BRUSSELS, Belgium, — The Honourable Jim Karygiannis, Member of Canada Parliament for Scarborough-Agincourt, and Liberal Critic for Multiculturalism, spoke at the 8th International Conference- EU, Turkey and the Kurds (EUTCC) at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.
The Conference brings to the attention of the international community the struggles of the Kurdish people of Turkey.
“To be able to achieve a solution to the problem, you need to bring both parties to the table. The eighty percent and the twenty percent must listen to each other and compromise in order for change to happen.” said Mr. Karygiannis. “The question is ‘How do we convince the eighty percent to come to the table?’”
The Conference, which was attended by international academic and human rights advocates, dealt with issues, such as language and education. Currently, the Turkish Constitution states:
‘No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens at any institutions of training or education. Foreign languages to be taught in institutions of training and education and the rules to be followed by schools conducting training and education in a foreign language shall be determined by law.’
“If you want to give certain powers to different regions, you can do so.” Dr. Kamal Mitra Chenoy from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, stated. “India has two official languages, but all states are able speak and write letters in their mother tongue and to receive an answer in their language. The same can be done in Turkey with the situation of the Kurdish language.”
“All citizens have the right to speak the language of their forefathers.” Mr. Karygiannis commented. “The international community must encourage Turkey to respect the rights of all its citizens.”
In his address to the Conference, Mr. Karygiannis referred to the Canadian experience of two founding nations, linguistic duality and the multiculturalism.
“Canada, like India, has two official languages. We also have a policy of multiculturalism, which, like a jigsaw puzzle, fits together the values and talents of all Canadians into a beautiful mosaic and not a muddy, grey melting pot.” Mr. Karygiannis stated. “I believe that the Canadian experience can help bring these two communities together.”
The EUTCC Conference was being held at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium from December 7-8.