Language Research

6. Language in everyday life: The use of language in everyday life, e.g. education, broadcasting, and other

According to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne the official minority status has been granted to only three religious minorities: GREEK ORTHODOX, ARMENIANS, and JEWS. Referring to the Article 40 of that Treaty those religious minorities can establish any schools freely at their own expense. Within the context of Article 41 they also have the right to teach their own languages in their schools, which belong to their respective communities or foundations.

Article 41 of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne states:

“As regards public institution, the Turkish Government will grant in those towns and districts, where a considerable proportion of non-Moslem nationals are resident, adequate facilities for ensuring that in the primary schools the instruction shall be given to the children of such Turkish nationals through the medium of their own language. This provision will not prevent the Turkish Government from making the teaching of the Turkish language obligatory in the said schools.

In towns and districts where there is a considerable proportion of Turkish nationals belonging to non-Moslem minorities, these minorities shall be assured an equitable share in the enjoyment and application of the sums which may be provided out of public funds under the State, municipal or other budget for educational, religious, or charitable purposes.

The sums in question shall be paid to the qualified representatives of the establishments and institutions concerned.”

In accordance with Article 39 of the 1923 Treaty, religious minorities may use any language in private interaction, in commerce, religion, in the press, or in the publications of any kind or at public meetings.

KURD

Private spoken and printed communications in Kurdish have been legal since 1991. However, the use of minority languages, including Kurdish, in television and radio broadcasts, by political parties, and in schools is restricted by a plethora of laws and even articles of the Constitution. These restrictions are invoked arbitrarily. Television and radio stations in the southeast occasionally play Kurdish music, although authorities have imposed restrictions on some songs. The State of Emergency regional Governor frequently bans Kurdish recordings that may be played legally elsewhere in the country. Kurdish is widely spoken on the streets, especially in the largely Kurdish southeast, and Kurdish music recordings reportedly were widely available there despite some being banned. Materials dealing with Kurdish history, culture, and ethnic identity are available but continue to be subject to confiscation and prosecution under the “indivisible unity of the state” provisions of the Anti-Terror Law. Actual confiscations were rare during the year 1999.

EDUCATION

Under Article 42.9 of the Constitution, Turkish is the official - though not the exclusive - language of instruction. The National Security Council decides by decree which foreign languages may be taught in Turkey. At present, the following foreign languages can be taught in public and private learning institutions: English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese and Chinese. Kurdish is not listed.

Consequently, state officials have blocked efforts to provide Kurdish-language instruction. While education in Kurdish takes place in informal settings and through tutors, such actions are, strictly speaking, illegal. Efforts to teach Turkish in rural areas where ethnic Kurds predominate have had mixed results. One-third of those living in the southeastern region did not speak Turkish, a figure that rose to 50% among women.

In practical terms, the inability to communicate often causes problems when dealing with state authorities, especially in attempts to access services like health care. The inability to speak Turkish among rural Kurds has led to a legacy of underdevelopment and poverty, as well as traditional family structure, and, more recently, the conflict in the region.

The Foreign Language Education and Teaching Law are confusing: “The mother tongue of Turkish citizens cannot be taught in any language other than Turkish (2923-14.10.1983 Article 2/a).” The element of strangeness is that according to the meaning of the sentence, it is possible for a Turkish citizen to have a mother tongue other than Turkish, but that mother tongue can be taught only in Turkish.

The State, the Constitution, and the Laws have the right to decree that the official language be taught as the primary and mandatory language in all schools.

BROADCASTING

The use of Kurdish in broadcasting is still prohibited. The abolition of Law No. 2932 of October 1983 (“The Law Concerning Publications and Broadcasts in Languages Other Than Turkish”) removed legal obstacles to publishing in Kurdish and other languages, but not impediments to broadcasting. The constitutional basis for Law No. 2932, however, still exists. The 1994 Law, which regulates radio and television broadcasting, mandates the exclusive use of Turkish except in certain circumstances.

Despite an absolute prohibition against broadcasting in Kurdish, Kurdish-language music and music videos–as long as they are not overtly political–seem to be tolerated. The army, in fact, runs a radio station called “Voice of the Tigris” (Dicle Radyosu) that broadcasts in two major Kurdish dialects as well as in Turkish and Turkmen. An observer of the Kurds in Turkey commented that, “Kurdish music is played, as long as it is not political.”

