A state should not have a racist ideology. Yet this state has an ideology that favours one language over another, one identity over another, and this ideology has no tolerance for diversity.
In Turkey, intolerance towards the Kurdish language continues to claim lives as a result of a racist culture that is constantly nurtured and developed under state guarantee. Those who feed on this culture murdered Hakim Lokman on 1 September, World Peace Day, just because he spoke his own language, Kurdish.
This ideology, which grants itself the right to determine what language others speak, what clothes they wear and, in short, how they should live, is supported and promoted by the country's laws, governments, state mechanisms and media. It is also significant that these practises, which challenged the steps taken under the AKP governments, continue under the same government.
Today, the state broadcaster TRT Kurdi continues to broadcast programmes in Kurdish and the state agency Anadolu Agency produces news in Kurdish, but intolerance and attacks against the Kurdish language continue both through official channels and in many areas of daily life.
On the other hand, five state universities in Turkey offer degree programmes in Kurdish language and literature. The Ministry of National Education appoints Kurdish teachers, and even members of the Turkish Armed Forces and the General Directorate of Security receive Kurdish language training. However, these measures have not been able to prevent prejudice and intolerance towards Kurdish in large parts of society.
Just as I was making this introduction, I came across a statement by Deputy President Cevdet Yılmaz on the Hakim Lokman incident. In his statement, Mr Yılmaz explained that the incident had nothing to do with the Kurdish language, that Hakim Lokman was killed by a citizen from Batman, that they would also oppose such a thing being done to a Kurdish-speaking citizen, and that the perpetrators would be punished.
Mr Cevdet Yılmaz also mentions the above-mentioned steps taken by the government regarding the Kurdish language and emphasises that official statements should be awaited, while also reminding that Turkish is our "official and common language"
Even if we say that we protect those who speak Kurdish, emphasising that Turkish is the "official and common" language reminds us that Kurdish is also a "mother tongue", but not an official or common language.
So why is Kurdish not an official language? Why does Turkish have to be our common language? And why does a Kurd have to know Turkish, have to speak Turkish? Is this a right or is it an injustice?
Why, for example, is the "crime of incitement to hatred and enmity", which is only applied to Kurds and Kurds in Article 216 of the still valid constitution, not applied to racist attacks against Kurds and is always presented as an individual case?
A state should not have a racist ideology, but this state still has an ideology that prioritises one language over another, one identity over another, and this ideology has no tolerance for diversity.
A child is missing, I am still talking about the missing Narin; there are a number of racist statements and attacks on social media, but I have not heard that any judicial authority has caught and punished the perpetrators because they represent the ideology of the state.
I do not know how many more Kurdish-speaking people need to be killed and lynched, how many more people need to be arrested and detained for singing Kurdish songs and dancing halay, how many more attacks need to be carried out on Amedspor away games, but I would like to ask those who do know: Will this go on and on?
