The Language, Culture and Education Commission of the National Congress of Kurdistan (KNK) has issued a statement congratulating the Kurdish people on the occasion of the Kurdish Language Day, 15 May.

The statement began by referring to the importance of the Kurdish language: “Throughout history, the Kurdish language has been our identity and the reason for the existence of our people” and calling it the “most effective weapon of protection and defence against the attacks on the Kurdish people”.

The statement went on to explain how Kurdistan was divided into four parts by the treaty of Lausanne after World War I, resulting in its occupation by the states of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq, all of which applied policies of assimilation against the Kurdish people and denial of the Kurdish language and culture.

The KNK noted how these policies have persisted through time, saying, “Unfortunately, in Turkey and Iran, Kurds are still deprived of those universal and legal rights to the use of their mother tongue today.”

However, they said, the Kurdish people have resisted the assimilation policies, one method of resistance being the publishing of newspapers and articles in the Kurdish language, which “played an important role in keeping the language alive and protecting its individual national and linguistic characteristics.”

On the resistance against the policies of assimilation, the KNK paid homage to the “great efforts and struggle of Kurdish institutions and individuals” and their achievements of raising the Kurdish language to “a high level” such that it “has been integrated into the modern technological world”.

The statement then proceeded with a presentation of development of the language by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which have been working on providing a unified dictionary, suitable curricula in the field of education and a lexicon of terminology.

The KNK concluded by saying that they will continue working in support of the Kurdish language in all parts of Kurdistan and in the Kurdish diaspora, and congratulating all Kurds on Kurdish Language Day.