Many state officials realize the need to legalize Kurdish-language broadcasting given that many ethnic Kurds, especially those living in southeastern Turkey, speak Turkish poorly or not at all. Without such a medium, the state is unable to reach a substantial section of ethnic Kurds. 

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Updated (May 2002)

Even though Kurds are one of the biggest nations in the world, they do not have their own country where they could practice their language and culture freely. In 1998 there were around 30 millions Kurds living in Kurdish regions in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria and in the former Soviet Union. A growing number of Kurds have recently migrated to European countries and the USA. Currently, there are no reliable statistics for the actual number of Kurdish speakers.

The mass migration from Kurdistan has started in earnest in 1970's and still continues. In 1998 the number of Kurds in exile was estimated to be 3 millions which was about 10% of the entire Kurdish population. It seems the Kurds are going to become the Jewish nation of the 21st century. Unlike some others, Kurds do not live in large communities, but are rather scattered around the country (and world). This makes it difficult to maintain their native culture, language and identity.

MEDIA

The first wave of migration abroad, as a result of forced or self-exile, started at the turn of the century. Some members of the educated, royal family of Badirxans moved to Europe in the late 1880's. In exile, they started to publish in the Kurdish language. The first Kurdish newspaper, called “Kurdistan” was published in 1898, in Cairo.

Although currently printing materials in Kurdish is legal, the police continue to interfere with the distribution of some newspapers. In April 2000, the pro-Kurdish daily “Ozgur Bakis” ceased publication, blaming government pressure (closure orders, fines, investigations of 124 out of 370 editions). In its place “Yeni Gundem” newspaper began to be published in May but it was banned in the emergency region a week later.

Also in April, the state of emergency governor banned four magazines (“Ozgur Halk, Yasamda Genclik, Ozgur Kadinin Sesi and Rewsen”). In May the governor banned distribution of several newspapers and journals, including Kurdish-language weekly “Azadiya Welate” (which had been banned previously). However, these publications can be accessed in the emergency region on the Internet.

In 2000, Kurdish-language cassettes and publications were available commercially, although the periodic banning of particular cassettes or singers continued, especially in the emergency region. Kurdish-language broadcasting of news, commentaries and discussions was illegal in the country. One radio station broadcasted in Kurdish but was widely believed to be government-sponsored. Kurdish music was played on radio and television programs with certain restrictions, especially in the emergency zone and adjacent provinces. The Government's broadcast monitoring agency closed some stations for playing banned Kurdish music with the objectionable political content.

Banned pro-PKK Medya-TV broadcasted in Kurdish from Europe and could be received via a satellite dish. Another station based in northern Iraq called Kurdistan TV and not banned could be received via a satellite.

The Mesopotamian Cultural Center (MKM), an NGO that seeks to promote Kurdish language and culture, continued to operate as well as the Kurdish culture and research foundation (Kurt-Kav). In February Kurt-Kav was acquitted of charges alleging promotion of separatism for its sponsorship of scholarships for 30 Kurdish-speaking students.

CHILDREN

This situation will have a real impact on a new generation of Kurdish children who neither can go to visit their homeland nor can experience its native culture and language. The children are cut off from their parents' culture and language and thus the communication becomes more and more difficult and a gap between them is wider.

Familiarizing Kurdish children with their culture and teaching them Kurdish face many difficulties in foreign countries. Kurds are scattered all over the world so a different approach has to be taken in order to get these children together to share their experiences. Creation of Kurdish educational tapes and videotapes is one of the possibilities. Those Kurds who live in Europe can watch TV programs in Kurdish by MED-TV. The international Kurdish channel is a very good initiative.

The progress of computer and information technology has made it possible to pass over the boundaries and frontiers and to reach resources and people in very far places in a very short time. The Internet has opened a new horizon for people to work together while being in different countries and remote areas.

Source: A Proposal for teaching Kurdish children their native language skills, Rebwar Fatah, Burhan Elturan, Siamak Rezaei Durroei, June 1998, http://www.cogsci.ed.ac.uk/~siamakr/Kurdish/KURDICA/1998/DEC/proposal-child.html

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2000, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, February 23, 2001, Turkey, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/eur/844.htm 

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Updated (July 2003)

IMPROVEMENTS IN ENJOYMENT OF CULTURAL RIGHTS OF THE ETHNIC MINORITIES

Since the new legislation has come into force some improvements in the enjoyment of cultural rights have been reported. As there is no official body specialized in language policy, this information on improvement is gathered from newspapers and reports of international organizations.

