of the DHİBRA reads as follows:
"Happy 'Mother Language Day' to all the languages of the world!
"As civil society actors concerned about the value and importance of the mother language, we have come together in 2021 to express our demands on the occasion of the 21 February International Mother Language Day declared by UNESCO on November 17, 1999.
"Care and support for all mother languages and for linguistic pluralism, which we regard as part of the richness of Turkey, must be seen as the guarantee for peaceful coexistence with all our differences. Elimination of barriers to language rights is a must for democracy. State, society and the individual should all be alert to this issue, and all bear great responsibility.
"We believe that the contribution to the cultural richness of Turkey made by all individuals and institutions working under great difficulties for the survival of different languages, particularly those under the threat of extinction, should be recognized and supported.
"As the Network for Language Rights Monitoring, Documentation and Reporting (DHİBRA), we therefore call for:
"1) The introduction of more liberal legal and administrative arrangements about learning and using mother languages in the public sphere in Turkey, and the implementation of the existing regulations in an unimpeded and determined manner;
"2) The introduction of concrete steps to protect languages under threat of extinction, and urgent support for civil society actors working in this area;
"3) The establishment and expansion of university departments, programs and institutes working on different mother languages used in the country, and the increased capacity and resources for existing ones;
"4) The lifting of reservations made by Turkey on three mother-language-related articles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child enacted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) and entered into force on September 2, 1990 and approved by Turkey on October 2, 1995.
"Language rights are an integral part of human rights!"
* The DHİBRA and its constituents will host different organizations on the occasion of February 21 International Mother Language Day. Detailed information as to DHİBRA's events such as online language courses, panel discussions and multilingual music performances can be accessed on:
https://twitter.com/DilHaklari?s=20
https://www.turkiyekulturleri.org/tr/Etkinlik-Takvimi/Guncel-Etkinlikler
https://instagram.com/dilhaklari