AMED – Mehmet Emin Gökdemir of the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD) stated that constitutional reform alone is not sufficient to recognize Kurdish; restrictive laws such as the Law on Unification of Education must also be amended.
The ongoing campaigns for the recognition of Kurdish as an official and mother tongue gained momentum during the Peace and Democratic Society Process initiated by Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.
Legal organizations, including ÖHD, continue to call for legislative action to grant Kurdish legal status. ÖHD launched a signature campaign on August 15 among legal professionals, which will continue until October 1. The collected signatures will be submitted to the Turkish Parliament.
ÖHD Amed (Diyarbakır) Branch Language Commission member and lawyer Mehmet Emin Gökdemir emphasized that since the founding of the Republic, there has been no constitutional or legal provision recognizing the Kurdish language, instead the opposite. “The state has always been based on a Turkish nation-state model,” he said, noting that earlier constitutional drafts, such as the 1921 Constitution, allowed for regional minority languages like Kurdish in public life.
However, subsequent constitutions in 1924, 1961, and 1982 failed to provide rights for minority groups. “Article 42 mandates Turkish as the only language of education, and Article 66 defines the national identity solely as Turkish,” he added.
‘OBSTRUCTIVE LAWS MUST ALSO BE REPEALED’
Gökdemir stressed that amending the Constitution alone would not be enough. Legal barriers to the use of Kurdish must also be addressed. Among these are the 1928 Turkish Alphabet Law (Law No. 1353), the Law on Unification of Education and the Surname Law. He said these are directly hinder Kurdish linguistic rights.
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND STATE OBLIGATIONS
Criticizing Turkey’s reservations on international treaties that guarantee the right to mother tongue education Gökdemir said: “Turkey must lift these reservations and ratify the treaties fully, shile committing to international monitoring mechanisms. These changes would represent a fundamental shift in the legal system.”
‘CURRENT PRACTICES CONTRADICT THE PROCESS’
Gökdemir condemned recent events where members of the Peace Mothers were prevented from speaking Kurdish in parliamentary commissions. He said that such actions contradict the values of brotherhood and equality supposedly embraced by the commission and added: “The blocking of Kurdish even in this process shows the lack of sincerity.”
He also criticized the nationalist, militaristic rhetoric used by the government following the collapse of the 2013–2015 peace talks, stating that it had created public opposition to Kurdish demands. “Changing this hostile climate is the government’s responsibility,” he added, suggesting educational campaigns to inform the public about Kurdish rights.
CAMPAIGN FOR KURDISH AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
Gökdemir emphasized that the ongoing campaign by Kurdish lawyers aims to enshrine both Kurmanji and Zazaki dialects into constitutional and legal frameworks. “We have always advocated for inclusive and egalitarian legal structures, and we will continue to do so for a just legal system,” he said.
Calling on everyone to resist self-assimilation, Gökdemir concluded: “To avoid becoming participants in a new wave of self-assimilation, we must speak Kurdish everywhere, defend its status, and demand official recognition.”
MA / Rukiye Payiz Adıguzel