The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Language, Culture and Art Commission made a statement at the party's Amed (Diyarbakır) Provincial Organisation building against the oppression and attacks against the Kurdish language. Co-spokespersons of the commission, Heval Dilbahar and Cemile Turhallı Balsak, read the text in Kurmanji and Kirmanckî dialects of Kurdish.

The statement emphasised that attacks on the Kurdish language have been ongoing since the foundation of the republic: “In the last century, authoritarian rulers have turned this country into a graveyard of cultures and languages and massacred all languages in this country. The biggest attack was directed against the Kurdish language. Due to the attacks and oppression, the Kurdish people buried thousands of Kurdish newspapers and books underground. Many Kurds were killed, beaten and arrested for speaking Kurdish. Prisoners were tortured in jails on the grounds that they were Kurdish. For a century, the Kurdish people were subjected to severe oppression. In the 21st century, the Kurdish language is still banned, unknown and non-existent in Turkey. The understanding of ignoring, rejecting, suppressing and trying to destroy has been maintained, increased and deepened in all authorities in Turkey. The monist mentality, which continues to be hostile to Kurds, is now trying to eliminate the Kurdish language through different ways and methods.

The repressions systematised 100 years ago have caused great damage to language and culture. From the beginning of the 21st century to the present day, these language policies are carried out by governments, inspectors general, emergency management authorities. These policies were intended to result in secret reports, fines, bans and repressions, white genocide and white supremacy, and specialised political engineering. These policies, systematised 100 years ago, are being carried out today by those ruling the AKP-MHP government. They have adapted the policy to today's conditions with the help of governors and want to achieve results through the governorship system. For this reason, they appointed trustees to our Mardin, Batman and Halfeti municipalities again and usurped the will of the people. First of all, they abused the multilingual service by appointing trustees. Kurdish services were removed from the websites of the municipalities, Kurdish concerts were cancelled in many places and attacks against the Kurdish language increased.

In the last quarter of the 20th century, the Kurdish people began the struggle to protect and develop their national values by demanding freedom of culture, language and identity. With this struggle, the Kurdish language developed and spread day by day. Today, millions of Kurds struggle and resist for the protection, development and freedom of the Kurdish language. We did not come to this stage easily, we paid a high price. No one should think that we will give up our language and leave it in the dark. The forces that are trying to seize and eliminate the will of the Kurdish people should know that we will continue our struggle for the Kurdish language with the same zeal and fervour as we have fought for the Kurdish language until today.

As the DEM Party, we will increase and expand our struggle for the Kurdish language and all Kurdish values based on multilingual and multicultural policies in the most concrete, sustainable, permanent and effective way at all times and places. With this we say once again that the Kurdish language must be given official status and become a language of education. We therefore call on all Kurds, parties, institutions, liberal and democratic platforms, and all humanitarian circles to stand against all forms of abuse, neglect and attempts to destroy the Kurdish language wherever Kurds live.”