One example is a concert supported by the Ministry of Culture on Turkey's Victory Day where a famous Turkish singer performed in several languages. The EU 2002 Regular Report informed about several positive signs in the Southeast, such as a photographic exhibition, the European Film Festival, the Culture and Nature Festival with no ban on bands singing in Kurdish and the abolition of bans on journals and newspapers.

However, in spite of legislative developments, several incidents (singing in Kurdish and refusal of the Registry of Birth Administrations to register children with Kurdish names) concerning restriction have also been reported. Opening private courses for non-official languages is said to be costly (new buildings, equipment and personnel).

Another important incident concerning linguistic rights took place in December 2001 and January 2002, when students began to campaign for optional courses in Kurdish in the university curriculum. The Higher Education Board recommended university rectors to impose disciplinary sanctions on the petitioners, claiming that the right to petition was exploited in this case. According to “Radikal” (Turkish daily newspaper), till February 2003, 104 students had been expelled from school, 1,215 students had been suspended from higher education and 44 had lost scholarships as a result.

Source: Recent Changes in Turkey's Language Legislation by Dr. Özlem Eraydin Virtanen, Adnan Menderes University, Nazilli, Turkey, 2003, http://www.ciemen.org/mercator/index-gb.htm 

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Updated (January 2004)

THE FIRST PRIVATE KURDISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL IS OFFICIALLY OPENED IN TURKEY

The first Kurdish language school was opened on December 8, 2003 in Urfa. The school will have 80 students.

In 2002, the Turkish National Assembly had passed various laws diminishing the legal obstacles preventing the Kurds from using their language in education and the media. However, the implementation of these reforms has been neglected, when many applications for the foundation of such schools were rejected due to ridiculous reasons (the size of classroom doors, etc.).

Because of the accession negotiations with the European Union the Turkish government established a Steering Committee to monitor the implementation of the reforms. This committee issued several degrees in order to guarantee the right of Turkish citizens to learn the non-official languages that they use in their daily lives. For the same purpose, the government made some amendments to the Bylaw on the Learning of the Languages and Dialects that the Turkish Citizens use in their Daily Lives. These amendments facilitate teaching of the Kurdish language in private language schools.

Although many Kurdish NGOs welcomed the foundation of the first private Kurdish language school, they pointed out the fact that the Turkish legislation strictly limits teaching of Kurdish. In public schools the use of the Kurdish language even as a subject is not allowed. Therefore, the majority of the Kurds, who cannot afford private language schools, will not enjoy this right in practice. Since there is no Kurdish language department at any Turkish university, it is very difficult to find qualified Kurdish language teachers.

Source: Minelres News, December 2003, T. Tankut Soykan, Visiting Researcher, European Center for Minority Issues, http://lists.delfi.lv/pipermail/minelres/2003-December/003106.html

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Updated (June 2004)

LANGUAGE LEGISLATION IN THE MEDIA FINALLY IMPLEMENTED

On June 7, 2004 television broadcasting in minority languages started on Channel 3 of the public Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT3) in Turkey. The programs will include news, music and documentaries. Local languages and dialects like Bosnian (Serbo-Croatian), Kurdish (Kirmanchi), Circassian and Arabic, soon followed by Laz and Kurdish (Zaza), will be used in broadcasting as well.

According to the regulations, radio will broadcasts in minority languages at most sixty minutes a day and five hours a week and TV forty-five minutes a day and four hours a week. TRT3 and Radio 1 will broadcast in local languages and dialects as follows: Bosnian on Monday; Arabic on Tuesday; Kurdish (Kirmanchi) on Wednesday; Circassian on Thursday and Kurdish (Zaza) on Friday. Private channels are expected to start broadcasting in the traditional local dialects and languages soon.

Concerning the laws regulating the radio and television institutions, the most important document is the Constitution. On the basis of the Constitution, audio-visual broadcasting in Turkey is regulated by Law on the Establishment and Broadcasting of Radio Stations and Television Channels No. 3984 passed in 1994, and amended in August 2002. This law, however, has certain restrictions on the subject of providing a balanced distribution in broadcasts. According to these, private radio stations and television channels are obliged to air educational and cultural programs as well as to take care of the Turkish language and support its proper use in the society.

