Cejna Qurbanê pîroz be,” Simsek wrote on Twitter, along with Turkish and Arabic versions of his greeting
Eid greeting in multiple languages including Kurdish by Turkey’s new finance minister Mehmet Simsek has stirred up a storm of criticism from ultranationalist circles, including the Good Party and the Victory Party.
Mehmet Simsek, himself a Kurd from Turkey’s southeastern Batman province posted a congratulatory message on his personal Twitter account on the first day of Eid al-Adha in four different languages: Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, and English.
While Simsek’s post received numerous likes, it also drew the ire of nationalist groups.
“Since there is no Kurdish state, this tweet is addressed to the citizens of the Republic of Turkey,” Sevda Gul Tuncer, Deputy Chairman of the Victory Party said, apparently disturbed by Simsek’s “Cejna Qurbanê pîroz be” message.
“The Republic of Turkey is a Nation-State. The official language of the state is Turkish,” she added.
Turan Sumer, President of the Youth Branch of the Victory Party in Umraniye said, “You openly violate the first three articles of the constitution. Shame on all of you!”
Murat Noyan, Member of the Istanbul Provincial Board of the Good Party shared this view:
“The first three articles of our constitution clearly state that the “Official language of our state is Turkish.”
The conflicting reactions have once again exposed the deep-rooted divisions surrounding language, identity, and political ideologies in Turkey.
Source: Gerçek News
