Kurds say the language is an essential part of their identity Mar 29, 2002 Jonny Dymond  The BBC's Istanbul correspondent  On Friday Turkey's national security council will debate whether to allow the broadcast of a Kurdish language on radio and television.  The language which is used by Turkey's 12 million strong Kurdish minority has for years been banned from the airwaves.

Kurds say the language is an essential part of their identity

But the European Union has demanded that Turkey grant its Kurdish population more rights if Turkey is to become a member state. 

Some have suggested that state television and radio should set aside some time, maybe an hour everyday, for Kurdish broadcasting. 

The nationalist party the MHP, has said it is against that, but the alternative is pretty unpalatable for the government - that a private station be allowed to broadcast from Turkish soil in the Kurdish language. 

Separatist act 

Kurdish TV and radio stations in Turkey are frequently closed down. The only station that broadcasts in Kurdish without interruption is based in Paris. 

The authorities say that Kurdish language broadcasting is a separatist act which attacks the unity of the state. 

Kurds, some of whom speak nothing but Kurdish, say the language is an essential part of their identity. 

If the ban is relaxed and the law is subsequently changed, for Turkey it will be a major act of liberalisation.