For several days, the Turkish state has been cracking down on traffic signs in Kurdish in Mardin (Mêrdîn) and Batman (Êlih). The signs were repeatedly painted over under the protection of armed police officers.

To protest this attack on the Kurdish language, the co-spokesperson of the Democratic Congress of Peoples (HDK), Cengiz Çiçek, and DEM party MP, Celal Fırat, wrote signs in Kurdish on Cengiz Topal Street in Istanbul. They wrote “Pêşî Peya” (Pedestrians first) and “Hêdî” (Slowly) on the street.

Regarding the action, Çiçek said: “We are protesting here in Istanbul against the fact that the Kurdish language is not tolerated by the authorities in Batman and Mardin. The system’s hostility towards Kurds has reached such a level that it has become hatred. They even disregard the safety of pedestrians. That is why we are protesting against this racism on the streets of Istanbul. This racist, anti-Kurdish system also creates hostility towards life, living beings, animals, nature and greenery. That is why racism and fascism will lose.”

Celal Fırat said: “From morning to night, it is claimed that we are brothers and sisters. If we are brothers, then this writing must not be removed. At the same time, society as a whole must oppose the deletion of the Kurdish inscriptions.”