Deputy in Turkish National Assembly blocked from speaking Kurdish

A deputy from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the Turkish national assembly was blocked by the opposition chairman when he wanted to make his entire speech in Kurdish during the budget talks.

The chairman Haydar Akar from the CHP (Republican People’s Party) allowed Imam Tascier for a while to speak after he came to the platform but after a couple of minutes he turned his microphone off and did not let him finish his speech, Gazete Duvar reported.

"Everybody has a mother tongue. I also have a mother tongue. No deputies here can understand me when I speak in my mother tongue. I continue to speak in Turkish, which is the official language so that all of us can understand it. He can say one or two sentences, but he can not do the whole conversation." Akar said.

When Tascier said that he will continue to speak Kurdish, Akar first warned him to use the remaining time with Turkish, then blocked him entirely.

HDP Group Deputy Chairman Meral Danis Bestas stood up and objected to the decision and said:

"Kurdish is the language of more than 30 million Kurds living in Turkey. Are they not citizens, do they not pay taxes? We do not reject the official language. But you demonstrate intolerance to Kurdish language with your own reflexes."