Source: Mercator News, June 2004, http://www.ciemen.org/mercator/index-gb.htm

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Updated (October 2004)

EDUCATION

The Ministry of National Education and the General Directorate of the Private Teaching Institutions permitted Kurdish courses in Adan, Batman, Þanlýurfa and Van. However, at least four other applications (Circassion and Kurdish) have not been finalized yet due to bureaucratic delays and the strict requirements connected with establishing the courses. The Laz state that they do not have economic resources to establish their own courses.

Further, the use of minority languages in schools, or even requesting of their use, leads to punishment. For example, Oktay Eriman, a teacher who asked students to memorize a poem about peace in Kurdish (Batman Daily, May 14, 2004) was transferred from the city of Batman to another school in Gercü°.

CURRICULUM

Regarding the curriculum, the research conducted by the History Foundation revealed that school textbooks do not include information regarding history, culture and traditions of minorities at all or, worse still, they contain sweeping generalizations and discriminatory statements about minority groups. Many derogatory statements about the Armenians and Roma are found in history books and about the Greek language in linguistic books (one such statement compares the sounds in the Greek language to those made by snakes). The Turkish nationality and the Islamic religion are considered to be better than all others.

THE MEDIA IN MINORITY LANGUAGES

Section III, Article 39 of the Lausanne Treaty guarantees all citizens of Turkey the right to use any language in press and publications of any kind. Although the provision refers to "all Turkish citizens", in practice it has only been guaranteed to the Armenians, Greeks and Jews.

The most recent Regulation on Broadcasting in Traditionally Used Languages that came into force on January 25 2004, allows private national TV channels as well as the state channel TRT to broadcast in such languages. This would have been a significant step compared with the previous outright ban; however, the Regulation includes also several restrictive clauses regarding various subjects. The types of programs that can be broadcast in traditionally used languages are strictly limited to news, music and programs about traditional culture. Films in such languages, programs targeting children and teaching of these languages are still forbidden.

Private national channels that wish to broadcast in such languages have to apply for permission to do so and TV programs in these languages must be broadcast with sub-titles in Turkish (radio programs must be followed by the same program in Turkish).

The Regulation also determines the amount of airtime for radio and TV broadcasting in traditionally used languages. Radio stations can broadcast no more than 60 minutes each day in these languages (a total of five hours per week) and TV channels no more than 45 minutes each day (a total of four hours per week).

Article 11 states that until a survey about traditionally used languages is complete, only the state channel and the national private channels can broadcast in these languages.¹

The latest survey on languages spoken in Turkey was conducted in 1965. Till a new survey will be available broadcasting of local TV and radio stations in minority languages is not possible².

So far none of the national TV channels have applied to the regulator for broadcasting in minority languages. However, on June 7, 2004 the state channel TRT 3 started to broadcast in five traditionally used languages and dialects: Arab, Bosnian, Circassian, Kurmanci (a dialect of Kurdish) and Zaza (a dialect of Kurdish). These 45-minute long programs are broadcast Monday to Friday and they include news, music and documentary about Anatolia. However, the reactions of the above-mentioned minority groups to these programs have varied considerably.

The programs in the Zaza dialect, though welcomed by the community, were also criticized because many Turkish words were used in them and the speakers were not fluent in the dialect. The members of the Arab community complained that they would like to have music programs in their language³. Some Laz were very disappointed that TRT does not broadcast in their language. Broadcasting in the Bosnian language has started and the Bosnian community also has access to Bosnian broadcasting via satellite. Kurdish groups welcomed broadcasting, but they criticized its length and content.

The state radio station "TRT Radyo 1" also started to broadcast in the same languages from Monday to Friday at 6.10 a.m. for about 30 minutes. However, this early scheduling is a problem for many wishing to listen to the programs.

USING A MINORITY LANGUAGE IN PUBLIC SERVICES

Although Article 3⁴ of the Turkish Constitution does not prohibit the use of any other language with public authorities, usually no languages other than Turkish can be used in public services.

