MARMARA–The superior election council of Turkey outlawed the use of the Kurdish language as well as any murals or mottos in Kurdish during elections.
Last week however–in an effort to prepare the country for European Union membership–the Turkish parliament passed major reforms which included easing curbs on the Kurdish language–and even allowing television and radio broadcasts in Kurdish.
As a result of today’s announcement–the members of the election council have already displayed that the old laws are still effective and if the reforms do not correspond to the status quo–like discrepancies will emerge.
In outlawing the use of any language other than Turkish during the election process–the election council announced those not adhering to the ban will be tried and possibly face six months to one year imprisonment.