wfn.org | International panel finds Turkey guilty of linguistic genocide

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

Further Information: David Shanks, World Association for Christian
Communication 
357 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5QY, 
UK. 
Tel: +44 171 582 9139, fax: +44 171 735 0340, 
Email: DS@wacc.org.uk , 
web: http:/www.wacc.org.uk

Every day somewhere in the world a child, a woman, a man stops speaking
their mother tongue. 

The world's languages are disappearing faster than ever before in human
history. 

In order to gain the support of civil society at national and
international levels, and reverse this trend, the People's Communication
Charter (PCC), Amsterdam, the World Association for Christian
Communication (WACC), London, the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The
Hague, and OLON, Nijmegen, organized the first public tribunal on the
right to communicate. It was held at the ISS from 1-3 May, 1999, and the
theme was "Languages and Human Rights".

The tribunal was organised in response to the prediction that 90% of the
world's languages are in danger of dying out within a century. Control
over someone's language has become one of the primary means of exerting
power over other aspects of people' s life.

Language is one of the essential keys to cultural and personal identity.
The present situation poses therefore a great risk to human diversity. 

Ariel Dorfman, the respected Chilean writer, took part in the tribunal
and highlighted the fundamental importance of such diversity. He
commented that: "Language is the house of our identity and if they burn
down that house we are left with nothing. It's essential to understand
that every language in the world, whether five or five billion people
speak it, has equal rights. When you destroy a language, you destroy the
capacity of human beings to be as diverse and as plural and as expansive
as possible."

The experts in the field of communication, language rights and
international law who joined Dorfman on the panel of independent judges
were: Barbara Losier, Community Development Consultant and Treasurer of
AMARC; Robert Phillipson, former Dean, Humanities, Roskilde University,
Denmark; Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Professor of Minority Education and
Linguistic Human Rights, Åbo Akademi, Vasa, Finland and Vice President
of Terralingua; Paul de Waart, Emeritus Professor of International Law,
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

They listened to the testimonies of five witnesses seeking to ensure
their linguistic human rights. They made cases in support of: Creole
language, Kurdish language, Sign languages; Bilingual education in
California, and Berber language (Tamazigh). Kurdish language was seen to
be under particular threat, with the Turkish authorities forcibly
attempting to kill the language and Kurdish culture with it.

To consider these test cases, the panel focused its public hearings on
Article 9 of the People's Communication Charter (PCC), which was drafted
in 1995 as the common framework for a permanent movement on the quality
of a sustainable communication environment. Article 9 reads:

All people have the right to a diversity of languages. This includes the
right to express themselves and have access to information in their own
language, the right to use their languages in educational institutions
funded by the State, and the right to have adequate provision created
for the use of minority languages where needed.

The conclusions that the judges came to, taking into account several
accepted international laws and definitions, are that:

1. The five test cases are representative of serious, generalized and
systematic violations of linguistic rights around the world and
underline the importance of the People's Communication Charter
initiative.
2. The panel is alarmed that State authorities and international
organizations are insufficiently aware of the fact that respect for
linguistic rights is essential to cultural and personal identity as a
cornerstone for human rights protection, tolerance and in conflict
prevention. 
3. The panel expresses its deep concern about the constant
misinformation regarding the significance of linguistic rights and their
violation as well as the way in which the mainstream media consistently
ignore these matters.
4. While there is substantial variation between the overtly linguicidal
policies of countries like Algeria and Turkey, and the covert measures
in the USA and Western Europe, the evidence submitted to the panel
indicates in all five contexts there is a serious threat to the cultures
and languages of a wide range of peoples.
5. There is an urgent need for international bodies and national
governments to be more energetic in guranteeing that clauses in
international covenants and the PCC relating to language rights, to
elaborate strategies for monitoring violations and for preventive
diplomacy.
6. As conflicts between groups can be articulated in terms of linguistic
difference (Hungarian speakers in Romania, Albanians in Macedonia),
there is an urgent need for examples of good practice in the management
of linguistic diversity (Switzerland, Finland, the Danish-German
border), to be analysed, for politicians and journalists to be better
informed about language policy, and for myths and ignorance in this
field to be attacked vigorously.
7. In the light of such knowledge about communication rights and
language rights, and their contribution to peaceful, democratic
societies, there is an urgent need for dialogue between state
authorities and minority language groups such as the Deaf, Kurdish and
Berber speakers in the Netherlands, Chicanos/Chicanas in the USA and
Creole speakers.

For further information, contact: David Shanks, World Association for
Christian Communication, 357 Kennington Lane, London, UK, SE11 5QY. Tel:
00 44 171 582 9139. Fax: 00 44 171 735 0340. Email: DS@wacc.org.uk. Web:
http://www.wacc.org.uk

Read the People's Communication Charter at: http://www.waag.org/pcc