Referendum on "Bilingualism"?

The last in a series of meetings of the Turkish small National Assembly (TkMM) was held in the Tarık Zafer Tunaya Cultural Centre in Istanbul on Sunday (9 January). Several TkMM meetings in many different cities were organized by the Turkish Initiative against Crime of Thought.

The general topic of the final meeting in Istanbul was "Bilingualism - Autonomy?"; the local issue discussed was the topic of "Migration to Istanbul and its consequences". Special guest of the meeting was the Kurdish politician Mahmut Alınak who received prison sentences of ten years in total on the grounds of his opinions.

Alınak's presentation was attended by about 20 participants. The politicians called on the government to "launch a referendum on the issue of bilingualism".

"If we are living in a democracy, a referendum should show whether the Kurds really want to use their mother tongue or not. Moreover, the referendum could be done before the elections. You will see that the Kurds will approve the referendum by 100 percent. Let's have a referendum and let the result be respected by the MGK (National Security Council ), the Parliament, the AKP (ruling Justice and Development Party) and the opposition".

Alınak emphasized that even in Iraq Kurds are not being exposed to a ban of their language. He criticized that people even hesitate to use the term "Kurdistan" and that this fear did not stem from the courts. "You are my worry, the pressure in the neighbourhoods", he said.

The meeting was attended by writer Abdurrahman Dilipak, M. Şahin Candaş from the Güvercinler Assembly, Sami Özgen from Göç-Der, Mahmut Sürmeli from the Democracy and Freedom Movement, Rana Şenol from the Media Association, Emin Engin from the Peace and Democracy Party, Mahmut Döğer from HAK-PAR, İsmail Altan from the Human Rights Association, Sayat Tekir from Nor Zartonk and Abdulhakim Dağ from the East-Southeast (DGD) Platform.

The seats allocated to members of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) remained empty. (EÖ/VK)