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Hurriyet, Turkey
July 10 2011
Mayor fighting 'discrimination'
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Çağla Pınar Tunçel
DİYARBAKIR - Hürriyet Daily News
The Sur mayor, says he has started services in Kurdish, Armenian and
Syriac 'to prevent discrimination,' although he is facing
discrimination charges
Sur Mayor Demirbaş says balance is the key in the Kurdish issue.
The mayor of Sur Municipality in Diyarbakır is continuing to face a
discrimination case due to the local authorities' provision of
services in Kurdish, Armenian and Syriac and a decision to increase
the salaries of officials speaking these languages.
"The prosecutor will investigate whether our regulations are creating
discrimination; I, however, have launched many systems in order to
prevent discrimination," Mayor Abdullah Demirbaş recently told the
Hürriyet Daily News.
According to Turkish law, the project that has been launched in the
region is a crime, the mayor of the eastern district said. "To prevent
discrimination, the government should reach out to the people and
solve their problem in the quickest way."
Given that English is tolerated by the Constitution, languages other
than Turkish that are spoken in the southeast region should be
approved as well, said Demirbaş.
The municipality has been offering services in Turkish and English, as
well as Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac, since 2007.
Reaching balance through peace
Regarding a decision by independent candidates supported by Peace and
Democracy Party, or BDP, to boycott Parliament's opening after the
deputyship of their colleague, Hatip Dicle, was quashed by the Supreme
Election Board, or YSK, Demirbaş said he was afraid another conflict
between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and the Turkish
military could soon begin.
Demirbaş said balance was the most important thing to foster. "One
cannot survive by destroying the other, two should remain to keep the
balance."
Demirbaş and Osman Baydemir, the mayor of the Diyarbakır Metropolitan
Municipality, as well as some members of the Sur Municipal Assembly,
have been previously acquitted in a case against their multilingual
municipal services. Demirbaş said he believed that by reaching
democratic reconciliation in its Kurdish issue, Turkey could be a role
model for the Middle East. Demirbaş was arrested as part of the
Kurdish Communities Union, or KCK, trial but was released last year
after four months of captivity due to health problems. The KCK is
accused of being the urban wing of the PKK, which is listed as a
terrorist group by Turkey.
Sur Mayor Demirbaş says balance is the key in the Kurdish issue
July 10 2011
Mayor fighting 'discrimination'
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Çağla Pınar Tunçel
DİYARBAKIR - Hürriyet Daily News
The Sur mayor, says he has started services in Kurdish, Armenian and
Syriac 'to prevent discrimination,' although he is facing
discrimination charges
Sur Mayor Demirbaş says balance is the key in the Kurdish issue.
The mayor of Sur Municipality in Diyarbakır is continuing to face a
discrimination case due to the local authorities' provision of
services in Kurdish, Armenian and Syriac and a decision to increase
the salaries of officials speaking these languages.
"The prosecutor will investigate whether our regulations are creating
discrimination; I, however, have launched many systems in order to
prevent discrimination," Mayor Abdullah Demirbaş recently told the
Hürriyet Daily News.
According to Turkish law, the project that has been launched in the
region is a crime, the mayor of the eastern district said. "To prevent
discrimination, the government should reach out to the people and
solve their problem in the quickest way."
Given that English is tolerated by the Constitution, languages other
than Turkish that are spoken in the southeast region should be
approved as well, said Demirbaş.
The municipality has been offering services in Turkish and English, as
well as Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac, since 2007.
Reaching balance through peace
Regarding a decision by independent candidates supported by Peace and
Democracy Party, or BDP, to boycott Parliament's opening after the
deputyship of their colleague, Hatip Dicle, was quashed by the Supreme
Election Board, or YSK, Demirbaş said he was afraid another conflict
between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and the Turkish
military could soon begin.
Demirbaş said balance was the most important thing to foster. "One
cannot survive by destroying the other, two should remain to keep the
balance."
Demirbaş and Osman Baydemir, the mayor of the Diyarbakır Metropolitan
Municipality, as well as some members of the Sur Municipal Assembly,
have been previously acquitted in a case against their multilingual
municipal services. Demirbaş said he believed that by reaching
democratic reconciliation in its Kurdish issue, Turkey could be a role
model for the Middle East. Demirbaş was arrested as part of the
Kurdish Communities Union, or KCK, trial but was released last year
after four months of captivity due to health problems. The KCK is
accused of being the urban wing of the PKK, which is listed as a
terrorist group by Turkey.
Sur Mayor Demirbaş says balance is the key in the Kurdish issue