Darbasiyah residents demand recognition of Kurdish language in constitution

Residents of Darbasiyah took to the streets today in a mass demonstration to protest the decision by the Education Minister in the transitional government to limit the teaching of the Kurdish language to three classes per week. They reaffirmed their right to education in their mother tongue and stressed that the Kurdish language is an essential part of Kurdish identity and culture.

Teachers, members of civil institutions and councils, Internal Security Forces personnel, and representatives of youth and women’s movements in the city participated in the demonstration.

The demonstration began at Women’s Square, with protesters carrying banners rejecting the restriction on Kurdish-language instruction and affirming that the language represents the identity and culture of the Kurdish people. They also chanted slogans, including, “There is no life without the language.”

Upon reaching the city’s Education Complex, the protesters observed a minute of silence. A statement on behalf of Darbasiyah residents was then read by teacher Hojin Herz.

The statement affirmed their rejection of the interim government’s decision to allocate only three hours per week to teaching the Kurdish language, describing the decision as “a clear infringement on a fundamental right of a people who have struggled for decades to protect their language and identity.”

The statement noted that the Kurdish language “is not an ordinary subject that can be determined or restricted according to political decisions. Rather, it represents an essential part of the history, identity and existence of the Kurdish people, and the right to education in one’s mother tongue cannot be reduced to three hours per week.”

It added that protecting the language and the right to receive education in it constitute, from a human rights perspective, an essential part of protecting cultural identity, equality and non-discrimination.

The statement called for a new Syria based on recognition of national, linguistic and cultural diversity as a national asset. It also called for reviewing and changing the decision limiting Kurdish-language instruction to three hours per week and adopting an educational policy based on citizenship, equality and cultural rights, away from discrimination and marginalization.

The statement called for recognition of education in the Kurdish language in areas where Kurds constitute an essential part of the community as a fundamental right, and for efforts to consolidate and develop it.

It stressed that the demands do not seek to obtain privileges at the expense of the rights of other components, but rather to guarantee a historic and inherent right to protect and practice the language and culture on an equal footing with other rights.

The statement concluded by emphasizing the continuation of the peaceful and democratic struggle to protect the Kurdish language and guarantee future generations the right to learn in their mother tongue, stressing that the Kurdish language is not merely three hours on a school timetable, but represents history, culture, identity and the right to exist.

A-H 

ANHA