MESOP JOINT PROJECT : Hundreds of prominent political and cultural figures have been involved in the preparation, including Sivan Perver, Ahmet Turk, Ismail Besikci, Cengiz Candar, Osman Baydemir, and Murat Belge.
By Nigel Wentworth for SES Türkiye in Diyarbakir — 02/05/14 – Turkey is entering a new era as the country’s first Kurdish university prepares to open in 2015.
The preparatory work follows last year’s new law allowing private schools to offer instruction in Kurdish, which was adopted as part of the peace process between the government and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Kurdish language advocates have opened a number of private Kurdish courses and Kurdish publications in recent years after reforms eased restrictions on the language. The work gained new momentum as the decades-long war gave way to the peace process. The university’s groundwork is being done by the Mesopotamia Foundation, whose formation was announced in the official gazette last month following years of preparation.
Foundation officials said their goal is to develop Kurdish language and culture by supporting mother tongue education at a new university. By offering instruction in the Kurdish dialects of Kurmanji and Dimili (Zazaki), officials hope to make Kurdish a language of education and research while training a new generation of professionals capable of working with the language. The university will also offer education in other regional languages and support research on linguistics. Hundreds of prominent political and cultural figures have been involved in the preparation, including Sivan Perver, Ahmet Turk, Ismail Besikci, Cengiz Candar, Osman Baydemir, and Murat Belge.
Selim Olcer, chairman of the Mesopotamia Foundation’s board of trustees, said the Kurdish language has endured a century of assimilation and that the university project is a “parallel” measure to the peace process.
“As Kurds, we want to carry out education in our own language,” Olcer told SES Türkiye. “In the preparation stage we’ve taken care to establish connections with all interested quarters and avoid excluding any perspective. This includes local administrations, the Democratic Society Congress, the government, south Kurdistan officials, and academicians from Turkey and Europe.”
The university’s annual budget will range from 400-500 million TL and provide a serious boost to Diyarbakir’s economy, added Olcer, who said the university will be financed by donations. “On this topic we’re trying to keep ourselves from becoming dependent on any community, holding, or political group. We’re thinking of asking for the municipality’s help with land acquisition,” Olcer said. Foundation steering committee member Ramazan Tunc said they have been encouraged by the peace process and hope to contribute to a solution. He added that “Mesopotamia University” is being considered as a name to reflect the university’s character.
“We’ve applied to the Turkish patent institute for permission to use the name. For a symbol, we’re considering the sky goddess Anu of the Sumerians, who established the first state in Mesopotamia and the world. This symbol is also important in that it represents the four parts of Kurdistan,” Tunc told SES Türkiye.
He added that Kurmanci and Dimili will be the main languages of instruction and regional languages such as Syriac and Armenian also will be taught. The foundation expects to complete bureaucratic procedures in 2014 and open in time for the 2015-2016 academic year. “The university will feature faculties, institutes, a graduate institute and trade schools,” Tunc said. “There will be 11 divisions at first, including five faculties. These will cover human and societal sciences, education, fine arts, architecture, law, natural sciences, engineering and other fields.”
The news generated excitement among students at Diyarbakir’s Dicle University. Civil engineering student Harun Turan called the university “a historic development for Kurdish society” that resulted from Kurds’ decades-long struggle for recognition. “Last year at Newroz, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan started a democratic peace and solution process. Within this framework, Kurds have started to take certain steps. The Kurdish university is one such initiative. I’m very happy and excited. If I have the chance, I’ll do my master’s degree in my own language at Mesopotamia University,” he told SES Türkiye.
Dicle University archaeology student Ersin Yildirim told SES Türkiye she was happy to hear about the project. “I’ve seen that the Kurdish people have always been ignored. They’ve been treated as if their language and culture don’t exist. The democratic solution and peace process has allowed our intellectuals to take a step like this,” Yildirim said. “Finally, we Kurds will be able to receive education in our language. But the university definitely must be tuition-free. Everyone should be able to register. I hope to finish my education there.” http://turkey.setimes.com/en_GB/articles/ses/articles/features/departments/society/2014/05/02/feature-02