DIYARBAKIR, — The head of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) during a protest in Diyarbakir, said that the Kurdish people will continue to speak their language in the courts, at schools and within the taxation institution.
“Either Kurdish people shall be recognized … so that we may all live together in this country, or the mentality that has denied Kurdish people for 80 years will be revealed one more time,” Selahattin Demirtas said to the crowd.
Demirtaş spoke at a march protesting the ongoing trial of 152 prominent Kurdish politicians in Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court.
The trial of Kurdish politicians started last month in Diyarbakir. A number of widely reported arguments have occurred at the hearings following the defendants’ insistence on being allowed to speak their native Kurdish during proceedings – demands the court has repeatedly rejected.