Using languages other than Turkish is particularly important in the public health system. No interpretation services are provided in state hospitals for non-Turkish speakers. Many women from rural areas are illiterate and they speak little or no Turkish.

USING PERSONAL NAMES IN A MINORITY LANGUAGE

For many years, the use of any non-Turkish name was forbidden. Individuals have been officially prevented from using their real names. However, the sixth harmonization package adopted by the Grand National Assembly that amended the Registration Act (Census) on July 15, 2004, allows children to be given names that are not contrary to moral rules and that do not offend the public. Following this amendment Kurdish names started to be registered.

Still a Circular issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in September 2003, stated that only the names consistent with the Turkish alphabet would be considered to comply with the law. Registrars and courts interpreted this statement in a way that the Kurdish names which include the letters 'w', 'x' or 'q' cannot be registered.

Based on this circular, several cases requesting changes in the registration of names have been rejected by the courts. The circular is used only with regard to Kurdish names. The other minorities and people registering foreign names with the "forbidden letters" have not experienced problems while registration.

The same problem has occurred in cultural activities as well. A music band called "Koma Rew°en" applied to give a concert in Van; however, their application was rejected by the government. Their application to perform in Hakkari was accepted because they changed their name to "Koma Rev°en".

USING A MINORITY LANGUAGE IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Article 39 of the Lausanne Treaty requires Turkey to provide facilities to non-Turkish speaking nationals for the use of their language in the courts. Accordingly, Article 252 of the Turkish Penal Code of Criminal Procedure states that if an accused person does not understand Turkish, an interpreter shall inform him/her of the final accusation and of the defense of the public prosecutor and defense council. In practice, interpreters are not needed for the non-Muslim minorities since they speak Turkish. However, non-Turkish speaking Kurds do need interpretation. Regarding the use of minority languages in civil proceedings, the Lausanne Treaty does not make any distinction between civil and criminal courts.

LAW AND PRACTICE IN TURKEY

The Turkish Constitution guarantees the right to associate and the right to assemble peacefully. However, the Association Law includes a very comprehensive restrictive clause, which has strong implications in practice. Article 5 of the law states that an association cannot be established to carry out activities against the national security, public order and general security, public good, general morals and the protection of general health; or destroy the national and territorial indivisible integrity of the state. In January 2003, the provision that prohibited founding an association to protect, develop or expand languages or cultures other than the Turkish language or culture or to claim that they are minorities based on racial, religious, sectarian, cultural or linguistic differences was removed.

According to the Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People (Mazlum-Der), the Kurds especially from southeastern Turkey complained they are facing various difficulties (registering their children at school, using electricity and water provided by the municipality, applying for a job, etc.).

Source: Minority Rights Group International, Minorities in Turkey, Submission to the European Union and the Government of Turkey, July 2004, http://www.minorityrights.org/admin/download/pdf/MRG-TurkeySub.pdf

¹ The state broadcasting regulator RTUK asked the Diyarbakýr government which languages were spoken in that area, although it is widely known that about 80 percent of the population of Diyarbakýr speak Kurdish (mostly the Kurmanci dialect).

² From time to time one-off programs are broadcast regionally in minority languages. For example the local TV station based in Diyarbakýr, "Gün TV", broadcasts a documentary in Kurdish with Turkish sub-titles.

³ They already have access to Arab channels in Hatay and Mardin.

⁴ The language of the Turkish state is Turkish.

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Updated (June 2008)

THE STATUS OF MINORITY LANGUAGES

Based on the report by the Minority Rights Group International, we provide information about the rights to use minority languages within Turkish society.

The use of minority languages in education

The use of minority language in education is restricted by the Constitution, which does not acknowledge the presence of minority languages in the country. Article 42 stipulates that no language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongü to Turkish citizens at any institutions of training or education. At the same time, it reserves terms of the Lausanne Treaty (1923), which grants non-Muslim minorities the “right to establish, manage and control at their own expense, any charitable, religious and social institutions, any schools and other establishments for instruction and education, with the right to use their own languages and to exercise their own religion freely therein.” The Treaty also extends a conditional right to government funding for primary public education in minority languages while the Constitution provides public funding only for the preservation and promotion of the Turkish language, history and culture.

