SANLIURFA (CIHAN) - The Kurdish languages courses, which occupied the agenda of Turkey over years, have failed to attract enough interest.
Turkey, which is candidate to the European Union, over the years, had been urged the Union to allow the languages courses in non-Turkish languages. Eventually last year, Turkish government passed a EU-harmonization package through the parliament and allowed the opening of the Kurdish language courses despite the certain bureaucratic obstacles. However, only three Kurdish language courses, in city of Van, Batman and Sanliurfa, have been opened and only 200 students have been attending theses courses.
Even a Kurdish language course has not been opened in city of Diyarbakir where there have been several demonstration were held for language courses. Instead of Kurdish language courses, the Turkish Kurds prefer to listen the Kurdish programs in the Turkish state broadcasters.
Turkish State broadcaster TRT began the programs in non-Turkish languages and dialects two weeks ago. The current broadcasts are in Arabic, Bosnian and Circassian as well as the two Kurdish dialects, Zaza and Kurmanjý.
Mahmut Kücük, a Turkish Kurd, said that he dropped plan to enroll to the Kurdish language course following the broadcast in Kurdish dialects in state-run Turkish Radio and Television Institution. Kücük said that program and its content is good but the time limited. Kücük also want daily updating of the programs.
Kurdish is an Indo-European language unrelated to Turkish, although it includes many Turkish, Arabic and Farsi words.
Turkey has some 10 million Turkish Kurd citizens, of most lives in eastern part of the country.