AMED - Dengbej and institution representatives reacted to attacks on Kurdish language, culture and said: “We must further expand our halays and struggle.”

 

Attacks on Kurdish continue to increase. In addition to the detention and arrest operations launched against those who dance halay accompanied by Kurdish music, warnings written in Kurdish on pedestrian paths are also removed by the order of the Ministry of Interior.

 

Dengbej (Kurdish traditional singer) Naîfê Minusê (Naif Subaşı), who described the arrests of those who sing and dance halay in their own language as “tyranny,” reacted by saying, “They are trying to ban the language and culture of the Kurdish people. We are one of the most ancient peoples of these lands, and if they say, ‘You will not speak your own language, you will not dance your halay,’ this is a sovereign mentality.”

 

Stating that these policies are aimed at destroying the Kurdish people, Minusê said: “Nobody must forget that no matter how much they ban it, the Kurdish language and people will not disappear. These policies require unity.” 

 

‘LET’S PROTECT OUR CULTURE’

 

Dengbêj Mistefayê Botî (Mustafa Oğuz) emphasized that more halay should be performed against the ban on halays and said: “Those who are enemies of our grandfathers cannot be our friends.” 

 

Dengêj Siddiqê Farqînê (Sıddık Baran), who condemned the recent attacks on language and culture, “When they want to destroy a society, they first try to destroy its language. The aim of the attacks is to destroy our language and culture. We need to protect our culture and develop our unity” he said.

 

‘THEY ARE ATTACKING TO CHANGE THE AGENDA’

 

Mezopotamya Language and Culture Research Association (MED-DER) Co-chair Remzi Azizoğlu stated that the attacks on Kurdish that have been launched recently are also being carried out to change the agenda against the attacks on the Federated Kurdistan Region. Stating that the attacks on the Kurdish language and those who speak Kurdish have continued since the foundation of the Republic, Azizoğlu said: “The current attacks are a sign of new preparations. Kurds should embrace their own language everywhere and should be a strong response to the agenda that is being tried to be changed.”

 

‘WE SHOULD EXPAND OUR HALAYS’

 

Yunus Çelik, one of Ma Music instructors, stated that halay has an important position for Kurds. Çelik, who said that halay is an activity that brings society together, noted that the ban on halays is also a continuation of assimilation policies. Çelik said: “They do not want even one article about Kurds or Kurdish due to their intolerance towards Kurds. This actually shows how they have adopted a monist mentality. We will not give up our halays and our language in the face of this mentality. In the face of these policies, we need to make our halay circles bigger. We should speak more Kurdish instead of less against the assimilation policies on our language. We should expand our halays and our struggle everywhere.”