Amed co-mayor Fırat Anlı has said the number of the schools providing education in Kurdish must be increased, and stressed the importance of the works pursued by the Mesopotamia Association in regard to education in mother tongue.

The reception of the Mesopotamia Association to mark the 3rd anniversary of its foundation was held in Amed in the Common Life Hall in Sümerpark. The reception was attended by the representatives of DBP and Kurdish organisations. Speaking first, KURDİ-DER chair Ali Özdemir Erdem drew attention to the importance of mother language and its use in all areas of the social life. He stressed that what makes a language dead is auto-assimilation, calling on all the people to insist using their mother tongue.

Kurdish writer İrfan Babaoğlu also said in his speech that Kurdish people must found their own schools and universities in Kurdish, adding that the works of the Mesopotamia Association is in that regard crucial.

Speaking next, Amed co-mayor Fırat Anlı drew attention to the threats still being faced by the Kurdish language and said that despite better conditions in comparison to 10 years ago, the demand for Kurdish language is lower at present. He recalled that many people were exposed to state violence for the demand to use their mother language and that many people were sentenced to years in prison just because they insisted on defending themselves in Kurdish during KCK trials. “We can now voice our defence in Kurdish in the trials. But this is not enough”, he said and added that the number of the schools in Kurdish must be increased, stressing the importance of the works of Mesopotamia Association as the other speakers.