Ozgur Politika
Jan 22, 2002
Antonio Bultrini, Secretary of European Council Regional and Minority Languages Accord, stated that every member of the EC should give the right to education in one’s mother tongue which is one of main provisions of European Human Rights Agreement.

HUSEYIN ELMALI/MHA / STRASBOURG 

Antonio Bultrini, Secretary of European Council Regional and Minority Languages Accord (ECMRA), stated that denial of right to education in one’s mother tongue and not supplying the facilities for it violated European Accord on Human Rights Agreement (EAHR) 

Bultrini commented on a case against Belgium. Stating that European Human Rights Court (EHRC) condemned Belgium in 1986 according to the article 14, continued to say the following: “EHRC ruled that Belgium violated the article 14 in the mixed regions by not ensuring the right to education in one’s mother tongue. In other words, it decided that the fact that children had to be educated in a language they did not know violated the article 14 which banned discrimination.” 

Why ECMRA?

Bultrini emphasized that EAHR was against discrimination but as it did not mention individual languages clearly, the European Council established ECMRA in order to find a more detailed and permanent solution, adding the following: “The Accord arouse from multiculturalism and the need to preserve language as a means of communication, seeing it a cultural legacy of humanity.” 

The Secretary noted that one of the missions of the Accord was to protect half-dead languages and improve them including regional and minority languages. 

Bultrini stressed that whether they were a party to the ECMRA or not, states had reserves about mother tongues and regional languages not to be exploited for discriminative and separationist ends. The Secretary had to say the following: “That is, this measure derived from the worries about official languages being totally rejected or excluded. Those who prepared the accord avoided to state which languages were minority and regional languages and which of them should be taken under protection, because the situation is more sensitive than it is supposed and every country has its own peculiar conditions.”

Turkey and Italy did not signed it

Bultrini said that Turkey and Italy did not signed the agreement but he did not want to make comment on it. He noted that France had signed it but the President did not ratify it, saying that it did not comply with the existing Constitution. Bultrini had to say the following: “The European Council is now preparing a supplementary protocol. It will shed more light on the article 14 of the EAHR and I think it will be useful.” 

Swedish Parliament discussed the matter

The campaign for Kurdish education was discussed in the Swedish Parliament. 

Leftist Party Deputy Murat Artin brought the matter onto the agenda. Artin said the following: The sole crime committed by the students who have been detained and charged of separationism is to demand ‘education in one’s mother tongue’ which is the most ordinary human right.” Deputy Artin stated that in a number of cities students were detained, drawing attention that 11 HADEP administrators were arrested on the grounds that there was an organic connection between the campaign and HADEP which was a democratic and legal party. 

Artin also touched the subject of minorities, saying the following: “The Turkish state violated the article 42 of the Lausanne Agreement and recently repression and threats against Assyrians/Syrians, Armenians and Greeks have increased.”

Artin also drew attention to F-Type Prisons and torture cases. Secretary of the State Lindh is expected to reply the questions.

Kurdish education in Britain

A school in Britan introduced Turkish education while Turkey does not permit Kurdish. The decision of the school did not separate Britain. If the system is successful it will be introduced to other schools as well. White Hart Lane School where 65 different languages were spoken decided to teach some courses in Turkish for 371 students from Turkey. 

“Let’s speak Kurdish”

Association for Improvement and Development Kurdish established by a group of teachers and intellectuals in Cologne province of Germany organized a seminar in order to encourage people to speak Kurdish. The opening speech of the seminar was given by Hasan Taskaya, an administrator of the association. Taskaya said the following: “If we want our identity be recognized, first of all we express ourselves in our own mother tongue. And East Kurdistani Dr Golmorad Morad, for his part, explained political struggle and uprisings in East Kurdistan, compared the struggle with the one led by Gandhi.

March in Krefeld

Kurdish youth living in Europe continue to support the campaign for Kurdish education in Kurdistan and Turkey. The other day about 40 young demonstrator marched in Krefeld province of Germany. Gathered at Hoch Strasse, the youth marched with a banner on which “We want the ban on Kurdish be lifted” and posters of PKK President Abdullah Ocalan. The demonstrators cried slogans “Freedom for Ocalan Peace for Kurdistan”, “Europe should take action for freedom for Ocalan” and “I am the PKK”. The march ended at Marktplatz.