Fortunately, some restrictions on minorities' ability to learn their language have been lifted dü to the EU accession process. In 2002, law¹ allowed the opening of private courses for teaching minority languages if such instruction does not violate the Turkish integrity. A year later, a new law² was approved allowing the teaching of these language in existing private courses, but specified that the new law by no means suggested “teaching Turkish citizens as their mother tongü any language other than Turkish”. Regulation Regarding the Learning of Different Languages and Dialects Traditionally Used by Turkish Citizens in their Daily Lives as of December 2003 introduced significant restrictions with regard to the curriculum, appointment of teachers, and the criteria for enrolment, including a minimum age restriction, which prevents children from attending such schools.

The first private course in Kurdish was opened in the province of Batman on 1 April 2004. Others followed in Diyarbakir, ªanliurfa, Adana, Istanbul, Van and Mardin. However, the courses were closed down in 2005 because of bureaucratic restrictions and people's reluctance to pay to learn their mother tongü.

Based on these actions, various Kurdish politicians, civil society representatives and intellectuals have expressed demands for public education in their mother tongü in areas where Kurds are concentrated. Other ethnic groups have also demanded to learn their mother tongü, though not necessarily in the public education system.

Laz and some Caucasian communities are demanding teaching of their languages to their children in the public schools, as the current legislation does not enable them teach their languages to their children and some communities do not have resources to open private courses.

While non-Muslims (Greeks, Armenians and Jews) covered by the Treaty of Lausanne have the right to establish, manage and control their educational institutions, arbitrary governmental policies restrict this right so they cannot fully enjoy it. Other non-Muslim minorities are deprived of the right to receive education in their mother tongü.

For instance, the teachers of ‘Turkish culture’ classes and the deputy principals of private minority schools must be Turks (read ‘Muslim’) appointed by the Ministry of National Education. Minority schools do not have any say in the selection of these teachers, who are directly appointed by the Ministry and are not subject to the supervision of the principal, who is a non-Muslim.

Pursuant to a ban introduced in the late 1970s, minority schools are not allowed to accept students from other non-Muslim groups. This is particularly problematic for Assyrians who do not have their own schools. Erol Dora, a lawyer of Assyrian origin, points out that the situation has become worse with the EU accession process since this ban has now been formalized through a new law. While the implementation of a rule restricting enrolment to pupils whose fathers are non-Muslim has recently been eased in practice, there is still a legal barrier to the enrolment of children of mixed marriages whose fathers are not members of the non-Muslim minority to which the school belongs.

International standards are clear about the distinction between private and public education, and impose on states a duty to recognize the right of minorities to have private education in their languages and to seek government funding. The law and practice in Turkey falls far short of these standards. The state's interference in the affairs of minority schools deprives non-Muslims of their rights under Article 40 of the Lausanne Treaty to run their own educational institutions, and reflects mistrust and discriminatory attitude towards non-Muslim citizens.

The use of minority languages in media

Similarly, as in education, the Treaty of Lausanne grants minority rights in the area of broadcasting but not only to non-Muslim minorities – all citizens have the right to use “any language in the press, or in publications of any kind”. However, Turkey has never allowed Muslim minorities to exercise this right.

Some progress has been achieved in the area of broadcasting after the 2001 constitutional amendments removed the restrictions on the use of any ‘language prohibited by law’ in expressing and disseminating ideas in media. However, the amendments left untouched the restrictions attached to the exercise of these rights for the purposes of safeguarding ‘the indivisible integrity of the State with its territory and nation’. In the past, prosecutors' expansive reading of this language has caused the prosecution and conviction of journalists and the closure of print and broadcasting media.

The Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK, Turkish acronym) Law still contains similarly restrictive provisions, as well as prohibiting broadcasting that incites violence or hatred. Repeated violations may result in the suspension of broadcasting license for up to one year or the permanent cancellation of such license. In compliance with the law, RTÜK initially suspended the broadcasting of the ‘Anatolia's Voice’ radio station for one month in 2006 for playing a song about the Kurdish qüstion and in 2007 the station was closed without limitation. These limitations have been imposed only on regional media, which are usually run by minorities.

A series of new laws in 2002 and 2003 effectively opened the way for broadcasting in minority languages. These limited and conditional broadcasting rights were restricted by an executive regulation³, which establishes direct state control over broadcasts, prohibits children's programs and the teaching of minority languages, restricts broadcasting to a few hours every week, subjects decisions on the language and dialect of broadcasting and the profile of viewers to bureaucratic authorization, requires simultaneous and subseqünt translation into Turkish for TV and radio programmes, respectively, and prohibits broadcasting in violation of national security, general morality and the indivisible territorial and national integrity of the state.

