Nov 1, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
The Kocaeli Governor’s Office on Oct. 30 enacted a week-long protest ban
days prior to the Kocaeli leg of the march for Kurdish Language.
The Kurdish Language Movement Association had planned a march from Istanbul to the capital Ankara, passing through western Kocaeli province.
The association organized the march to advocate for the Turkish
government's recognition of Kurdish as an official language in Turkey and its
inclusion as a compulsory subject in school curricula.
The Governor’s Office stated that the decision was taken to
“maintain national security, protect public order and safety.”
The statement read, “All events and demonstrations (marches, open/closed
meetings, press statements, sit-ins, petitions, opening stands, setting up
tents, lighting torches, passing fliers or brochures, protests, or the like)
within Kocaeli province lines and the entry of the vehicles and individuals
coming to join the abovementioned events are prohibited for seven days, from
Oct. 31 to Nov. 6.”
Istanbul Governor’s Office on July 24 also banned Chair of the Kurdish
Language Movement Association Suphi Özgen's march from Istanbul to the capital
Ankara for the right to education in mother tongue on the centennial of the
Lausanne Treaty.
Kurdish community in Turkey does not have a right to officially learn their
language in schools as they were not recognized as a minority by the Lausanne
Treaty like Greeks, Armenians, and Jews.
Duvar gazetesi