On 25 January 2004, a new regulation came into force allowing private broadcasting in minority languages at the national level for the first time. However, there are strict time limitations; local and regional broadcasting are subject to the authorization of RTÜK upon completion of an audience profile.

As a result of the reforms, on 7 June 2004, the Turkish Radio-Television Corporation (TRT) commenced broadcasts in five minority languages and dialects: Zaza and Kurmanci dialects of the Kurdish language, Arabic, Bosnian and Circassian. TV broadcasts last for 45 minutes five days a week, while radio broadcasts begin at 6 a.m. and last for 30 minutes each day five days a week. This was a significant step forward, but the involvement of the state in selecting of languages without consultation with minorities was undemocratic. Members of the Laz community have been particularly critical about the exclusion of their language from public broadcasting. Minorities whose languages were selected have criticized the content and time restrictions, and the outdated nature of news programs. They see the broadcasts as symbolic, and thus failing to meet the needs of their communities.

There is no national private broadcasting in minority languages. Three private local broadcasters – Söz TV and Gün TV in Diyarbakir, and Medya FM radio in Urfa – launched local broadcasting in Kurdish upon receiving authorization from RTÜK on 17 March 2006. It is prohibitively difficult for local and regional stations operating on limited human and financial resources to comply with the regulations on translation of programs and submission of written and audio transcripts to RTÜK and the Police Department's Bureau on Monitoring Broadcasts.

RTÜK's decision in June 2006 to exempt cultural programs from time restrictions was hailed in the national media. However, broadcasters have demanded a complete revision of the regulation, arguing that the translation requirement prevents them from making live broadcasting and providing their viewers with fresh news.

Only recently, the Turkish Parliament has passed a law to launch a new channel on the state-run TRT, which will broadcast programs in Kurdish and other languages, including Arabic and Farsi.

The use of place and personal names in minority languages

Article 3 of the Turkish Constitution states that “the language of the state is Turkish”. The Constitution neither provides for nor prohibits the use of personal and place names in minority languages. The Provincial Administrative Law of 1949, however, allows the Ministry of Interior to change “village names that are not Turkish and may give rise to confusion”.

The use of minority languages in people's names, which was detrimental for Muslim minorities, was prohibited until recent years. However, non-Muslim minorities' names were permitted to be used.

As part of the reform package of 15 July 2003, an amendment to the Civil Registry Law removed the restriction on parents' freedom to name their children with names deemed “offensive to the national culture”, which in practice was used to ban non-Turkish names. On the other hand, the requirement that the names should comply with ‘moral valüs’ and should not be offensive to the public was kept. A circular issüd by the Ministry of Interior in September 2003 restricted the scope of the amended law to names containing the letters of the Turkish alphabet only, effectively banning names using the letters q, w and x, common in Kurdish.

There is no restriction on the use of these letters for commercial entities, and all keyboards and typewriters in Turkey include these letters, so their use by public officials is feasible. As in every other area, legal reform may not be sufficient to solve the problems of minorities. Arbitrary bureaucratic restrictions may prevent minorities from exercising their rights. In fact, Laz parents who wish to name their children Laz names “face arbitrary bureaucratic hurdles from time to time”.

The use of minority languages in public services

There is no legal framework enabling minorities to use their mother tongü in dealings with public authorities. The constitutional provisions on the right to free trial are silent on the right to use minority languages during prosecution. On the other hand, Article 39 of the Treaty of Lausanne grants all Turkish nationals of non-Turkish speech the right for the oral use of their own language before courts and requires the state to facilitate the exercise of this right. The provision does not make a distinction between criminal and civil proceedings. The legal framework regulating criminal proceedings guarantees the accused the partial right to be provided, upon need, with an interpreter to follow the final remarks made by the prosecutor and the defense lawyer. Defendants are not provided with a competent interpreter, which particularly affects older Kurds and women, who are not flünt in Turkish.

Instead, translation is provided by court clerks or anyone present, who may not necessarily be competent to translate legal proceedings. The law regulating civil proceedings, on the other hand, does not provide minorities with a similar right.

Public services are not provided in any language other than Turkish, even in areas populated predominantly by minorities where many individuals do not speak the official language. This is particularly the case for Kurds in eastern and southeastern Turkey. In recent years, bold local initiatives have been made by some municipalities to provide public services in minority languages. For instance, in the municipality of the Sur district in Diyarbakir, Mayor Abdullah Demirbas commissioned an American expert to prepare software in the Kurdish language to be used in official correspondence. The municipality also published a children's book in Turkish and Kurdish. In October 2006, the Sur municipal council decided to provide their services in Armenian, Assyrian, English, Kurmanci and Zaza dialects of Kurdish, Turkish and other languages. This decision was taken on the basis of a survey by the Sur municipality which showed that 72 percent of district residents spoke Kurdish in daily life, 24 percent Turkish, and the rest spoke all the other languages. Mayor Demirbas defended the council's decision in the name of ‘more effective and accessible municipal services’. However, this action met with prosecutorial investigation and administrative measures; the Sur municipal council was dissolved in May 2007. The court's reasoning shows a judiciary detached from the realities of society: “Since the language of education and teaching in our country is Turkish and those Turkish citizens who know how to read and write can speak and write Turkish, there can be no reasonable justification to provide municipal services in languages other than Turkish.” This effectively disqualifies those Turkish citizens who have not received any formal education and thus cannot speak Turkish from receiving any public services. The decision was reviewed and overturned on 27 July 2007 based on breach of procedural rules. The merits of the decision are still being reviewed.

There is a direct link between minorities' ability to communicate with administrative authorities and their access to health, justice, education and other services. A recent semi-official survey on internally displaced persons (IDPs) conducted by the Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies shows that ‘not speaking Turkish’ ranks third among reasons for IDPs' lack of access to health services; 27.4 percent of IDPs, the vast majority of whom are Kurdish, responded positively to this qüstion. The recognition of the right to public services in minority languages is particularly important for minority women, specially Kurdish women living in rural areas, many of whom are illiterate and/or do not speak Turkish. A study undertaken by the Diyarbakir municipality’s Centre for Research on Women's Issüs, based on interviews with 472 married women in 97 villages, shows that around 80 percent of these women are illiterate.

The percentage of boys attending schools is higher than that of girls in Turkey. The study found that while 5 percent of boys of school age were not attending school, for girls the figure was 18 percent. Minority women have less chance to learn Turkish than men, who learn the official language either at schools or during military service. This puts women in a vulnerable position, dependent on their husbands and fathers, unable to access public services on their own and unaware of their rights as citizens. The non-recognition of language rights is particularly detrimental for minority women, as is evident in the subjecting of a 71-year-old Kurdish woman to a Turkish language test in a police station in Adana when her imprisoned son asked to speak to his mother in Kurdish during visiting hours.

Source: Minority Rights Group International, report A Qüst for Equality: Minorities in Turkey, September 2007 http://www.minorityrights.org/download.php?id=425

¹Law on the Amendment of Certain Laws, No. 4771, 3 August 2002, Official Gazette, no. 24841, 9 August 2002, Art. 11

²Law on the Amendment of Certain Laws, No. 4963, 30 July 2003, Official Gazette, no. 25192, 7 August 2003, Art. 23(a).

³Regulation on the Language of Radio and Television Broadcasts, implementing Law No. 4771, Official Gazette, no.24967, 18 December 2002.

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Updated (March 2009)

CATALANS MARCH IN BRUSSELSARMENIAN-LANGUAGE RADIO STATION

The Anatolian State News Agency has announced that Turkey's state broadcaster plans to launch an Armenian-language radio station.

This tentative move is meant to restore the diplomatic ties between these two countries. They have been disrupted after the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I which, Armenia says, amounted to genocide. Ankara accepts many Armenians were killed, but denies genocide was committed. Since then large numbers of Armenian speakers have left Turkey but some 40,000 - 50,000 remain, mostly in Istanbul.

"At this stage, we will refrain from any comments," an Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman said when asked about the report of the planned radio station.

Anatolian said the Armenian-language channel should go on air in "two to three months".

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, News, March 20, 2009 http://www.rferl.org/content/Turkey_To_Launch_ArmenianLanguage_Radio_Station/1514028.html 

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